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Previous: CASE CORP, 8-K, 1999-10-29 |
Next: MERRILL LYNCH GLOBAL SMALLCAP FUND INC, 485BPOS, 1999-10-29 |
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 29, 1999
Securities Act File No. 33-53399
FORM N-1A
| REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 | [X] | |
| Pre-Effective Amendment No. | [ ] | |
| Post-Effective Amendment No. 7 | [X] | |
| and/or | ||
| REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 | [X] | |
| Amendment No. 9 | [X] | |
| (Check appropriate box or boxes) |
Merrill Lynch Global SmallCap Fund, Inc.
800 Scudders Mill Road, Plainsboro, New Jersey 08536
Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code: (609) 282-2800
Terry K. Glenn
Copies to:
| Counsel for the Fund | Michael J. Hennewinkel, Esq. | |
| BROWN & WOOD LLP | MERRILL LYNCH | |
| One World Trade Center | ASSET MANAGEMENT | |
| New York, New York 10048-0557 | P.O. Box 9011 | |
| Attention: Thomas R. Smith, Jr., Esq. | Princeton, New Jersey 08543-9011 | |
| Frank P. Bruno, Esq. |
| It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box): | |||
| [X] | immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b) | ||
| [ ] | on (date) pursuant to paragraph (b) | ||
| [ ] | 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) | ||
| [ ] | on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) | ||
| [ ] | 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) | ||
| [ ] | on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485. | ||
| If appropriate, check the following box: | |||
| [ ] | this post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment. | ||
Title of Securities Being Registered: Common Stock, par value $.10 per share.
| This Prospectus contains information you should know before investing, including information about risks. Please read it before you invest and keep it for future reference. | ||
| The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. |
| PAGE | ||
| [KEY FACTS ICON] | ||
| KEY FACTS | ||
| Merrill Lynch Global SmallCap Fund at a Glance | 3 | |
| Risk/ Return Bar Chart | 6 | |
| Fees and Expenses | 8 | |
| [DETAILS ABOUT THE FUND ICON] | ||
| DETAILS ABOUT THE FUND | ||
| How the Fund Invests | 10 | |
| Investment Risks | 12 | |
| [YOUR ACCOUNT ICON] | ||
| YOUR ACCOUNT | ||
| Merrill Lynch Select PricingSM System | 23 | |
| How to Buy, Sell, Transfer and Exchange Shares | 28 | |
| Participation in Merrill Lynch Fee-Based Programs | 32 | |
| [MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND ICON] | ||
| MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND | ||
| Merrill Lynch Asset Management | 35 | |
| Financial Highlights | 36 | |
| [FOR MORE INFORMATION ICON] | ||
| FOR MORE INFORMATION | ||
| Shareholder Reports | Back Cover | |
| Statement of Additional Information | Back Cover | |
Equity Securities — securities representing ownership of a company or securities whose price is linked to the value of securities that represent company ownership.
Smallcap issuers — the definition of smallcap issuers will change over time in response to market conditions; for the Fund, smallcap issuers typically have total market capitalization, at the time of initial purchase by the Fund, in the same range as companies in the MSCI World SmallCap Index, a widely known smallcap investment benchmark.
What is the Fund’s investment objective?
The investment objective of the Fund is to seek long-term growth of capital by investing primarily in a portfolio of equity securities of smallcap issuers located in various foreign countries and in the United States.
What are the Fund’s main investment strategies?
The Fund normally invests at least 66% of its assets in a diversified portfolio consisting of equity securities of smallcap issuers from a variety of different countries, including those in emerging markets. Except for unusual circumstances the Fund will at all times be invested in securities from at least three different countries. The Fund may also invest up to 34% of its assets in issuers having larger market capitalizations and in debt securities. For purposes of the above, market capitalizations are determined at the time of purchase. The Fund can invest in securities denominated in either U.S. dollars or foreign currencies. The Fund has not established any rating criteria for the debt securities in which it may invest. The Fund may invest in high yield bonds (also known as “junk” bonds) and in certain types of “derivative” securities. The Fund may use derivatives to hedge its portfolio against interest rate and currency risks. The derivatives that the Fund may use include indexed and inverse securities, options, futures, swaps and forward foreign exchange transactions.
Fund management chooses securities using a combination of “top down” and “bottom up” investment styles. “Top down” means that the Fund seeks to allocate its investments to markets that Fund management believes have the potential to outperform other markets due to economic factors, such as government fiscal policies and the direction of interest rate and currency movements. “Bottom up” means that the Fund also selects investments based on Fund management’s assessment of the earning prospects of individual companies. When choosing debt securities, Fund management considers various factors including the credit quality of issuers and yield analysis.
What are the main risks of investing in the Fund?
As with any mutual fund, the value of the Fund’s investments, and therefore the value of Fund shares, may fluctuate. Changes in the value of the Fund’s equity investments may occur because the stock market is rising or falling or as the result of specific factors that affect particular investments. Also, when interest rates go up, the value of debt securities goes down. If the value of the Fund’s investments goes down, you may lose money.
Liquidity — the ease with which a security can be traded. Securities that are less liquid have fewer potential buyers and, as a consequence, greater volatility.
Volatility — the frequency and amount of changes in a security’s market value.
The Fund will invest primarily in small and emerging growth companies. Small and emerging growth companies may have limited product lines or markets, may depend on a smaller number of key personnel and may be less financially secure than larger, more established companies. If a product fails, or if management changes, or if there are other adverse developments, the Fund’s investment in a small or emerging growth company may lose substantial value.
Small and emerging growth companies’ securities generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater, less predictable price changes than the securities of more established companies. Investing in small or emerging growth companies requires a long term view.
The Fund will invest in non-U.S. securities. Foreign investing involves special risks, including foreign currency risk and the possibility of substantial volatility due to adverse political, economic or other developments. Foreign securities may also be less liquid and harder to value than U.S. securities. These risks are greater for investments in emerging markets.
Although the Fund may invest in derivatives to hedge against risks in its portfolio, it is not bound to do so and the Fund cannot guarantee the success of any hedging strategies it does use. Derivatives and high yield or “junk” bonds may be volatile and subject to liquidity, leverage and credit risk. Junk bonds are high risk investments, and may result in the Fund losing both income and principal. Junk bonds are generally less liquid and experience more price volatility than higher rated fixed income securities.
We cannot guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
Who should invest?
The Fund may be an appropriate investment for you if you:
| • | Are investing with long term goals in mind, such as retirement or funding a child’s education. | ||
| • | Want a professionally managed portfolio. | ||
| • | Are looking for exposure to a variety of foreign markets. | ||
| • | Are willing to accept the risks of short term fluctuations and foreign investing in order to seek long term growth of capital. | ||
| • | Are not looking for a significant amount of current income. | ||
| • | Are investing a portion of your portfolio in the Fund and do not consider investment in the Fund a complete investment program. |
The bar chart and table shown below provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund’s performance for Class B shares for each complete calendar year since the Fund’s inception. Sales charges are not reflected in the bar chart. If these amounts were reflected, returns would be less than those shown. The table compares the average annual total returns for each class of the Fund’s shares for the periods shown with those of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (“MSCI”) SmallCap World Index and the Salomon Brothers Extended Market Index. How the Fund performed in the past is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
[Global SmallCap Class B Bar Chart]
| Global SmallCap - Class B | ||||
| "1995" | -0.45 | |||
| "1996" | 14.43 | |||
| "1997" | -9.85 | |||
| "1998" | 3.26 | |||
| Average Annual Total Returns | ||||||||
| (as of the calendar year | Past | Since | ||||||
| ended December 31, 1998) | One Year | Inception | ||||||
| Merrill Lynch Global SmallCap Fund* — A | -1.13% | 0.02%† | ||||||
| MSCI SmallCap World Index** | -0.58% | 1.73% | # | |||||
| Salomon Brothers Extended Market Index*** | 5.93% | 9.42% | ## | |||||
| Merrill Lynch Global SmallCap Fund* — B | -0.74% | -0.21%†† | ||||||
| MSCI SmallCap World Index** | -0.58% | 1.48% | ### | |||||
| Salomon Brothers Extended Market Index*** | 5.93% | 9.08%††† | ||||||
| Merrill Lynch Global SmallCap Fund* — C | 2.17% | 0.23%† | ||||||
| MSCI SmallCap World Index** | -0.58% | 1.73% | # | |||||
| Salomon Brothers Extended Market Index*** | 5.93% | 9.42% | ## | |||||
| Merrill Lynch Global SmallCap Fund* — D | -1.41% | -0.66%†† | ||||||
| MSCI SmallCap World Index** | -0.58% | 1.48% | ### | |||||
| Salomon Brothers Extended Market Index*** | 5.93% | 9.08%††† | ||||||
| * | Includes sales charge. |
| ** | The MSCI SmallCap World Index is a widely recognized, unmanaged index comprised of smallcap companies from 23 developed markets. Past performance is not predictive of future performance. |
| *** | The Salomon Brothers Extended Market Index is a widely recognized, unmanaged broad-based global small cap index, providing returns from stocks in 22 markets. Past performance is not predictive of future performance. |
| † | Inception date is October 21, 1994. |
| †† | Inception date is August 5, 1994. |
| ††† | Since August 5, 1994. |
| # | Since October 31, 1994. |
| ## | Since October 21, 1994. |
| ### | Since August 31, 1994. |
Fund investors pay various fees and expenses, either directly or indirectly. Listed below are some of the main types of expenses, which all mutual funds may charge:
Expenses paid directly by the shareholder:
Shareholder Fees — these include sales charges which you may pay when you buy or sell shares of the Fund.
Expenses paid indirectly by the shareholder:
Annual Fund Operating Expenses — expenses that cover the costs of operating the Fund.
Management Fee — a fee paid to the Investment Adviser for managing the Fund.
Distribution Fees — fees used to support the Fund’s marketing and distribution efforts, such as compensating Financial Consultants, advertising and promotion.
Service (Account Maintenance) Fees — fees used to compensate securities dealers for account maintenance activities.
The Fund offers four different classes of shares. Although your money will be invested the same way no matter which class of shares you buy, there are differences among the fees and expenses associated with each class. Not everyone is eligible to buy every class. After determining which classes you are eligible to buy, decide which class best suits your needs. Your Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant can help you with this decision.
This table shows the different fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold the different classes of shares of the Fund. Future expenses may be greater or less than those indicated below.
| Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from | ||||||||
| your investment)(a): | Class A | Class B(b) | Class C | Class D | ||||
| Maximum Sales Charge (Load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) | 5.25%(c) | None | None | 5.25%(c) | ||||
| Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of original purchase price or redemption proceeds, whichever is lower) | None(d) | 4.0%(c) | 1.0%(c) | None(d) | ||||
| Maximum Sales Charge (Load) imposed on Dividend Reinvestments | None | None | None | None | ||||
| Redemption Fee | None | None | None | None | ||||
| Exchange Fee | None | None | None | None | ||||
| Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that are deducted from Fund assets): | ||||||||
| Management Fee | 0.85% | 0.85% | 0.85% | 0.85% | ||||
| Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees(e) | None | 1.00% | 1.00% | 0.25% | ||||
| Other Expenses (including transfer agency fees)(f) | 1.25% | 1.31% | 1.32% | 1.26% | ||||
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 2.10% | 3.16% | 3.17% | 2.36% | ||||
| (a) | In addition, Merrill Lynch may charge clients a processing fee (currently $5.35) when a client buys or sells shares. |
| (b) | Class B shares automatically convert to Class D shares about eight years after you buy them and will no longer be subject to distribution fees. |
| (c) | Some investors may qualify for reductions in the sales charge (load). |
| (d) | You may pay a deferred sales charge if you purchase $1 million or more and you redeem within one year. |
| (e) | The Fund calls the “Service Fee” an “Account Maintenance Fee.” Account Maintenance Fee is the term used in this Prospectus and in all other Fund materials. If you hold Class B or Class C shares for a long time, it may cost you more in distribution (12b-1) fees than the maximum sales charge that you would have paid if you had bought one of the other classes. |
| (f) | The Fund pays the Transfer Agent $11.00 for each Class A and Class D shareholder account and $14.00 for each Class B and Class C shareholder account and reimburses the Transfer Agent’s out-of-pocket expenses. The Fund pays a 0.10% fee for certain accounts that participate in the Merrill Lynch Mutual Fund Advisor program. The Fund also pays a $0.20 monthly closed account charge, which is assessed upon all accounts that close during the year. This fee begins the month following the month the account is closed and ends at the end of the calendar year. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1999, the Fund paid the Transfer Agent fees totaling $192,470. The Manager provides accounting services to the Fund at its cost. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1999, the Fund reimbursed the Manager $72,269 for these services. |
These examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
These examples assume that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated, that your investment has a 5% return each year, that you pay the sales charges, if any, that apply to the particular class and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. This assumption is not meant to indicate you will receive a 5% annual rate of return. Your annual return may be more or less than the 5% used in this example. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
EXPENSES IF YOU DID REDEEM YOUR SHARES:
| 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |||||||||||||
| Class A | $ | 727 | $ | 1,148 | $ | 1,595 | $ | 2,828 | ||||||||
| Class B | $ | 719 | $ | 1,174 | $ | 1,654 | $ | 3,294 | * | |||||||
| Class C | $ | 420 | $ | 977 | $ | 1,659 | $ | 3,476 | ||||||||
| Class D | $ | 752 | $ | 1,223 | $ | 1,719 | $ | 3,080 | ||||||||
EXPENSES IF YOU DID NOT REDEEM YOUR SHARES:
| 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |||||||||||||
| Class A | $ | 727 | $ | 1,148 | $ | 1,595 | $ | 2,828 | ||||||||
| Class B | $ | 319 | $ | 974 | $ | 1,654 | $ | 3,294 | * | |||||||
| Class C | $ | 320 | $ | 977 | $ | 1,659 | $ | 3,476 | ||||||||
| Class D | $ | 752 | $ | 1,223 | $ | 1,719 | $ | 3,080 | ||||||||
| * | Assumes conversion to Class D shares approximately eight years after purchase. See note (b) to the Fees and Expenses table above. |
Kenneth L. Chiang has been the Portfolio Manager of the Fund since 1998. Mr. Chiang has been First Vice President of Merrill Lynch Asset Management since 1998 and prior to that was managing partner of Samuel Asset Management from 1997 to 1998. Mr. Chiang served as Vice President and Portfolio Manager of Merrill Lynch Asset Management from 1993 to 1997.
ABOUT THE MANAGER
The Fund is managed by Merrill Lynch
Asset Management.
The Fund will invest in a diversified portfolio primarily consisting of equity securities of smallcap issuers in various foreign countries and in the United States. The Fund will generally invest at least 66% of its assets in equity securities. Equity securities consist of:
| • | Common stock | ||
| • | Preferred stock | ||
| • | Securities convertible into common stock | ||
| • | Rights to subscribe for common stock | ||
| • | Derivative securities, such as options and futures, the value of which is based on a common stock or group of common stocks |
The Fund will focus on investments in common stock.
The Fund may invest in equity securities of companies throughout the world. There are no limits on the geographic allocation of the Fund’s investments. The Fund’s management, however, anticipates that a substantial portion of the Fund’s investments will be in companies in the developed countries of Europe and the Far East. The Fund may also invest in companies in emerging markets such as Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Far East, and the Fund’s management anticipates that a significant portion of the Fund’s investments will be in companies in such developing countries. The Fund will under normal conditions have at least 66% of its total assets invested in securities from at least three different countries.
Fund management chooses securities using a combination of “top down” and “bottom up” investment styles. “Top down” means that the Fund seeks to allocate its investments to markets that Fund management believes have the potential to outperform other markets due to economic factors, such as government fiscal policies and the direction of interest rate and currency movements. “Bottom up” means that the Fund also selects investments based on Fund management’s assessment of the earning prospects of individual companies. When choosing debt securities, Fund management considers various factors including the credit quality of issuers and yield analysis.
When assessing potential investments, Fund management seeks to identify companies in the relatively early stages of business development which have a new technology, a unique or proprietary product or service, or a favorable market position. The Fund also invests in securities of relatively more
Preferred stock — is a class of stock that often pays dividends at a specified rate and has preference over common stock in dividend payments and liquidation of assets. Preferred stock may also be convertible into common stock.
Investment grade — any of the four highest debt obligation ratings by recognized rating agencies, including Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., Standard & Poor’s or Fitch IBCA, Inc.
The Fund may invest up to 34% of its assets in equity securities of issuers having larger individual market capitalizations and in debt securities, foreign sovereign debt obligations, U.S. Government obligations and short-term securities including money market securities or commercial paper. The Fund may invest in debt securities that are not rated investment grade, which are commonly known as “junk” bonds.
Because the Fund will invest in foreign securities, it offers the potential for more diversification than an investment only in the U.S. Foreign securities have often (although not always) performed differently than U.S. securities.
The Fund will invest in securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. The Fund’s return on investments denominated in foreign currencies will be affected by changes in currency exchange rates. The Fund may engage in currency transactions to seek to hedge against the risk of loss from changes in currency exchange rates, but Fund management cannot guarantee that it will be able to enter into such transactions or that such transactions will be effective.
The Fund may use derivatives to hedge its portfolio against interest rate and currency risks. Derivatives are financial instruments whose value is derived from another security, a commodity (such as oil or gold), or an index such as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. The derivatives that the Fund may use include indexed and inverse securities, options, futures, swaps and forward foreign exchange transactions.
The Fund may also invest in securities the potential return of which is based on the change in a specified interest rate or equity index (an “indexed security”). For example, the Fund may invest in a security that pays a variable amount of interest or principal based on the current level of the French or Korean stock markets. The Fund may also invest in indexed securities the potential return of which is based inversely on the change in a specified interest rate or equity index (an “inverse security”). Inverse securities generally change in value in a manner that is opposite to most fixed income securities — that is, interest rates or principal payments on inverse securities increase when the underlying interest rate or equity index decreases and decrease when the underlying interest rate or equity index
[DETAILS ABOUT THE FUND ICON] Details About the Fund
The Fund may borrow amounts up to 33 1/3% of the Fund’s total assets from banks as a temporary measure for extraordinary or emergency purposes or to meet redemptions. For temporary defensive purposes, the Fund also may restrict the markets in which it invests and may increase the portion of assets invested in issuers with larger capitalizations and in debt securities. Although the Fund will make temporary defensive investments only to the extent that Fund management believes they present less risk than the Fund’s usual investments, temporary defensive investments may limit the Fund’s ability to achieve long-term growth of capital.
The Fund has no minimum holding period for investments, and will buy or sell securities whenever the Fund’s management sees an appropriate opportunity.
This section contains a summary discussion of the general risks of investing in the Fund. As with any fund, there can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its goals or that the Fund’s performance will be positive for any period of time.
Market and Selection Risk — Market risk is the risk that the stock market in one or more countries in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the market will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the investments that Fund management selects will underperform the stock market or other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies.
Foreign Market Risk — Since the Fund invests in foreign securities, it offers the potential for more diversification than an investment only in the United States. This is because securities traded on foreign markets have often (though not always) performed differently than securities in the United
Foreign Economy Risk — The economies of certain foreign markets often do not compare favorably with the economy of the United States with respect to such issues as growth of gross national product, reinvestment of capital, resources and balance of payments position. Certain such economies may rely heavily on particular industries or foreign capital and are more vulnerable to diplomatic developments, the imposition of economic sanctions against a particular country or countries, changes in international trading patterns, trade barriers and other protectionist or retaliatory measures. Investments in foreign markets may also be adversely affected by governmental actions such as the imposition of capital controls, nationalization of companies or industries, expropriation of assets or the imposition of punitive taxes. In addition, the governments of certain countries may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions on foreign investing in their capital markets or in certain industries. Any of these actions could severely affect security prices, impair the Fund’s ability to purchase or sell foreign securities or transfer the Fund’s assets or income back into the United States, or otherwise adversely affect the Fund’s operations. Other foreign market risks include foreign exchange controls, difficulties in pricing securities, defaults on foreign government securities, difficulties in enforcing favorable legal judgments in foreign courts, and political and social instability. Legal remedies available to investors in certain foreign countries may be less extensive than those available to investors in the United States or other foreign countries.
Emerging Markets Risk — The risks of foreign investments are usually much greater for emerging markets. Investments in emerging markets may be considered speculative. Emerging markets include those in countries defined as emerging or developing by the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, or the United Nations. Emerging markets are riskier because they develop unevenly and may never fully develop. They are more likely to experience hyperinflation and currency devaluations, which adversely affect returns to U.S. investors. In addition, the securities markets in many of these
[DETAILS ABOUT THE FUND ICON] Details About the Fund
Many emerging markets have histories of political instability and abrupt changes in policies. As a result, their governments are more likely to take actions that are hostile or detrimental to private enterprise or foreign investment than those of more developed countries. Certain emerging markets may also face other significant internal or external risks, including the risk of war, and ethnic, religious, and racial conflicts. In addition, governments in many emerging market countries participate to a significant degree in their economies and securities markets, which may impair investment and economic growth.
Currency Risk — Securities in which the Fund invests may be denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates affect the value of the Fund’s portfolio. Generally, when the U.S. dollar rises in value against a foreign currency, a security denominated in that currency loses value because the currency is worth fewer U.S. dollars. Conversely, when the U.S. dollar decreases in value against a foreign currency, a security denominated in that currency gains value because the currency is worth more U.S. dollars. This risk, generally known as “currency risk,” means that a strong U.S. dollar will reduce returns for U.S. investors while a weak U.S. dollar will increase those returns.
Governmental Supervision and Regulation/Accounting Standards — Many foreign governments supervise and regulate stock exchanges, brokers and the sale of securities less than the United States does. Some countries may not have laws to protect investors the way that the U.S. securities laws do. For example, some foreign countries may have no laws or rules against insider trading. Insider trading occurs when a person buys or sells a company’s securities based on nonpublic information about that company. Accounting standards in other countries are not necessarily the same as in the United States. If the accounting standards in another country do not require as
Certain Risks of Holding Fund Assets Outside the United States — The Fund generally holds its foreign securities and cash in foreign banks and securities depositories. Some foreign banks and securities depositories may be recently organized or new to the foreign custody business. In addition, there may be limited or no regulatory oversight over their operations. Also, the laws of certain countries may put limits on the Fund’s ability to recover its assets if a foreign bank, depository or issuer of a security, or any of their agents, goes bankrupt. In addition, it is often more expensive for the Fund to buy, sell and hold securities in certain foreign markets than in the U.S. The increased expense of investing in foreign markets reduces the amount the Fund can earn on its investments and typically results in a higher operating expense ratio for the Fund than investment companies invested only in the U.S.
Settlement Risk — Settlement and clearance procedures in certain foreign markets differ significantly from those in the United States. Foreign settlement procedures and trade regulations also may involve certain risks (such as delays in payment for or delivery of securities) not typically generated by the settlement of U.S. investments. Communications between the United States and emerging market countries may be unreliable, increasing the risk of delayed settlements or losses of security certificates. Settlements in certain foreign countries at times have not kept pace with the number of securities transactions; these problems may make it difficult for the Fund to carry out transactions. If the Fund cannot settle or is delayed in settling a purchase of securities, it may miss attractive investment opportunities and certain of its assets may be uninvested with no return earned thereon for some period. If the Fund cannot settle or is delayed in settling a sale of securities, it may lose money if the value of the security then declines or, if it has contracted to sell the security to another party, the Fund could be liable to that party for any losses incurred.
European Economic and Monetary Union (“EMU”) — Certain European countries have entered into EMU in an effort to, among other things, reduce barriers between countries, increase competition among companies, reduce government subsidies in certain industries, and reduce or eliminate currency
[DETAILS ABOUT THE FUND ICON] Details About the Fund
| • | If the transition to euro, or EMU as a whole, does not proceed as planned, the Fund’s investments could be adversely affected. For example, sharp currency fluctuations, exchange rate volatility and other disruptions of the markets could occur. | ||
| • | Withdrawal from EMU by a participating country could also have a negative effect on the Fund’s investments, for example if securities redenominated in euros are transferred back into that country’s national currency. |
Borrowing and Leverage Risk — The Fund may borrow for temporary emergency purposes including to meet redemptions. Borrowing may exaggerate changes in the net asset value of Fund shares and in the yield on the Fund’s portfolio. Borrowing will cost the Fund interest expense and other fees. The cost of borrowing may reduce the Fund’s return. Certain derivative securities that the Fund buys may create leverage including, for example, when issued securities, forward commitments, options and warrants.
Securities Lending — The Fund may lend securities to financial institutions which provide government securities as collateral. Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Fund may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Fund could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and the value of the collateral falls. These events could trigger adverse tax consequences to the Fund.
Risks associated with certain types of securities in which the Fund may invest include:
Convertibles — Convertibles are generally debt securities or preferred stocks that may be converted into common stock. Convertibles typically pay current
Small Cap and Emerging Growth Securities Investments — Small cap or emerging growth companies may have limited product lines or markets. They may be less financially secure than larger, more established companies. They may depend on a small number of key personnel. If a product fails, or if management changes, or there are other adverse developments, the Fund’s investment in a small cap or emerging growth company may lose substantial value.
Small cap or emerging growth securities generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger cap securities or the stock market as a whole. Investing in small caps and emerging growth securities requires a longer term view.
Illiquid Securities — The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities that it cannot easily resell within seven days at current value or that have contractual or legal restrictions on resale. If the Fund buys illiquid securities it may be unable to quickly resell them or may be able to sell them only at a price below current value.
Restricted Securities — Restricted securities have contractual or legal restrictions on their resale. They may include private placement securities that the Fund buys directly from the issuer. Private placement and other restricted securities may not be listed on an exchange and may have no active trading market.
Restricted securities may be illiquid. The Fund may be unable to sell them on short notice or may be able to sell them only at a price below current value. The Fund may get only limited information about the issuer, so it may be less able to predict a loss. In addition, if Fund management receives material adverse nonpublic information about the issuer, the Fund will not be able to sell the security.
[DETAILS ABOUT THE FUND ICON] Details About the Fund
Rule 144A Securities — Rule 144A securities are restricted securities that can be resold to qualified institutional buyers but not to the general public.
Rule 144A securities may have an active trading market, but carry the risk that the active trading market may not continue.
Debt Securities — Debt securities, such as bonds, involve credit risk. This is the risk that the borrower will not make timely payments of principal and interest. The degree of credit risk depends on the issuer’s financial condition and on the terms of the bonds. These securities are also subject to interest rate risk. This is the risk that the value of the security may fall when interest rates rise. In general, the market price of debt securities with longer maturities will go up or down more in response to changes in interest rates than the market price of shorter term securities.
Sovereign Debt — The Fund may invest in sovereign debt securities. These securities are issued or guaranteed by foreign government entities. Investments in sovereign debt are subject to the risk that a government entity may delay or refuse to pay interest or repay principal on its sovereign debt. Some of these reasons may include cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves, political considerations, the relative size of its debt position to its economy or its failure to put in place economic reforms required by the International Monetary Fund or other multilateral agencies. If a government entity defaults, it may ask for more time in which to pay or for further loans. There is no legal process for collecting sovereign debt that a government does not pay or bankruptcy proceeding by which all or part of sovereign debt that a government entity has not repaid may be collected.
Repurchase Agreements; Purchase and Sale Contracts — The Fund may enter into certain types of repurchase agreements or purchase and sale contracts. Under a repurchase agreement, the seller agrees to repurchase a security (typically a security issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government) at a mutually agreed upon time and price. This insulates the Fund from changes in the market value of the security during the period, except for currency fluctuations. A purchase and sale contract is similar to a repurchase agreement, but purchase and sale contracts provide that the purchaser receives any interest on the security paid during the period. If the seller fails to repurchase the security in either situation and the market value declines, the Fund may lose money.
Derivatives — The Fund may use derivative instruments including futures, options, indexed and inverse securities and swaps. Derivatives allow the Fund to increase or decrease its risk exposure more quickly and efficiently than other types of instruments.
Derivatives are volatile and involve significant risks, including:
| Credit risk — the risk that the counterparty (the party on the other side of the transaction) on a derivative transaction will be unable to honor its financial obligation to the Fund. | ||
| Currency risk — the risk that changes in the exchange rate between currencies will adversely affect the value (in U.S. dollar terms) of an investment. | ||
| Leverage risk — the risk associated with certain types of investments or trading strategies (such as borrowing money to increase the amount of investments) that relatively small market movements may result in large changes in the value of an investment. Certain investments or trading strategies that involve leverage can result in losses that greatly exceed the amount originally invested. | ||
| Liquidity risk — the risk that certain securities may be difficult or impossible to sell at the time that the seller would like or at the price that the seller believes the security is currently worth. |
The Fund may use derivatives for hedging purposes, including anticipatory hedges and to seek to increase its return. Hedging is a strategy in which the Fund uses a derivative to offset the risk that other Fund holdings may decrease in value. While hedging can reduce losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains if the market moves in a different manner than anticipated by the Fund or if the cost of the derivative outweighs the benefit of the hedge. Hedging also involves the risk that changes in the value of the derivative will not match those of the holdings being hedged as expected by the Fund, in which case any losses on the holdings being hedged may not be reduced. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s hedging strategy will reduce risk or that hedging transactions will be either available or cost effective. The Fund is not required to use hedging and may choose not to do so.
[DETAILS ABOUT THE FUND ICON] Details About the Fund
Swap Agreements — Swap agreements involve the risk that the party with whom the Fund has entered into the swap will default on its obligation to pay the Fund and the risk that the Fund will not be able to meet its obligations to pay the other party to the agreement.
Indexed and Inverse Floating Rate Securities — The Fund may invest in securities whose potential returns are directly related to changes in an underlying index or interest rate, known as indexed securities. The return on indexed securities will rise when the underlying index or interest rate rises and fall when the index or interest rate falls. The Fund may also invest in securities whose return is inversely related to changes in an interest rate (inverse floaters). In general, income on inverse floaters will decrease when interest rates increase and increase when interest rates decrease. Investments in inverse floaters may subject the Fund to the risks of reduced or eliminated interest payments and losses of principal. In addition, certain indexed securities and inverse floaters may increase or decrease in value at a greater rate than the underlying interest rate, which effectively leverages the Fund’s investment. Indexed securities and inverse floaters are derivative securities and can be considered speculative. Indexed and inverse securities involve credit risk and certain indexed and inverse securities may involve currency risk, leverage risk and liquidity risk.
Depositary Receipts — The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers in the form of Depositary Receipts or other securities that are convertible into securities of foreign issuers. American Depositary Receipts are receipts typically issued by an American bank or trust company that show evidence of underlying securities issued by a foreign corporation. European Depositary Receipts and Global Depositary Receipts each evidence a similar ownership arrangement. The Fund may also invest in unsponsored Depositary Receipts. The issuers of such unsponsored Depositary Receipts are not obligated to disclose material information in the United States and therefore, there may be less information available regarding such issuers.
Junk Bonds — Junk bonds are debt securities that are rated below investment grade by the major rating agencies or are unrated securities that Fund management believes are of comparable quality. Although junk bonds generally pay higher rates of interest than investment grade bonds, they are high risk investments that may cause income and principal losses for the Fund. Junk bonds generally are less liquid and experience more price volatility than higher rated debt securities. The issuers of junk bonds may have a larger
Asset Backed Securities — Like traditional fixed income securities, the value of asset backed securities typically increases when interest rates fall and decreases when interest rates rise. Certain asset backed securities may also be subject to the risk of prepayment. In a period of declining interest rates, borrowers may pay what they owe on the underlying assets more quickly than anticipated. Prepayment reduces the yield to maturity and the average life of the asset backed securities. In addition, when the Fund reinvests the proceeds of a prepayment it may receive a lower interest rate than the rate on the security that was prepaid. In a period of rising interest rates, prepayments may occur at a slower rate than expected. As a result, the average maturity of the Fund’s portfolio will increase. The value of long-term securities generally changes more widely in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities.
Mortgage Backed Securities — Mortgage backed securities represent the right to receive a portion of principal and/or interest payments made on a pool of residential or commercial mortgage loans. When interest rates fall, borrowers may refinance or otherwise repay principal on their mortgages earlier than scheduled. When this happens, certain types of mortgage backed securities will be paid off more quickly than originally anticipated and the Fund has to invest the proceeds in securities with lower yields. This risk is known as “prepayment risk.” When interest rates rise, certain types of mortgage backed securities will be paid off more slowly than originally anticipated and the value of these securities will fall. This risk is known as extension risk.
Because of prepayment risk and extension risk, mortgage backed securities react differently to changes in interest rates than other fixed income securities. Small movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of certain mortgage backed securities.
Standby Commitment Agreements — Standby commitment agreements involve the risk that the security will lose value prior to its delivery to the Fund. These agreements also involve the risk that if the security goes up in value, the counterparty will decide not to issue the security, in which case
[DETAILS ABOUT THE FUND ICON] Details About the Fund
When Issued Securities, Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments — When issued and delayed delivery securities and forward commitments involve the risk that the security the Fund buys will lose value prior to its delivery. There also is the risk that the security will not be issued or that the other party will not meet its obligation. If this occurs, the Fund both loses the investment opportunity for the assets it has set aside to pay for the security and any gain in the security’s price.
If you would like further information about the Fund, including how it invests, please see the Statement of Additional Information.
Your Account [YOUR ACCOUNT ICON]
The Fund offers four share classes, each with its own sales charge and expense structure, allowing you to invest in the way that best suits your needs. Each share class represents an ownership interest in the same investment portfolio. When you choose your class of shares you should consider the size of your investment and how long you plan to hold your shares. Your Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant can help you determine which share class is best suited to your personal financial goals.
For example, if you select Class A or D shares, you generally pay a sales charge at the time of purchase. If you buy Class D shares, you also pay an ongoing account maintenance fee of 0.25%. You may be eligible for a sales charge reduction or waiver.
If you select Class B or C shares, you will invest the full amount of your purchase price, but you will be subject to a distribution fee of 0.75% and an account maintenance fee of 0.25%. Because these fees are paid out of the Fund’s assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying an initial sales charge. In addition, you may be subject to a deferred sales charge when you sell Class B or C shares.
The Fund’s shares are distributed by Merrill Lynch Funds Distributor, a division of Princeton Funds Distributor, Inc., an affiliate of Merrill Lynch.
| Class A | Class B | Class C | Class D | |||||
| Availability |
Limited to certain investors including: • Current Class A shareholders • Certain Retirement Plans • Participants in certain Merrill Lynch sponsored programs • Certain affiliates of Merrill Lynch. |
Generally available through Merrill Lynch. Limited availability through other securities dealers. | Generally available through Merrill Lynch. Limited availability through other securities dealers. | Generally available through Merrill Lynch. Limited availability through other securities dealers. | ||||
| Initial Sales Charge? | Yes. Payable at time of purchase. Lower sales charges available for larger investments. | No. Entire purchase price is invested in shares of the Fund. | No. Entire purchase price is invested in shares of the Fund. | Yes. Payable at time of purchase. Lower sales charges available for larger investments. | ||||
| Deferred Sales Charge? | No. (May be charged for purchases over $1 million that are redeemed within one year.) | Yes. Payable if you redeem within four years of purchase. | Yes. Payable if you redeem within one year of purchase. | No. (May be charged for purchases over $1 million that are redeemed within one year.) | ||||
|
Account Maintenance and Distribution Fees? |
No. | 0.25% Account Maintenance Fee 0.75% Distribution Fee. | 0.25% Account Maintenance Fee 0.75% Distribution Fee. | 0.25% Account Maintenance Fee No Distribution Fee. | ||||
| Conversion to Class D shares? | No. | Yes, automatically after approximately eight years. | No. | No. | ||||
Letter of Intent — permits you to pay the sales charge that would be applicable if you add up all shares of Merrill Lynch Select PricingSM System funds that you agree to buy within a 13 month period. Certain restrictions apply.
Class A and Class D Shares — Initial Sales Charge Options
If you select Class A or Class D shares, you will pay a sales charge at the time of purchase.
| Dealer | ||||||||||||
| As a % of | As a % of | Compensation | ||||||||||
| Offering | Your | as a % of | ||||||||||
| Your Investment | Price | Investment* | Offering Price | |||||||||
| Less than $25,000 | 5.25% | 5.54% | 5.00% | |||||||||
|
$25,000 but less than $50,000 |
4.75% | 4.99% | 4.50% | |||||||||
|
$50,000 but less than $100,000 |
4.00% | 4.17% | 3.75% | |||||||||
| $100,000 but less than $250,000 | 3.00% | 3.09% | 2.75% | |||||||||
| $250,000 but less than $1,000,000 | 2.00% | 2.04% | 1.80% | |||||||||
| $1,000,000 and over** | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | |||||||||
| * | Rounded to the nearest one-hundredth percent. |
| ** | If you invest $1,000,000 or more in Class A or Class D shares, you may not pay an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your shares within one year after purchase, you may be charged a deferred sales charge. This charge is 1% of the lesser of the original cost of the shares being redeemed or your redemption proceeds. A sales charge of 0.75% will be charged on purchases of $1,000,000 or more of Class A or Class D shares by certain employer- sponsored retirement or savings plans. |
No initial sales charge applies to Class A or Class D shares that you buy through reinvestment of dividends.
A reduced or waived sales charge on a purchase of Class A or Class D shares may apply for:
| • |
Purchases under a Right of Accumulation or Letter of Intent |
||
| • | TMASM Managed Trusts | ||
| • | Certain Merrill Lynch investment or central asset accounts | ||
| • | Certain employer-sponsored retirement or savings plans | ||
| • | Purchases using proceeds from the sale of certain Merrill Lynch closed-end funds under certain circumstances |
| • | Certain investors, including directors or trustees of Merrill Lynch mutual funds and Merrill Lynch employees. | ||
| • | Certain Merrill Lynch fee-based programs. |
Only certain investors are eligible to buy Class A shares. Your Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant can help you determine whether you are eligible to buy Class A shares or to participate in any of these programs.
As a result of the implementation of the Merrill Lynch Select Pricing System, Class A shares of the Fund outstanding prior to October 21, 1994 were redesignated as Class D shares. The Class A shares offered here differ from the Class A shares offered prior to October 21, 1994, in many respects, including eligible investors, sales charges and exchange privileges.
If you decide to buy shares under the initial sales charge alternative and you are eligible to buy both Class A and Class D shares, you should buy Class A since Class D shares are subject to a 0.25% account maintenance fee, while Class A shares are not.
If you redeem Class A or Class D shares and within 30 days buy new shares of the same class, you will not pay a sales charge on the new purchase amount. The amount eligible for this “Reinstatement Privilege” may not exceed the amount of your redemption proceeds. To exercise the privilege, contact your Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant or the Fund’s Transfer Agent at 1-800-MER-FUND.
Class B and Class C Shares — Deferred Sales Charge Options
If you select Class B or Class C shares, you do not pay an initial sales charge at the time of purchase. However, if you redeem your Class B shares within four years after purchase or your Class C shares within one year after purchase, you may be required to pay a deferred sales charge. You will also pay distribution fees of 0.75% and account maintenance fees of 0.25% each year under distribution plans that the Fund has adopted under Rule 12b-1. Because these fees are paid out of the Fund’s assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying an initial sales charge. The Distributor uses the money that it receives from the deferred sales charges and the distribution fees to cover the costs of marketing, advertising and compensating the Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant or other securities dealer who assists you in purchasing Fund shares.
Class B Shares
If you redeem Class B shares within four years after purchase, you may be charged a deferred sales charge. The amount of the charge gradually decreases as you hold your shares over time, according to the following schedule:
| Years Since Purchase | Sales Charge* | |
| 0 – 1 | 4.00% | |
| 1 – 2 | 3.00% | |
| 2 – 3 | 2.00% | |
| 3 – 4 | 1.00% | |
| 4 and thereafter | 0.00% | |
| * | The percentage charge will apply to the lesser of the original cost of the shares being redeemed or the proceeds of your redemption. Shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends are not subject to a deferred sales charge. Not all Merrill Lynch funds have identical deferred sales charge schedules. If you exchange your shares for shares of another fund, the higher charge will apply. |
The deferred sales charge relating to Class B shares may be reduced or waived in certain circumstances, such as:
| • | Certain post-retirement withdrawals from an IRA or other retirement plan if you are over 59 1/2 years old | ||
| • | Redemption by certain eligible 401(a) and 401(k) plans, certain related accounts and certain retirement plan rollovers | ||
| • | Redemption in connection with participation in certain Merrill Lynch fee-based programs | ||
| • | Withdrawals resulting from shareholder death or disability as long as the waiver request is made within one year of death or disability or, if later, reasonably promptly following completion of probate, or in connection with involuntary termination of an account in which Fund shares are held | ||
| • | Withdrawal through the Merrill Lynch Systematic Withdrawal Plan of up to 10% per year of your Class B account value at the time the plan is established |
Your Class B shares convert automatically into Class D shares approximately eight years after purchase. Any Class B shares received through reinvestment
Different conversion schedules apply to Class B shares of different Merrill Lynch mutual funds. For example, Class B shares of a fixed income fund convert approximately ten years after purchase compared to approximately eight years for equity funds. If you acquire your Class B shares in an exchange from another fund with a shorter conversion schedule, the Fund’s eight year conversion schedule will apply. If you exchange your Class B shares in the Fund for Class B shares of a fund with a longer conversion schedule, the other fund’s conversion schedule will apply. The length of time that you hold both the original and exchanged Class B shares in both funds will count toward the conversion schedule. The conversion schedule may be modified in certain other cases as well.
Class C Shares
If you redeem Class C shares within one year after purchase, you may be charged a deferred sales charge of 1.00%. The charge will apply to the lesser of the original cost of the shares being redeemed or the proceeds of your redemption. You will not be charged a deferred sales charge when you redeem shares that you acquire through reinvestment of Fund dividends. The deferred sales charge relative to Class C shares may be reduced or waived in connection with involuntary termination of an account in which Fund shares are held and withdrawals through the Merrill Lynch Systematic Withdrawal Plan.
Class C shares do not offer a conversion privilege.
The chart below summarizes how to buy, sell, transfer and exchange shares through Merrill Lynch or other securities dealers. You may also buy shares through the Transfer Agent. To learn more about buying shares through the Transfer Agent, call 1-800-MER-FUND. Because the selection of a mutual fund involves many considerations, your Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant may help you with this decision.
| If You Want to | Your Choices | Information Important for You to Know | ||
| Buy Shares | First, select the share class appropriate for you | Refer to the Merrill Lynch Select Pricing table on page 24. Be sure to read this prospectus carefully. | ||
| Next, determine the amount of your investment |
The minimum initial investment for the Fund is $1,000 for all
accounts except: • $250 for certain Merrill Lynch fee-based programs. • $100 for retirement plans. (The minimums for initial investments may be waived under certain circumstances.) |
|||
| Have your Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant or securities dealer submit your purchase order |
The price of your shares is based on the next calculation of net
asset value after your order is placed. Any purchase orders
placed prior to the close of business on the New York Stock
Exchange (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time) will be priced at the
net asset value determined that day. Purchase orders placed after that time will be priced at the net asset value determined on the next business day. The Fund may reject any order to buy shares and may suspend the sale of shares at any time. Merrill Lynch may charge a processing fee to confirm a purchase. This fee is currently $5.35. |
|||
| Or contact the Transfer Agent | To purchase shares directly, Call the Transfer Agent at 1-800-MER-FUND and request a purchase application. Mail the completed purchase application to the Transfer Agent at the address on the inside back cover of this Prospectus. | |||
|
Add to Your Investment |
Purchase additional shares |
The minimum investment for additional purchases is $50 for all
accounts except that retirement plans have a minimum additional
purchase of $1 and certain programs, such as automatic investment
plans, may have higher minimums. (The minimum for additional purchases may be waived under certain circumstances.) |
||
| Acquire additional shares through the automatic dividend reinvestment plan | All dividends are automatically reinvested without a sales charge. | |||
| Participate in the automatic investment plan | You may invest a specific amount on a periodic basis through certain Merrill Lynch investment or central asset accounts. | |||
|
Transfer Shares to Another Securities Dealer |
Transfer to a participating securities dealer | You may transfer your Fund shares only to another securities dealer that has entered into an agreement with Merrill Lynch. Certain shareholder services may not be available for the transferred shares. You may only purchase additional shares of funds previously owned before the transfer. All future trading of these assets must be coordinated by the receiving firm. |
| If You Want to | Your Choices | Information Important for You to Know | ||
| Transfer Shares to Another Securities Dealer (continued) | Transfer to a non-participating securities dealer |
You must either: • Transfer your shares to an account with the Transfer Agent; or • Sell your shares, paying any applicable CDSC. |
||
| Sell Your Shares | Have your Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant or securities dealer submit your sales order |
The price of your shares is based on the next calculation of net
asset value after your order is placed. For your redemption
request to be priced at the net asset value on the day of your
request, you must submit your request to your dealer prior to
that day’s close of business on the New York Stock Exchange
(generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time). Any redemption request placed
after that time will be priced at the net asset value at the
close of business on the next business day. Dealers must submit
redemption requests to the Fund not more than thirty minutes
after the close of business on the New York Stock Exchange on the
day the request was received. Securities dealers, including Merrill Lynch, may charge a fee to process a redemption of shares. Merrill Lynch currently charges a fee of $5.35. No processing fee is charged if you redeem shares directly through the Transfer Agent. The Fund may reject an order to sell shares under certain circumstances. |
||
| Sell through the Transfer Agent |
You may sell shares held at the Transfer Agent by writing to the
Transfer Agent at the address on the inside back cover of this
prospectus. All shareholders on the account must sign the letter.
A signature guarantee will generally be required but may be
waived in certain limited circumstances. You can obtain a
signature guarantee from a bank, securities dealer, securities
broker, credit union, savings and loan association, national
securities exchange and registered securities association. A
notary public seal will not be acceptable. If you hold stock
certificates, return the certificates with the letter. The
Transfer Agent will normally mail redemption proceeds within
seven days following receipt of a properly completed request. If
you make a redemption request before the Fund has collected
payment for the purchase of shares, the Fund or the Transfer
Agent may delay mailing your proceeds. This delay will usually
not exceed ten days. If you hold share certificates, they must be delivered to the Transfer Agent before they can be converted. Check with the Transfer Agent or your Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant for details. |
| If You Want to | Your Choices | Information Important for You to Know | ||
| Sell Shares Systematically | Participate in the Fund’s Systematic Withdrawal Plan | You can choose to receive systematic payments from your Fund account either by check or through direct deposit to your bank account on a monthly or quarterly basis. If you hold your Fund shares in a Merrill Lynch CMA®, CBA® or Retirement Account you can arrange for systematic redemptions of a fixed dollar amount on a monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis, subject to certain conditions. Under either method you must have dividends automatically reinvested. For Class B and C shares your total annual withdrawals cannot be more than 10% per year of the value of your shares at the time your plan is established. The deferred sales charge is waived for systematic redemptions. Ask your Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant for details. | ||
| Exchange Your Shares | Select the fund into which you want to exchange. Be sure to read that fund’s prospectus |
You can exchange your shares of the Fund for shares of many other
Merrill Lynch mutual funds. You must have held the shares used
in the exchange for at least 15 calendar days before you can
exchange to another fund. Each class of Fund shares is generally exchangeable for shares of the same class of another fund. If you own Class A shares and wish to exchange into a fund in which you have no Class A shares, you will exchange into Class D shares. Some of the Merrill Lynch mutual funds impose a different initial or deferred sales charge schedule. If you exchange Class A or D shares for shares of a fund with a higher initial sales charge than you originally paid, you will be charged the difference at the time of exchange. If you exchange Class B shares for shares of a fund with a different deferred sales charge schedule, the higher schedule will apply. The time you hold Class B or C shares in both funds will count when determining your holding period for calculating a deferred sales charge at redemption. If you exchange Class A or D shares for money market fund shares, you will receive Class A shares of Summit Cash Reserves Fund. Class B or C shares of the Fund will be exchanged for Class B shares of Summit. Although there is currently no limit on the number of exchanges that you can make, the exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time in the future. |
When you buy shares, you pay the net asset value, plus any applicable sales charge. This is the offering price. Shares are also redeemed at their net asset value, minus any applicable deferred sales charge. The Fund calculates its net asset value (generally by using market quotations) each day the New York Stock Exchange is open, after the close of business on the Exchange (the Exchange generally closes at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time). The net asset value used in determining your price is the next one calculated after your purchase or redemption order is placed. Foreign securities owned by the Fund may trade on weekends or other days when the Fund does not price its shares. As a result, the Fund’s net asset value may change on days when you will not be able to purchase or redeem the Fund’s shares.
Generally, Class A shares will have the highest net asset value because that class has the lowest expenses, and Class D shares will have a higher net asset value than Class B or Class C shares. Also dividends paid on Class A and Class D shares will generally be higher than dividends paid on Class B and Class C shares because Class A and Class D shares have lower expenses.
If you participate in certain fee-based programs offered by Merrill Lynch, you may be able to buy Class A shares at net asset value, including by exchanges from other share classes. Sales charges on the shares being exchanged may be reduced or waived under certain circumstances.
You generally cannot transfer shares held through a fee-based program into another account. Instead, you will have to redeem your shares held through the program and purchase shares of another class, which may be subject to distribution and account maintenance fees. This may be a taxable event and you will pay any applicable sales charges.
If you leave one of these programs, your shares may be redeemed or automatically exchanged into another class of Fund shares or into a money market fund. The class you receive may be the class you originally owned when you entered the program, or in certain cases, a different class. If the exchange is into Class B shares, the period before conversion to Class D shares may be modified. Any redemption or exchange will be at net asset value. However, if you participate in the program for less than a specified
“BUYING A DIVIDEND”
Unless your investment is in a tax deferred account, you may want to avoid buying shares shortly before the Fund pays a dividend. The reason? If you buy shares when a fund has realized but not yet distributed ordinary income or capital gains, you will pay the full price for the shares and then receive a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable dividend. Before investing you may want to consult your tax adviser.
Details about these features and the relevant charges are included in the client agreement for each fee-based program and are available from your Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant.
The Fund will distribute at least annually any net investment income and any net realized long-term capital gains. The Fund may also pay a special distribution at the end of the calendar year to comply with Federal tax requirements. If your account is with Merrill Lynch and you would like to receive dividends in cash, contact your Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant. If your account is with the Transfer Agent and you would like to receive dividends in cash, contact the Transfer Agent. Although this cannot be predicted with any certainty, the Fund anticipates that the majority of its dividends, if any, will consist of capital gains.
You will pay tax on dividends from the Fund whether you receive them in cash or additional shares. If you redeem Fund shares or exchange them for shares of another fund, any gain on the transaction may be subject to tax. Capital gain dividends are generally taxed at different rates than ordinary income dividends.
If you are neither a lawful permanent resident nor a citizen of the U.S. or if you are a foreign entity, the Fund’s ordinary income dividends (which include distributions of net short-term capital gains) will generally be subject to a 30% U.S. withholding tax, unless a lower treaty rate applies.
Dividends and interest received by the Fund may give rise to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. You may be able to claim a credit or take a deduction for foreign taxes paid by the Fund if certain requirements are met.
By law, the Fund must withhold 31% of your dividends and proceeds if you have not provided a taxpayer identification number or social security number or if the number you have provided is incorrect.
This section summarizes some of the consequences under current Federal tax law of an investment in the Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. Consult your personal tax adviser about the potential tax consequences of an investment in the Fund under all applicable tax laws.
Merrill Lynch Asset Management, the Fund’s Manager, manages the Fund’s investments and its business operations under the overall supervision of the Fund’s Board of Directors. The Manager has the responsibility for making all investment decisions for the Fund. The Manager has a sub-advisory agreement with Merrill Lynch Asset Management U.K. Limited, an affiliate, under which the Manager may pay a fee for services it receives. The Fund pays the Manager a fee at the annual rate of 0.85% of the average daily net assets of the Fund.
Merrill Lynch Asset Management was organized as an investment adviser in 1977 and offers investment advisory services to more than 40 registered investment companies. Merrill Lynch Asset Management is part of the Merrill Lynch Asset Management Group which had approximately $514 billion in investment company and other portfolio assets under management as of September 1999. This amount includes assets managed for Merrill Lynch affiliates.
A Note About Year 2000
Many computer systems were designed using only two digits to designate years. These systems may not be able to distinguish the Year 2000 from the Year 1900 (commonly known as the “Year 2000 Problem”). The Fund could be adversely affected if the computer systems used by the Fund’s management or other Fund service providers do not properly address this problem before January 1, 2000. Fund management expects to have addressed this problem before then, and does not anticipate that the services it provides will be adversely affected. The Fund’s other service providers have told Fund management that they also expect to resolve the Year 2000 Problem, and Fund management will continue to monitor the situation as the Year 2000 approaches. However, if the problem has not been fully addressed, the Fund could be negatively affected. The Year 2000 Problem could also have a negative impact on the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests. This negative impact may be greater for companies in foreign markets, particularly emerging markets, since they may be less prepared for the Year 2000 Problem than domestic companies and markets. If the companies in which the Fund invests have Year 2000 Problems, the Fund’s returns could be adversely affected.
The Financial Highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund’s financial performance for the periods shown. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns in the table represent the rate an investor would have earned on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends). This information has been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, whose report, along with the Fund’s financial statements, is included in the Fund’s annual report to shareholders, which is available upon request.
| Class A | |||||||||||||||||||||
| For the | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Period | |||||||||||||||||||||
| For the Year | October 21, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Ended June 30, | 1994† | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Increase (Decrease) in | to June 30, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net Asset Value: | 1999†† | 1998†† | 1997†† | 1996 | 1995 | ||||||||||||||||
| Per Share Operating Performance: | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ | 9.45 | $ | 10.69 | $ | 10.86 | $ | 8.92 | $ | 9.82 | |||||||||||
| Investment income (loss) — net | (.06 | ) | (.01 | ) | (.01 | ) | .13 | .04 | |||||||||||||
| Realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments and foreign currency transactions — net | 1.26 | (.81 | ) | .72 | 1.97 | (.93 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Total from investment operations | 1.20 | (.82 | ) | .73 | 2.10 | (.89 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Less dividends and distributions: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Investment income — net | (.19 | ) | — | (.09 | ) | (.10 | ) | — | |||||||||||||
| In excess of investment income— net | — | — | (.22 | ) | — | — | |||||||||||||||
|
Realized gain on investments — net |
— | — | (.59 | ) | (.06 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||
| In excess of realized gain on investments— net | — | (.42 | ) | — | — | (.01 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Total dividends and distributions | (.19 | ) | (.42 | ) | (.90 | ) | (.16 | ) | (.01 | ) | |||||||||||
| Net asset value, end of period | $ | 10.46 | $ | 9.45 | $ | 10.69 | $ | 10.86 | $ | 8.92 | |||||||||||
| Total Investment Return:** | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Based on net asset value per share | 13.24 | % | (7.15 | )% | 7.53 | % | 23.87 | % | (9.11 | )%# | |||||||||||
| Ratios to Average Net Assets: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Expenses | 2.10 | % | 1.63 | % | 1.53 | % | 1.55 | % | 1.62 | %* | |||||||||||
| Investment income (loss) — net | (.68 | )% | (.15 | )% | .13 | % | .46 | % | 1.06 | %* | |||||||||||
| Supplemental Data: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Net assets, end of period (in thousands) | $ | 4,239 | $ | 4,376 | $ | 5,508 | $ | 3,083 | $ | 5,992 | |||||||||||
| Portfolio turnover | 228.19 | % | 52.73 | % | 63.17 | % | 60.33 | % | 47.96 | % | |||||||||||
[Additional columns below]
[Continued from above table, first column(s) repeated]
| Class B | |||||||||||||||||||||
| For the | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Period | |||||||||||||||||||||
| For the Year | August 5, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Ended June 30, | 1994† | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Increase (Decrease) in | to June 30, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net Asset Value: | 1999†† | 1998†† | 1997†† | 1996 | 1995 | ||||||||||||||||
| Per Share Operating Per | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ | 9.28 | $ | 10.54 | $ | 10.71 | $ | 8.84 | $ | 10.00 | |||||||||||
| Investment income (loss) — net | (.15 | ) | (.12 | ) | (.10 | ) | (.06 | ) | .01 | ||||||||||||
| Realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments and foreign currency transactions — net | 1.26 | (.78 | ) | .72 | 2.04 | (1.16 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Total from investment operations | 1.11 | (.90 | ) | .62 | 1.98 | (1.15 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Less dividends and distributions: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Investment income — net | —††† | — | (.06 | ) | (.05 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||
| In excess of investment income— net | — | — | (.14 | ) | — | — | |||||||||||||||
|
Realized gain on investments — net |
— | — | (.59 | ) | (.06 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||
| In excess of realized gain on investments— net | — | (.36 | ) | — | — | (.01 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Total dividends and distributions | — | (.36 | ) | (.79 | ) | (.11 | ) | (.01 | ) | ||||||||||||
| Net asset value, end of period | $ | 10.39 | $ | 9.28 | $ | 10.54 | $ | 10.71 | $ | 8.84 | |||||||||||
| Total Investment Return:** | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Based on net asset value per share | 12.01 | % | (8.15 | )% | 6.47 | % | 22.57 | % | (11.55 | )%# | |||||||||||
| Ratios to Average Net Assets: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Expenses | 3.16 | % | 2.67 | % | 2.58 | % | 2.61 | % | 2.56 | %* | |||||||||||
| Investment income (loss) — net | (1.74 | )% | (1.25 | )% | (1.00 | )% | (.66 | )% | .10 | %* | |||||||||||
| Supplemental Data: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Net assets, end of period (in thousands) | $ | 34,320 | $ | 57,424 | $ | 111,261 | $ | 131,656 | $ | 132,296 | |||||||||||
| Portfolio turnover | 228.19 | % | 52.73 | % | 63.17 | % | 60.33 | % | 47.96 | % | |||||||||||
| * | Annualized. |
| ** | Total investment returns exclude the effects of sales loads. |
| † | Commencement of Operations. |
| †† | Based on average shares outstanding. |
| ††† | Amount is less than $.01 per share. |
| # | Aggregate total investment return. |
| Class C | |||||||||||||||||||||
| For the | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Period | |||||||||||||||||||||
| October 21, | |||||||||||||||||||||
| For the Year Ended | 1994† | ||||||||||||||||||||
| June 30, | to | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Increase (Decrease) in | June 30, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net Asset Value: | 1999†† | 1998†† | 1997†† | 1996 | 1995 | ||||||||||||||||
| Per Share Operating Performance: | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ | 9.25 | $ | 10.52 | $ | 10.71 | $ | 8.84 | $ | 9.80 | |||||||||||
| Investment income (loss) — net | (.15 | ) | (.12 | ) | (.10 | ) | (.05 | ) | .01 | ||||||||||||
| Realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments and foreign currency transactions — net | 1.25 | (.79 | ) | .71 | 2.03 | (.96 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Total from investment operations | 1.10 | (.91 | ) | .61 | 1.98 | (.95 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Less dividends and distributions: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Investment income — net | (.05 | ) | — | (.06 | ) | (.05 | ) | — | |||||||||||||
| In excess of investment income — net | — | — | (.15 | ) | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| Realized gain on investments — net | — | — | (.59 | ) | (.06 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||
| In excess of realized gain on investments — net | — | (.36 | ) | — | — | (.01 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Total dividends and distributions | (.05 | ) | (.36 | ) | (.80 | ) | (.11 | ) | (.01 | ) | |||||||||||
| Net asset value, end of period | $ | 10.30 | $ | 9.25 | $ | 10.52 | $ | 10.71 | $ | 8.84 | |||||||||||
| Total Investment Return:** | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Based on net asset value per share | 12.08 | % | (8.19 | )% | 6.38 | % | 22.56 | % | (9.75 | )%# | |||||||||||
| Ratios to Average Net Assets: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Expenses | 3.17 | % | 2.69 | % | 2.60 | % | 2.63 | % | 2.66 | %* | |||||||||||
| Investment income (loss) — net | (1.76 | )% | (1.23 | )% | (1.00 | )% | (.64 | )% | .20 | %* | |||||||||||
| Supplemental Data: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Net assets, end of period (in thousands) | $ | 2,623 | $ | 4,312 | $ | 5,962 | $ | 5,753 | $ | 4,924 | |||||||||||
| Portfolio turnover | 228.19 | % | 52.73 | % | 63.17 | % | 60.33 | % | 47.96 | % | |||||||||||
[Additional columns below]
[Continued from above table, first column(s) repeated]
| Class D | |||||||||||||||||||||
| For the | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Period | |||||||||||||||||||||
| August 5, | |||||||||||||||||||||
| For the Year Ended | 1994† | ||||||||||||||||||||
| June 30, | to | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Increase (Decrease) in | June 30, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net Asset Value: | 1999†† | 1998†† | 1997†† | 1996 | 1995 | ||||||||||||||||
| Per Share Operating Per | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ | 9.41 | $ | 10.66 | $ | 10.83 | $ | 8.91 | $ | 10.00 | |||||||||||
| Investment income (loss) — net | (.08 | ) | (.05 | ) | (.02 | ) | .02 | .08 | |||||||||||||
| Realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments and foreign currency transactions — net | 1.25 | (.79 | ) | .72 | 2.05 | (1.16 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Total from investment operations | 1.17 | (.84 | ) | .70 | 2.07 | (1.08 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Less dividends and distributions: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Investment income — net | (.14 | ) | — | (.08 | ) | (.09 | ) | — | |||||||||||||
| In excess of investment income — net | — | — | (.20 | ) | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| Realized gain on investments — net | — | — | (.59 | ) | (.06 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||
| In excess of realized gain on investments — net | — | (.41 | ) | — | — | (.01 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Total dividends and distributions | (.14 | ) | (.41 | ) | (.87 | ) | (.15 | ) | (.01 | ) | |||||||||||
| Net asset value, end of period | $ | 10.44 | $ | 9.41 | $ | 10.66 | $ | 10.83 | $ | 8.91 | |||||||||||
| Total Investment Return:** | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Based on net asset value per share | 12.91 | % | (7.43 | )% | 7.27 | % | 23.50 | (10.85 | )%# | ||||||||||||
| Ratios to Average Net Assets: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Expenses | 2.36 | % | 1.88 | % | 1.80 | % | 1.83 | % | 1.77 | %* | |||||||||||
| Investment income (loss) — net | (.92 | )% | (.46 | )% | (.21 | )% | .10 | % | .90 | %* | |||||||||||
| Supplemental Data: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Net assets, end of period (in thousands) | $ | 7,202 | $ | 11,026 | $ | 19,441 | $ | 22,593 | $ | 23,928 | |||||||||||
| Portfolio turnover | 228.19 | % | 52.73 | % | 63.17 | % | 60.33 | % | 47.96 | % | |||||||||||
| * | Annualized. |
| ** | Total investment returns exclude the effects of sales loads. |
| † | Commencement of operations. |
| †† | Based on average shares outstanding. |
| # | Aggregate total investment return. |
POTENTIAL
|
1 MERRILL LYNCH FINANCIAL CONSULTANT OR SECURITIES DEALER Advises shareholders on their Fund investments. |
2 TRANSFER AGENT FINANCIAL DATA SERVICES, INC. P.O. Box 45289 Jacksonville, Florida 32232-5289 Performs recordkeeping and reporting services. |
DISTRIBUTOR
|
COUNSEL Brown & Wood LLP One World Trade Center New York, New York 10048-0557 Provides legal advice to the Fund. |
THE FUND The Board of Directors oversees the Fund. |
CUSTODIAN Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. 40 Water Street Boston, Massachusetts 02109 Holds the Fund’s assets for safekeeping. |
|
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS Deloitte & Touche, LLP 117 Campus Drive Princeton, New Jersey 08540-6400 Audits the financial statements of the Fund on behalf of the shareholders. |
MANAGER Merrill Lynch Asset Management, L.P. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES 800 Scudders Mill Road Plainsboro, New Jersey 08536 MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 9011 Princeton, New Jersey 08543-9011 TELEPHONE NUMBER 1-800-MER-FUND Manages the Fund’s day-to-day activities. |
Additional information about the Fund’s investments is available in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Fund’s annual report you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year. You may obtain these reports at no cost by calling 1-800-MER-FUND.
The Fund will send you one copy of each shareholder report and certain other mailings, regardless of the number of Fund accounts you have. To receive separate shareholder reports for each account, call your Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant or write to the Transfer Agent at its mailing address. Include your name, address, tax identification number and Merrill Lynch brokerage or mutual fund account number. If you have any questions, please call your Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant or the Transfer Agent at 1-800-MER-FUND.
Statement of Additional Information
The Fund’s Statement of Additional Information contains further information about the Fund and is incorporated by reference (legally considered to be part of this prospectus). You may request a free copy by writing the Fund at Financial Data Services, Inc., P.O. Box 45289, Jacksonville, Florida 32232-5289 or by calling 1-800-MER-FUND.
Contact your Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant or the Fund, at the telephone number or address indicated above, if you have any questions.
Information about the Fund (including the Statement of Additional Information) can be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-800-SEC-0330 for information on the operation of the public reference room.
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. No one is authorized to provide you with information that is different.
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Merrill Lynch Global SmallCap Fund, Inc.
P.O. Box 9011, Princeton, New Jersey 08543-9011 • Phone No. (609) 282-2800
Merrill Lynch Global SmallCap Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) is a diversified, open-end management investment company that seeks long term growth of capital by investing primarily in a portfolio of equity securities of issuers with relatively small market capitalizations (“SmallCap Issuers”) located in various foreign countries and the United States. Under normal market conditions, the Fund expects to invest at least 66% of its total assets in equity securities of SmallCap Issuers. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objective will be achieved. For more information on the Fund’s investment objective and policies, see “Investment Objective and Policies.”
Pursuant to the Merrill Lynch Select PricingSM System, the Fund offers four classes of shares, each with a different combination of sales charges, ongoing fees and other features. The Merrill Lynch Select Pricing SM System permits an investor to choose the method of purchasing shares that the investor believes is most beneficial given the amount of the purchase, the length of time the investor expects to hold the shares and other relevant circumstances. See “Purchase of Shares.”
This Statement of Additional Information of the Fund is not a prospectus and should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus of the Fund, dated October 29, 1999 (the “Prospectus”), which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) and can be obtained, without charge, by calling (800) MER-FUND or by writing the Fund at the above address. The Prospectus is incorporated by reference into this Statement of Additional Information, and this Statement of Additional Information is incorporated by reference into the Prospectus. The Fund’s audited financial statements are incorporated in this Statement of Additional Information by reference to its 1999 annual report to shareholders. You may request a copy of the annual report or the Prospectus at no charge by calling (800) 456-4587 ext. 789 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on any business day.
Merrill Lynch Asset Management — Manager
The date of this Statement of Additional Information is October 29, 1999.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| Page | |||||
| Investment Objective and Policies | 2 | ||||
| Description of Certain Investments | 3 | ||||
| European Economic and Monetary Union | 6 | ||||
| Derivatives | 7 | ||||
|
Additional Risk Factors of OTC Transactions; Limitations on the Use of OTC Derivatives |
12 | ||||
| Junk Bonds | 12 | ||||
| Other Investment Policies and Practices | 14 | ||||
| Investment Restrictions | 16 | ||||
| Portfolio Turnover | 18 | ||||
| Management of the Fund | 18 | ||||
| Directors and Officers | 18 | ||||
| Compensation of Directors | 19 | ||||
| Management and Advisory Arrangements | 20 | ||||
| Code of Ethics | 22 | ||||
| Purchase of Shares | 22 | ||||
| Initial Sales Charge Alternatives — Class A and Class D Shares | 23 | ||||
| Deferred Sales Charge Alternatives — Class B and Class C Shares | 27 | ||||
| Distribution Plans | 30 | ||||
| Limitations on the Payment of Deferred Sales Charges | 32 | ||||
| Redemption of Shares | 33 | ||||
| Redemption | 33 | ||||
| Repurchase | 34 | ||||
| Reinstatement Privilege — Class A and Class D Shares | 34 | ||||
| Pricing of Shares | 34 | ||||
| Determination of Net Asset Value | 34 | ||||
| Computation of Offering Price Per Share | 36 | ||||
| Portfolio Transactions and Brokerage | 36 | ||||
| Shareholder Services | 38 | ||||
| Investment Account | 38 | ||||
| Exchange Privilege | 39 | ||||
| Fee-Based Programs | 41 | ||||
| Retirement and Education Savings Plans | 41 | ||||
| Automatic Investment Plans | 42 | ||||
| Automatic Dividend Reinvestment Plan | 42 | ||||
| Systematic Withdrawal Plan | 42 | ||||
| Dividends and Taxes | 43 | ||||
| Dividends | 43 | ||||
| Taxes | 44 | ||||
|
Tax Treatment of Options, Futures and Forward Foreign Exchange Transactions |
46 | ||||
| Special Rules for Certain Foreign Currency Transactions | 46 | ||||
| Performance Data | 47 | ||||
| General Information | 50 | ||||
| Description of Shares | 50 | ||||
| Independent Auditors | 50 | ||||
| Custodian | 50 | ||||
| Transfer Agent | 51 | ||||
| Legal Counsel | 51 | ||||
| Reports to Shareholders | 51 | ||||
| Shareholder Inquiries | 51 | ||||
| Additional Information | 51 | ||||
| Financial Statements | 51 | ||||
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND POLICIES
The investment objective of the Fund is to seek to provide long term growth of capital by investing primarily in equity securities of SmallCap Issuers located in various foreign countries and in the United States. Under normal conditions, at least 66% of the Fund’s total assets will be invested in equity securities of SmallCap Issuers. SmallCap Issuers can include issuers typically having market capitalizations, at the time of initial purchase by the Fund, in the same range as companies in the MSCI World Smallcap Index, a widely known smallcap investment benchmark. Thus on a global basis, the Fund may invest in issuers that might in some countries rank among the largest companies in terms of capitalization. While the Fund expects to invest primarily in equity securities of SmallCap Issuers, the Fund may invest up to 34% of its total assets, under normal market conditions, in equity securities of largecap issuers and in debt securities. For purposes of the above, market capitalizations are determined at the time of purchase. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objective will be achieved. The investment objective of the Fund is a fundamental policy and may not be changed without the approval of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities. The Fund may employ a variety of investments and techniques to hedge against market and currency risk.
The Fund’s investment emphasis is on equities, primarily common stock and, to a lesser extent, securities convertible into common stock, preferred stock, rights to subscribe for common stock and other securities the return on which is determined by the performance of a common stock or a basket or index of common stocks (collectively “equity securities”). The Manager believes that the equity securities of specific SmallCap Issuers may present different opportunities for long term capital appreciation during varying portions of economic or securities markets cycles, as well as during varying stages of their business development. The market valuation of SmallCap Issuers tends to fluctuate during economic or market cycles, presenting attractive investment opportunities at various points during these cycles. However, investments in SmallCap Issuers may involve greater risks. The Fund may invest in securities of SmallCap Issuers in the relatively early stages of business development which have a new technology, a unique or proprietary product or service, or a favorable market position; in securities of relatively more developed companies that the Manager believes will experience above-average earnings growth or will receive greater market recognition; and, in securities of mature companies that the Manager believes to be relatively undervalued in the marketplace. The Fund’s investment policy is further based on the belief that investment opportunities change rapidly, not only from company to company and from industry to industry, but also from one national economy to another. Accordingly, the Fund will invest in a global portfolio of equity securities of SmallCap Issuers located throughout the world. However, investments in foreign markets may involve greater risks.
For temporary defensive purposes, the Fund may restrict the markets in which its assets will be invested and may increase the proportion of assets invested in equity securities of LargeCap Issuers and in debt securities. Investments made for defensive purposes will be maintained only during periods in which the Manager determines that economic or financial conditions are adverse for holding or being invested to a greater degree in equity securities of SmallCap Issuers. The Fund, however, will make such temporary defensive investments only to the extent management of the Fund believes temporary defensive investments present less risk than the types of investments in which the Fund normally invests.
Under normal conditions, at least 66% of the Fund’s total assets will be invested in the securities of issuers from at least three different countries. While there are no prescribed limits on the geographic allocation of the Fund’s investments, management of the Fund anticipates that a substantial portion of its assets will be invested in the developed countries of Europe and the Far East. However, for the reasons stated below, management of the Fund will give special attention to investment opportunities in the developing countries of the world, including, but not limited to, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Far East. It is presently anticipated that a significant portion of the Fund’s assets may be invested in such developing countries.
The allocation of the Fund’s assets among the various foreign securities markets will be determined by the Manager based primarily on an assessment of the relative condition and growth potential of the various economies and securities markets, currency and taxation considerations and other pertinent financial, social,
2
A significant portion of the Fund’s assets may be invested in developing countries. This allocation of the Fund’s assets reflects the belief that attractive investment opportunities may result from an evolving long-term international trend favoring more market-oriented economies, a trend that may especially benefit certain developing countries with smaller capital markets. This trend may be facilitated by local or international political, economic or financial developments that could benefit the capital markets of such countries. Certain of such countries, particularly so-called “emerging” countries that are developing more market-oriented economies, may experience relatively high rates of economic growth.
In accordance with the foregoing, the Fund may purchase securities issued by United States or foreign corporations or financial institutions. The Fund also may purchase securities issued or guaranteed by United States or foreign governments (including foreign states, provinces and municipalities) or their agencies and instrumentalities (“governmental entities”) or issued or guaranteed by international organizations designated or supported by multiple governmental entities to promote economic reconstruction or development and international banking institutions and related government agencies (“supranational entities”).
As a result of its global investment focus, the Fund may invest in securities denominated in any currency or multinational currency unit. An illustration of a multinational currency unit is the European Currency Unit (“ECU”) which is a “basket” consisting of specified amounts of the currencies of certain of the twelve member states of the European Community, a Western European economic cooperative association including France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The specific amounts of currencies comprising the ECU may be adjusted by the Council of Ministers of the European Community to reflect changes in relative values of the underlying currencies. The Manager does not believe that such adjustments will adversely affect holders of ECU-denominated obligations or the marketability of such securities. European supranational entities (described further below), in particular, issue ECU-denominated obligations. The Fund may invest in securities denominated in the currency of one nation although issued by a governmental entity, corporation or financial institution of another nation. For example, the Fund may invest in a British pound sterling-denominated security issued by a United States corporation. Such investments involve risks associated with the issuer and currency risks associated with the currency in which the obligation is denominated.
While the Fund intends to invest primarily in equity securities of domestic and foreign SmallCap Issuers, the Fund also may invest up to 34% of its total assets in debt securities, including high yield/high risk securities, foreign sovereign debt obligations, U.S. government obligations and short-term securities including money market securities or commercial paper. The Fund has established no rating criteria for the debt securities in which it may invest, and such securities may not be rated at all for creditworthiness.
Description of Certain Investments
Securities of Smaller or Emerging Growth Companies. An investment in the Fund involves greater risk than is customarily associated with funds that invest in more established companies. The securities of smaller or emerging growth companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than larger, more established companies or the market average in general. These companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources, or they may be dependent on a limited management group. Because of these factors, the Fund believes that its shares may be suitable for investment by persons who can invest without concern for current income and who are in a financial position to assume above-average investment risk in search of above-average long-term reward. It is not intended as a complete investment program but is designed for those long-term investors who are prepared to experience above-average fluctuations in net asset value.
While the issuers in which the Fund will primarily invest may offer greater opportunities for capital appreciation than large cap issuers, investments in smaller or emerging growth companies may involve greater
3
The securities in which the Fund invests will often be traded only in the over-the-counter market or on a regional securities exchange and may not be traded every day or in the volume typical of trading on a national securities exchange. As a result, the disposition by the Fund of portfolio securities to meet redemptions or otherwise may require the Fund to sell these securities at a discount from market prices or during periods when in management’s judgment such disposition is not desirable or to make many small sales over a lengthy period of time.
While the process of selection and continuous supervision by management does not, of course, guarantee successful investment results, it does provide access to an asset class not available to the average individual due to the time and cost involved. Careful initial selection is particularly important in this area as many new enterprises have promise but lack certain of the fundamental factors necessary to prosper. Investing in small and emerging growth companies requires specialized research and analysis. In addition, many investors cannot invest sufficient assets in such companies to provide wide diversification.
Small companies are generally little known to most individual investors although some may be dominant in their respective industries. Management of the Fund believes that relatively small companies will continue to have the opportunity to develop into significant business enterprises. The Fund may invest in securities of small issuers in the relatively early stages of business development which have a new technology, a unique or proprietary product or service, or a favorable market position. Such companies may not be counted upon to develop into major industrial companies, but management believes that eventual recognition of their special value characteristics by the investment community can provide above-average long-term growth to the portfolio.
Equity securities of specific small cap issuers may present different opportunities for long-term capital appreciation during varying portions of economic or securities markets cycles, as well as during varying stages of their business development. The market valuation of small cap issuers tends to fluctuate during economic or market cycles, presenting attractive investment opportunities at various points during these cycles.
Smaller companies, due to the size and kinds of markets that they serve, may be less susceptible than large companies to intervention from the Federal government by means of price controls, regulations or litigation.
Depositary Receipts. The Fund may invest in the securities of foreign issuers in the form of Depositary Receipts or other securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers. Depositary Receipts may not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as the underlying securities into which they may be converted. American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) are receipts typically issued by an American bank or trust company that evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign corporation. European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”) are receipts issued in Europe that evidence a similar ownership arrangement. Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) are receipts issued throughout the world that evidence a similar arrangement. Generally, ADRs, in registered form, are designed for use in the U.S. securities markets, and EDRs, in bearer form, are designed for use in European securities markets. GDRs are tradeable both in the U.S. and in Europe and are designed for use throughout the world. The Fund may invest in unsponsored Depositary Receipts. The issuers of unsponsored Depositary Receipts are not obligated to disclose material information in the United States, and therefore, there may be less information available regarding such issuers and there may not be a correlation between such information and the market value of the Depositary Receipts.
Convertible Securities. Convertible securities entitle the holder to receive interest payments on corporate debt securities or the dividend preference on a preferred stock until such time as the convertible security matures or is redeemed or until the holder elects to exercise the conversion privilege.
4
The characteristics of convertible securities include the potential for capital appreciation as the value of the underlying common stock increases, the relatively high yield received from dividend or interest payments as compared to common stock dividends and decreased risks of decline in value relative to the underlying common stock due to their fixed-income nature. As a result of the conversion feature, however, the interest rate or dividend preference on a convertible security is generally less than would be the case if the securities were issued in nonconvertible form.
In analyzing convertible securities, the Manager will consider both the yield on the convertible security and the potential capital appreciation that is offered by the underlying common stock.
Convertible securities are issued and traded in a number of securities markets. For the past several years, the principal markets have been the United States, the Euromarket and Japan. Issuers during this period have included major corporations domiciled in the United States, Japan, France, Switzerland, Canada and the United Kingdom. Even in cases where a substantial portion of the convertible securities held by the Fund are denominated in United States dollars, the underlying equity securities may be quoted in the currency of the country where the issuer is domiciled. With respect to convertible securities denominated in a currency different from that of the underlying equity securities, the conversion price may be based on a fixed exchange rate established at the time the security is issued. As a result, fluctuations in the exchange rate between the currency in which the debt security is denominated and the currency in which the share price is quoted will affect the value of the convertible security. As described herein, the Fund is authorized to enter into foreign currency hedging transactions in which it may seek to reduce the effect of such fluctuations.
Apart from currency considerations, the value of convertible securities is influenced by both the yield of nonconvertible securities of comparable issuers and by the value of the underlying common stock. The value of a convertible security viewed without regard to its conversion feature (i.e., strictly on the basis of its yield) is sometimes referred to as its “investment value.” To the extent interest rates change, the investment value of the convertible security typically will fluctuate. However, at the same time, the value of the convertible security will be influenced by its “conversion value,” which is the market value of the underlying common stock that would be obtained if the convertible security were converted. Conversion value fluctuates directly with the price of the underlying common stock. If, because of a low price for the underlying common stock the conversion value is substantially below the investment value of the convertible security, the price of the convertible security is governed principally by its investment value.
To the extent the conversion value of a convertible security increases to a point that approximates or exceeds its investment value, the price of the convertible security will be influenced principally by its conversion value. A convertible security will sell at a premium over the conversion value to the extent investors place value on the right to acquire the underlying common stock while holding a fixed-income security. The yield and conversion premium of convertible securities issued in Japan and the Euromarket are frequently determined at levels that cause the conversion value to affect their market value more than the securities’ investment value.
Holders of convertible securities generally have a claim on the assets of the issuer prior to the common stockholders but may be subordinated to other debt securities of the same issuer. A convertible security may be subject to redemption at the option of the issuer at a price established in the charter provision, indenture or other governing instrument pursuant to which the convertible security was issued. If a convertible security held by the Fund is called for redemption, the Fund will be required to redeem the security, convert it into the underlying common stock or sell it to a third party. Certain convertible debt securities may provide a put option to the holder which entitles the holder to cause the security to be redeemed by the issuer at a premium over the stated principal amount of the debt security under certain circumstances.
Illiquid or Restricted Securities. The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in securities that lack an established secondary trading market or otherwise are considered illiquid. Liquidity of a security relates to the ability to dispose easily of the security and the price to be obtained upon disposition of the security, which may be less than would be obtained for a comparable more liquid security. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments. Investment of the Fund’s assets in illiquid securities may
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The Fund may invest in securities that are not registered (“restricted securities”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Restricted securities may be sold in private placement transactions between the issuers and their purchasers and may be neither listed on an exchange nor traded in other established markets. In many cases, privately placed securities may not be freely transferable under the laws of the applicable jurisdiction or due to contractual restrictions on resale. As a result of the absence of a public trading market, privately placed securities may be less liquid and more difficult to value than publicly traded securities. To the extent that privately placed securities may be resold in privately negotiated transactions, the prices realized from the sales, due to illiquidity, could be less than those originally paid by the Fund or less than their fair market value. In addition, issuers whose securities are not publicly traded may not be subject to the disclosure and other investor protection requirements that may be applicable if their securities were publicly traded. If any privately placed securities held by the Fund are required to be registered under the securities laws of one or more jurisdictions before being resold, the Fund may be required to bear the expenses of registration. Certain of the Fund’s investments in private placements may consist of direct investments and may include investments in smaller, less-seasoned issuers, which may involve greater risks. These issuers may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources, or they may be dependent on a limited management group. In making investments in such securities, the Fund may obtain access to material nonpublic information which may restrict the Fund’s ability to conduct portfolio transactions in such securities.
144A Securities. The Fund may purchase restricted securities that can be offered and sold to “qualified institutional buyers” under Rule 144A under the Securities Act. The Board of Directors has determined to treat as liquid Rule 144A securities that are either freely tradable in their primary markets offshore or have been determined to be liquid in accordance with the policies and procedures adopted by the Fund’s Board. The Board of Directors has adopted guidelines and delegated to the Manager the daily function of determining and monitoring liquidity of restricted securities. The Board of Directors, however, will retain sufficient oversight and be ultimately responsible for the determinations. Since it is not possible to predict with assurance exactly how this market for restricted securities sold and offered under Rule 144A will continue to develop, the Board of Directors will carefully monitor the Fund’s investments in these securities. This investment practice could have the effect of increasing the level of illiquidity in the Fund to the extent that qualified institutional buyers become for a time uninterested in purchasing these securities.
European Economic and Monetary Union
For a number of years, certain European countries have been seeking economic unification that would, among other things, reduce barriers between countries, increase competition among companies, reduce government subsidies in certain industries, and reduce or eliminate currency fluctuations among these European countries. The Treaty on European Union (the “Maastricht Treaty”) set out a framework for the European Economic and Monetary Union (“EMU”) among the countries that comprise the European Union (“EU”). EMU established a single common European currency (the “euro”) that was introduced on January 1, 1999 and is expected to replace the existing national currencies of all EMU participants by July 1, 2002. EMU took effect for the initial EMU participants as of January 1, 1999. Certain securities issued in participating EU countries (beginning with government and corporate bonds) were redenominated in the euro, and are listed, traded and make dividend and other payments only in euros.
No assurance can be given that EMU will take full effect, that all the changes planned for the EU can be successfully implemented, or that these changes will result in the economic and monetary unity and stability intended. There is a possibility that EMU will not be completed, or will be completed but then partially or completely unwound. Because any participating country may opt out of EMU within the first three years, it is
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Derivatives
The Fund may use instruments referred to as “Derivatives.” Derivatives are financial instruments the value of which is derived from another security, a commodity (such as gold or oil), a currency or an index (a measure of value or rates, such as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index or the prime lending rate). Derivatives allow the Fund to increase or decrease the level of risk to which the Fund is exposed more quickly and efficiently than transactions in other types of instruments.
Hedging
The Fund may use Derivatives for hedging purposes. Hedging is a strategy in which a Derivative is used to offset the risk that other Fund holdings may decrease in value. Losses on the other investment may be substantially reduced by gains on a Derivative that reacts in an opposite manner to market movements. While hedging can reduce losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains if the market moves in a different manner than anticipated by the Fund or if the cost of the Derivative outweighs the benefit of the hedge. Hedging also involves the risk that changes in the value of the Derivative will not match those of the holdings being hedged as expected by the Fund, in which case any losses on the holdings being hedged may not be reduced. This risk is known as “Correlation Risk.”
The Fund may use Derivative instruments and trading strategies including the following:
Indexed and Inverse Securities. The Fund may invest in securities the potential return of which is based on an “index”. As an illustration, the Fund may invest in a debt security that pays interest based on the current value of an interest rate index, such as the prime rate. The Fund may also invest in a debt security which returns principal at maturity based on the level of a securities index or a basket of securities, or based on the relative changes of two indices. In addition, the Fund may invest in securities the potential return of which is based inversely on the change in an index (that is, a security the value of which will move in the opposite direction of changes to an index). For example, the Fund may invest in securities that pay a higher rate of interest when a particular index decreases and pay a lower rate of interest (or do not fully return principal) when the value of the index increases. If the Fund invests in such securities, it may be subject to reduced or eliminated interest payments or loss of principal in the event of an adverse movement in the relevant index or indices. Indexed and inverse securities involve credit risk, and certain indexed and inverse securities may involve leverage risk, liquidity risk, and currency risk. The Fund may invest in indexed and inverse securities for hedging purposes only. When used for hedging purposes, indexed and inverse securities involve correlation risk.
Options on Securities and Securities Indices
Purchasing Put Options. The Fund may purchase put options on securities held in its portfolio or securities or interest rate indices which are correlated with securities held in its portfolio. When the Fund
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Purchasing Call Options. The Fund may also purchase call options on securities it intends to purchase or securities or interest rate indices, which are correlated with the types of securities it intends to purchase. When the Fund purchases a call option, in consideration for the option premium the Fund acquires a right to purchase from another party specified securities at the exercise price on or before the expiration date, in the case of an option on securities, or to receive from another party a payment based on the amount a specified securities index increases beyond a specified level on or before the expiration date, in the case of an option on a securities index. The purchase of a call option may protect the Fund from having to pay more for a security as a consequence of increases in the market value for the security during a period when the Fund is contemplating its purchase, in the case of an option on a security, or attempting to identify specific securities in which to invest in a market the Fund believes to be attractive, in the case of an option on an index (an “anticipatory hedge”). In the event the Fund determines not to purchase a security underlying a call option, however, the Fund may lose the entire option premium. Purchasing a call option involves correlation risk, and may also involve liquidity and credit risk.
The Fund is also authorized to purchase put or call options in connection with closing out put or call options it has previously sold.
Writing Call Options. The Fund may write (i.e., sell) call options on securities held in its portfolio or securities indices the performance of which correlates with securities held in its portfolio. When the Fund writes a call option, in return for an option premium the Fund gives another party the right to buy specified securities owned by the Fund at the exercise price on or before the expiration date, in the case of an option on securities, or agrees to pay to another party an amount based on any gain in a specified securities index beyond a specified level on or before the expiration date, in the case of an option on a securities index. The Fund may write call options to earn income, through the receipt of option premiums. In the event the party to which the Fund has written an option fails to exercise its rights under the option because the value of the underlying securities is less than the exercise price, the Fund will partially offset any decline in the value of the underlying securities through the receipt of the option premium. By writing a call option, however, the Fund limits its ability to sell the underlying securities, and gives up the opportunity to profit from any increase in the value of the underlying securities beyond the exercise price, while the option remains outstanding. Writing a call option may involve correlation risk.
Writing Put Options. The Fund may also write put options on securities or securities indices. When the Fund writes a put option, in return for an option premium the Fund gives another party the right to sell to the Fund a specified security at the exercise price on or before the expiration date, in the case of an option on a security, or agrees to pay to another party an amount based on any decline in a specified securities index below a specified level on or before the expiration date, in the case of an option on a securities index. The Fund may write put options to earn income, through the receipt of option premiums. In the event the party to which the Fund has written an option fails to exercise its rights under the option because the value of the underlying securities is greater than the exercise price, the Fund will profit by the amount of the option premium. By writing a put option, however, the Fund will be obligated to purchase the underlying security at a price that may be higher than the market value of the security at the time of exercise as long as the put option is outstanding, in the case of an option on a security, or make a cash payment reflecting any decline in the index, in the case of an option on an index. Accordingly, when the Fund writes a put option it is exposed to a risk of
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The Fund is also authorized to sell call or put options in connection with closing out call or put options it has previously purchased.
Other than with respect to closing transactions, the Fund will only write call or put options that are “covered.” A call or put option will be considered covered if the Fund has segregated assets with respect to such option in the manner described in “Risk Factors in Derivatives” below. A call option will also be considered covered if the Fund owns the securities it would be required to deliver upon exercise of the option (or, in the case of an option on a securities index, securities which substantially correlate with the performance of such index) or owns a call option, warrant or convertible instrument which is immediately exercisable for, or convertible into, such security.
The Fund may write put options on underlying securities exceeding 50% of its net assets, taken at market value. The Fund will not purchase options on securities (including stock index options) if as a result of such purchase, the aggregate cost of all outstanding options on securities held by the Fund would exceed 5% of the market value of the Fund’s total assets.
Types of Options. The Fund may engage in transactions in options on securities or securities indices on exchanges and in the OTC markets. In general, exchange-traded options have standardized exercise prices and expiration dates and require the parties to post margin against their obligations, and the performance of the parties’ obligations in connection with such options is guaranteed by the exchange or a related clearing corporation. OTC options have more flexible terms negotiated between the buyer and the seller, but generally do not require the parties to post margin and are subject to greater credit risk. OTC options also involve greater liquidity risk. See “Additional Risk Factors of OTC Transactions; Limitation on the Use of OTC Derivatives” below.
Futures
The Fund may engage in transactions in futures and options thereon. Futures are standardized, exchange-traded contracts which obligate a purchaser to take delivery, and a seller to make delivery, of a specific amount of an asset at a specified future date at a specified price. No price is paid upon entering into a futures contract. Rather, upon purchasing or selling a futures contract the Fund is required to deposit collateral (“margin”) equal to a percentage (generally less than 10%) of the contract value. Each day thereafter until the futures position is closed, the Fund will pay additional margin representing any loss experienced as a result of the futures position the prior day or be entitled to a payment representing any profit experienced as a result of the futures position the prior day. Futures involve substantial leverage risk.
The sale of a futures contract limits the Fund’s risk of loss through a decline in the market value of portfolio holdings correlated with the futures contract prior to the futures contract’s expiration date. In the event the market value of the portfolio holdings correlated with the futures contract increases rather than decreases, however, the Fund will realize a loss on the futures position and a lower return on the portfolio holdings than would have been realized without the purchase of the futures contract.
The purchase of a futures contract may protect the Fund from having to pay more for securities as a consequence of increases in the market value for such securities during a period when the Fund was attempting to identify specific securities in which to invest in a market the Fund believes to be attractive. In the event that such securities decline in value or the Fund determines not to complete an anticipatory hedge transaction relating to a futures contract, however, the Fund may realize a loss relating to the futures position.
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The Fund will limit transactions in futures and options on futures to financial futures contracts (i.e., contracts for which the underlying asset is a currency or securities or interest rate index) purchased or sold for hedging purposes (including anticipatory hedges). The Fund will further limit transactions in futures and options on futures to the extent necessary to prevent the Fund from being deemed a “commodity pool” under regulations of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Swaps
The Fund is authorized to enter into equity swaps, which are OTC contracts in which one party agrees to make a periodic payment based on the change in market value of a specified equity security, basket of equity securities or equity index in return for periodic payments based on a fixed or variable interest rate or the change in market value of a different equity security, basket of equity securities or equity index. Swap agreements may be used to obtain exposure to an equity or market without owning or taking physical custody of securities in circumstances in which direct investment is restricted by local law or is otherwise impractical.
The Fund will enter into an equity swap transaction only if, immediately following the time the Fund enters into the transaction, the aggregate notional principal amount of equity swap transactions to which the Fund is a party would not exceed 5% of the Fund’s net assets.
Swap agreements entail the risk that a party will default on its payment obligations to the Fund thereunder. The Fund will seek to lessen the risk to some extent by entering into a transaction only if the counterparty meets the current credit requirement for OTC option counterparties. Swap agreements also bear the risk that the Fund will not be able to meet its obligations to the counterparty. The Fund, however, will deposit in a segregated account with its custodian, liquid securities or cash or cash equivalents or other assets permitted to be so segregated by the Commission in an amount equal to or greater than the market value of the liabilities under the swap agreement or the amount it would cost the Fund initially to make an equivalent direct investment, plus or minus any amount the Fund is obligated to pay or is to receive under the swap agreement.
Foreign Exchange Transactions
The Fund may engage in spot and forward foreign exchange transactions and currency swaps, purchase and sell options on currencies and purchase and sell currency futures and related options thereon (collectively, “Currency Instruments”) for purposes of hedging against the decline in the value of currencies in which its portfolio holdings are denominated against the U.S. dollar.
Forward Foreign Exchange Transactions. Forward foreign exchange transactions are OTC contracts to purchase or sell a specified amount of a specified currency or multinational currency unit at a price and future date set at the time of the contract. Spot foreign exchange transactions are similar but require current, rather than future, settlement. The Fund will enter into foreign exchange transactions only for purposes of hedging either a specific transaction or a portfolio position. The Fund may enter into a foreign exchange transaction for purposes of hedging a specific transaction by, for example, purchasing a currency needed to settle a security transaction or selling a currency in which the Fund has received or anticipates receiving a dividend or distribution. The Fund may enter into a foreign exchange transaction for purposes of hedging a portfolio position by selling forward a currency in which a portfolio position of the Fund is denominated or by purchasing a currency in which the Fund anticipates acquiring a portfolio position in the near future. The Fund may also hedge portfolio positions through currency swaps, which are transactions in which one currency is simultaneously bought for a second currency on a spot basis and sold for the second currency on a forward basis. Forward foreign exchange transactions involve substantial currency risk, and also involve credit and liquidity risk.
Currency Futures. The Fund may also hedge against the decline in the value of a currency against the U.S. dollar through use of currency futures or options thereon. Currency futures are similar to forward foreign
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Currency Options. The Fund may also hedge against the decline in the value of a currency against the U.S. dollar through the use of currency options. Currency options are similar to options on securities, but in consideration for an option premium the writer of a currency option is obligated to sell (in the case of a call option) or purchase (in the case of a put option) a specified amount of a specified currency on or before the expiration date for a specified amount of another currency. The Fund may engage in transactions in options on currencies either on exchanges or OTC markets. See “Types of Options” above and “Additional Risk Factors of OTC Transactions; Limitations on the Use of OTC Derivatives” below. Currency options involve substantial currency risk, and may also involve credit, leverage or liquidity risk.
Limitations on Currency Hedging. The Fund will not speculate in Currency Instruments. Accordingly, the Fund will not hedge a currency in excess of the aggregate market value of the securities which it owns (including receivables for unsettled securities sales), or has committed to or anticipates purchasing, which are denominated in such currency. The Fund may, however, hedge a currency by entering into a transaction in a Currency Instrument denominated in a currency other than the currency being hedged (a “cross-hedge”). The Fund will only enter into a cross-hedge if the Manager believes that (i) there is a demonstrable high correlation between the currency in which the cross-hedge is denominated and the currency being hedged, and (ii) executing a cross-hedge through the currency in which the cross-hedge is denominated will be significantly more cost-effective or provide substantially greater liquidity than executing a similar hedging transaction by means of the currency being hedged.
Risk Factors in Hedging Foreign Currency Risks. Hedging transactions involving Currency Instruments involve substantial risks, including correlation risk. While the Fund’s use of Currency Instruments to effect hedging strategies is intended to reduce the volatility of the net asset value of the Fund’s shares, the net asset value of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate. Moreover, although Currency Instruments will be used with the intention of hedging against adverse currency movements, transactions in Currency Instruments involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that the Fund’s hedging strategies will be ineffective. To the extent that the Fund hedges against anticipated currency movements which do not occur, the Fund may realize losses, and decreases its total return, as the result of its hedging transactions. Furthermore, the Fund will only engage in hedging activities from time to time and may not be engaging in hedging activities when movements in currency exchange rates occur.
It may not be possible for the Fund to hedge against currency exchange rate movements, even if correctly anticipated, in the event that (i) the currency exchange rate movement is so generally anticipated that the Fund is not able to enter into a hedging transaction at an effective price, or (ii) the currency exchange rate movement relates to a market with respect to which Currency Instruments are not available and it is not possible to engage in effective foreign currency hedging.
Risk Factors in Derivatives
Derivatives are volatile and involve significant risks, including:
Credit Risk — the risk that the counterparty on a Derivative transaction will be unable to honor its financial obligation to the Fund.
Currency Risk — the risk that changes in the exchange rate between two currencies will adversely affect the value (in U.S. dollar terms) of an investment.
Leverage Risk — the risk associated with certain types of investments or trading strategies (such as borrowing money to increase the amount of investments) that relatively small market movements may result in large changes in the value of an investment. Certain investments or trading strategies that involve leverage can result in losses that greatly exceed the amount originally invested.
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Liquidity Risk — the risk that certain securities may be difficult or impossible to sell at the time that the seller would like or at the price that the seller believes the security is currently worth.
Use of Derivatives for hedging purposes involves correlation risk. If the value of the Derivative moves more or less than the value of the hedged instruments the Fund will experience a gain or loss which will not be completely offset by movements in the value of the hedged instruments.
The Fund intends to enter into transactions involving Derivatives only if there appears to be a liquid secondary market for such instruments or, in the case of illiquid instruments traded in OTC transactions, such instruments satisfy the criteria set forth below under “Additional Risk Factors of OTC Transactions; Limitations on the Use of OTC Derivatives.” However, there can be no assurance that, at any specific time, either a liquid secondary market will exist for a Derivative or the Fund will otherwise be able to sell such instrument at an acceptable price. It may therefore not be possible to close a position in a Derivative without incurring substantial losses, if at all.
Certain transactions in Derivatives (such as futures transactions or sales of put options) involve substantial leverage risk and may expose the Fund to potential losses, which exceed the amount originally invested by the Fund. When the Fund engages in such a transaction, the Fund will deposit in a segregated account at its custodian liquid securities with a value at least equal to the Fund’s exposure, on a mark-to-market basis, to the transaction (as calculated pursuant to requirements of the Commission). Such segregation will ensure that the Fund has assets available to satisfy its obligations with respect to the transaction, but will not limit the Fund’s exposure to loss.
Additional Risk Factors of OTC Transactions; Limitations on the Use of OTC Derivatives
Certain Derivatives traded in OTC markets, including indexed securities, swaps and OTC options, involve substantial liquidity risk. The absence of liquidity may make it difficult or impossible for the Fund to sell such instruments promptly at an acceptable price. The absence of liquidity may also make it more difficult for the Fund to ascertain a market value for such instruments. The Fund will therefore acquire illiquid OTC instruments (i) if the agreement pursuant to which the instrument is purchased contains a formula price at which the instrument may be terminated or sold, or (ii) for which the Manager anticipates the Fund can receive on each business day at least two independent bids or offers, unless a quotation from only one dealer is available, in which case that dealer’s quotation may be used.
Because Derivatives traded in OTC markets are not guaranteed by an exchange or clearing corporation and generally do not require payment of margin, to the extent that the Fund has unrealized gains in such instruments or has deposited collateral with its counterparty the Fund is at risk that its counterparty will become bankrupt or otherwise fail to honor its obligations. The Fund will attempt to minimize the risk that a counterparty will become bankrupt or otherwise fail to honor its obligations by engaging in transactions in Strategic Instruments traded in OTC markets only with financial institutions which have substantial capital or which have provided the Fund with a third-party guaranty or other credit enhancement.
Junk Bonds
Junk Bonds. Junk bonds are debt securities that are rated below investment grade by the major rating agencies or are unrated securities that Fund management believes are of comparable quality. Although junk bonds generally pay higher rates of interest than investment grade bonds, they are high risk investments that may cause income and principal losses for the Fund. The major risks in junk bond investments include the following:
Junk bonds may be issued by less creditworthy companies. These securities are vulnerable to adverse changes in the issuer’s industry and to general economic conditions. Issuers of junk bonds may be unable to meet their interest or principal payment obligations because of an economic downturn, specific issuer developments or the unavailability of additional financing.
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The issuers of junk bonds may have a larger amount of outstanding debt relative to their assets than issuers of investment grade bonds. If the issuer experiences financial stress, it may be unable to meet its debt obligations. The issuer’s ability to pay its debt obligations also may be lessened by specific issuer developments, or the unavailability of additional financing.
Junk bonds are frequently ranked junior to claims by other creditors. If the issuer cannot meet its obligations, the senior obligations are generally paid off before the junior obligations.
Junk bonds frequently have redemption features that permit an issuer to repurchase the security from the Fund before it matures. If an issuer redeems the junk bonds, the Fund may have to invest the proceeds in bonds with lower yields and may lose income.
Prices of junk bonds are subject to extreme price fluctuations. Negative economic developments may have a greater impact on the prices of junk bonds than on other higher rated fixed income securities.
Junk bonds may be less liquid than higher rated fixed income securities even under normal economic conditions. There are fewer dealers in the junk bond market, and there may be significant differences in the prices quoted for junk bonds by the dealers. Because they are less liquid, judgment may play a greater role in valuing certain of the Fund’s portfolio securities than in the case of securities trading in a more liquid market.
The Fund may incur expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery upon default or to negotiate new terms with a defaulting issuer.
Debt Securities. The Fund has established no rating criteria for the debt securities in which it may invest and such securities may not be rated at all for creditworthiness. In purchasing such securities, the Fund will rely on the Manager’s judgment, analysis and experience in evaluating the creditworthiness of an issuer of such securities. The Manager will take into consideration, among other things, the issuer’s financial resources, its sensitivity to economic conditions and trends, its operating history, the quality of the issuer’s management and regulatory matters.
Foreign Sovereign Debt. Certain developing countries owe significant amounts of debt to commercial banks and foreign governments. Investment in sovereign debt obligations of such countries, in particular, involves a high degree of risk. The governmental entity that controls the repayment of sovereign debt obligations may not be able or willing to repay the principal and/or interest when due in accordance with the terms of such debt. A governmental entity’s willingness or ability to repay principal and interest due in a timely manner may be affected by, among other factors, its cash flow situation, the extent of its foreign reserves, the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of the debt service burden to the economy as a whole, the governmental entity’s policy towards the International Monetary Fund and the political constraints to which a governmental entity may be subject. Governmental entities may also be dependent on expected disbursements from foreign governments, multilateral agencies and others abroad to reduce principal and interest arrearages on their debt. The commitment on the part of these governments, agencies and others to make such disbursements may be conditioned on a governmental entity’s implementation of economic reforms and/or economic performance and the timely service of such debtor’s obligations. Failure to implement such reforms, achieve such levels of economic performance or repay principal or interest when due may result in the cancellation of such third parties’ commitments to lend funds to the governmental entity, which may further impair such debtor’s ability or willingness to timely service its debts. Consequently, governmental entities may default on their sovereign debt obligations.
Holders of sovereign debt obligations, including the Fund, may be requested to participate in the rescheduling of such debt and to extend further loans to governmental entities. In the event of a default by the issuer of a sovereign debt obligation, the Fund may have few or no effective legal remedies for collecting on such debt.
Certain of the sovereign debt obligations in which the Fund may invest involve great risk and are deemed to be the equivalent in terms of quality to high yield/high risk securities discussed above and are subject to many of the same risks as such securities. Similarly, the Fund may have difficulty disposing of such sovereign
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Supranational Entities. The Fund also may invest in debt securities of supranational entities as defined above. Examples include the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank), the European Steel and Coal Community, the Asian Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. The government members, or “stockholders,” usually make initial capital contributions to the supranational entity and in many cases are committed to make additional capital contributions if the supranational entity is unable to repay its borrowings.
United States Government Obligations. United States Government Obligations in which the Fund may invest include: (i) U.S. Treasury obligations (bills, notes and bonds), which differ in their interest rates, maturities and times of issuance, all of which are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States; and (ii) obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. Government agencies or instrumentalities, including government guaranteed mortgage-related or asset-backed securities, some of which are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury (e.g., direct pass-through certificates of the Government National Mortgage Association), some of which are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Government (e.g., obligations of Federal Home Loan Banks) and some of which are backed only by the credit of the issuer itself (e.g., obligations of the Student Loan Marketing Association).
In the case of mortgage-related securities, prepayments occur when the holder of an individual mortgage prepays the remaining principal before the mortgage’s scheduled maturity date. As a result of the pass-through or prepayments of principal on the underlying securities, a mortgage-related security is often subject to more rapid prepayment of principal than its stated maturity would indicate. Because the prepayment characteristics of the underlying mortgages vary, it is not possible to predict accurately the realized yield or average life of a particular issue of the mortgage-related securities. (Asset-backed securities, other than those backed by home equity loans, generally do not prepay in response to changes in interest rates but may be subject to prepayment in response to other factors.) Prepayment rates are important because of their effect on the yield and price of the securities. Accelerated prepayments adversely impact yields for securities purchased at a premium ( i.e., a price in excess of principal amount) and may involve additional risk of loss of principal because the premium may not have been fully amortized at the time the obligation is repaid. The opposite is true for securities purchased at a discount. The Fund may purchase mortgage-related (and asset-backed) securities at a premium or at a discount.
Other Investment Policies and Practices
Repurchase Agreements; Purchase and Sales Contracts. The Fund may invest in securities pursuant to repurchase agreements or purchase and sale contracts. Under a repurchase agreement, the seller agrees, upon entering into the contract with the Fund, to repurchase the security at a mutually agreed upon time and price in a specified currency, thereby determining the yield during the term of the agreement. This insulates the Fund from market fluctuations during such period, although, to the extent the repurchase agreement is not denominated in U.S. dollars, the Fund’s return may be affected by currency fluctuations. Repurchase agreements may be entered into only with financial institutions which (i) have, in the opinion of the Manager, substantial capital relative to the Fund’s exposure, or (ii) have provided the Fund with a third-party guaranty or other credit enhancement. A purchase and sale contract is similar to a repurchase agreement, but purchase and sale contracts, unlike repurchase agreements, allocate interest on the underlying security to the purchaser during the term of the agreement. The Fund does not have the right to seek additional collateral in the case of purchase and sale contracts. If the seller were to default on its obligation to repurchase a security under a repurchase agreement or purchase and sale contract and the market value of the underlying security at such time was less than the Fund had paid to the seller, the Fund would realize a loss. The Fund may not invest more than 15% of its net assets in repurchase agreements or purchase and sale contracts maturing in more than seven days, together with all other illiquid securities.
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Standby Commitment Agreements. The Fund may enter into standby commitment agreements. These agreements commit the Fund, for a stated period of time, to purchase a stated amount of securities which may be issued and sold to the Fund at the option of the issuer. The price of the security is fixed at the time of the commitment. At the time of entering into the agreement the Fund is paid a commitment fee, regardless of whether or not the security is ultimately issued. The Fund will enter into such agreements for the purpose of investing in the security underlying the commitment at a price that is considered advantageous to the Fund. The Fund will not enter into a standby commitment with a remaining term in excess of 45 days and will limit its investment in such commitments so that the aggregate purchase price of securities subject to such commitments, together with the value of portfolio securities subject to legal restrictions on resale that affect their marketability, will not exceed 15% of its net assets taken at the time of the commitment. The Fund segregates liquid assets in an aggregate amount equal to the purchase price of the securities underlying the commitment.
There can be no assurance that the securities subject to a standby commitment will be issued, and the value of the security, if issued, on the delivery date may be more or less than its purchase price. Since the issuance of the security underlying the commitment is at the option of the issuer, the Fund may bear the risk of a decline in the value of such security and may not benefit from an appreciation in the value of the security during the commitment period.
The purchase of a security subject to a standby commitment agreement and the related commitment fee will be recorded on the date on which the security can reasonably be expected to be issued, and the value of the security thereafter will be reflected in the calculation of the Fund’s net asset value. The cost basis of the security will be adjusted by the amount of the commitment fee. In the event the security is not issued, the commitment fee will be recorded as income on the expiration date of the standby commitment.
When Issued Securities, Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments. The Fund may purchase or sell securities that it is entitled to receive on a when issued basis. The Fund may also purchase or sell securities on a delayed delivery basis. The Fund may also purchase or sell securities through a forward commitment. These transactions involve the purchase or sale of securities by the Fund at an established price with payment and delivery taking place in the future. The Fund enters into these transactions to obtain what is considered an advantageous price to the Fund at the time of entering into the transaction. The Fund has not established any limit on the percentage of its assets that may be committed in connection with these transactions. When the Fund purchases securities in these transactions, the Fund segregates liquid securities in an amount equal to the amount of its purchase commitments.
There can be no assurance that a security purchased on a when issued basis will be issued or that a security purchased or sold through a forward commitment will be delivered. The value of securities in these transactions on the delivery date may be more or less than the Fund’s purchase price. The Fund may bear the risk of a decline in the value of the security in these transactions and may not benefit from an appreciation in the value of the security during the commitment period.
Lending of Portfolio Securities. The Fund may from time to time lend securities from its portfolio, with a value not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets, to banks, brokers and other financial institutions and receive collateral in cash or securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government which will be maintained at all times in an amount equal to at least 100% of the current market value of the loaned securities. This limitation is a fundamental policy, and it may not be changed without the approval of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities, as defined in the Investment Company Act. During the period of such a loan, the Fund typically receives the income on both the loaned securities and the collateral and thereby increases its yield. In certain circumstances, the Fund may receive a flat fee. Such loans are terminable at any time, and the borrower, after notice, will be required to return borrowed securities within five business days. In the event that the borrower defaults on its obligation to return borrowed securities because of insolvency or otherwise, the Fund could experience delays and costs in gaining access to the collateral and could suffer a loss to the extent the value of the collateral falls below the market value of the borrowed securities.
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Suitability. The economic benefit of an investment in the Fund depends upon many factors beyond the control of the Fund, the Manager and its affiliates. Because of its emphasis on securities of SmallCap Issuers, the Fund should be considered a vehicle for diversification and not as a balanced investment program. The suitability for any particular investor of a purchase of shares in the Fund will depend upon, among other things, such investor’s investment objectives and such investor’s ability to accept the risks associated with investing in securities of SmallCap Issuers, including the risk of loss of principal.
Investment Restrictions
The Fund has adopted a number of fundamental and non-fundamental restrictions and policies relating to the investment of its assets and its activities. The fundamental policies set forth below may not be changed without the approval of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities (which for this purpose and under the Investment Company Act, means the lesser of (i) 67% of the shares represented at a meeting at which more than 50% of the outstanding shares are represented or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding shares).
Under the fundamental investment restrictions, the Fund may not:
| 1. Invest more than 25% of its assets, taken at market value at the time of each investment, in the securities of issuers in any particular industry (excluding the U.S. Government and its agencies and instrumentalities). | |
| 2. Make investments for the purpose of exercising control or management. | |
| 3. Purchase or sell real estate or real estate mortgage loans, except that the Fund may invest in securities directly or indirectly secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies which invest in real estate or interests therein. | |
| 4. Make loans to other persons, except that the acquisition of bonds, debentures or other corporate debt securities and investment in government obligations, short-term commercial paper, certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances and repurchase agreements and similar instruments shall not be deemed to be the making of a loan, and except further that the Fund may lend its portfolio securities provided that such loans may be made only in accordance with applicable law and guidelines set forth in the Fund’s Prospectus and this Statement of Additional Information, as they may be amended from time to time. | |
| 5. Issue senior securities to the extent such issuance would violate applicable law. | |
| 6. Borrow money or pledge its assets, except that the Fund (a) may borrow from a bank as a temporary measure for extraordinary or emergency purposes or to meet redemptions in amounts not exceeding 33 1/3% (taken at market value) of its total assets and pledge its assets to secure such borrowings, (b) may obtain such short-term credit as may be necessary for the clearance of purchases and sales of portfolio securities and (c) may purchase securities on margin to the extent permitted by applicable law. (However, at the present time, applicable law prohibits the Fund from purchasing securities on margin.) (The deposit or payment by the Fund of initial or variation margin in connection with futures contracts or options transactions is not considered the purchase of a security on margin.) | |
| 7. Underwrite securities of other issuers, except insofar as the Fund technically may be deemed an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), in purchasing and selling portfolio securities. | |
| 8. Purchase or sell commodities or contracts on commodities, except to the extent the Fund may do so in accordance with applicable law and the Fund’s Prospectus and this Statement of Additional Information, as they may be amended from time to time, and without registering as a commodity pool operator under the Commodities Exchange Act. |
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| 9. With respect to 75% of its total assets, (a) invest in the securities of any one issuer if, immediately after and as a result of such investment, the value of the holdings of the Fund in the securities of such issuer exceeds 5% of the Fund’s total assets, taken at market value; and (b) invest in the securities of any one issuer if, immediately after and as a result of such investment, the Fund owns more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer. |
In addition, the Fund has adopted non-fundamental restrictions, which may be changed by the Board of Directors. Under the non-fundamental investment restrictions, the Fund may not:
| a. Purchase securities of other investment companies except to the extent that such purchases are permitted by applicable law. As a matter of policy, however, the Fund will not purchase shares of any registered open-end investment company or registered unit investment trust, in reliance on Section 12(d)(1)(F) or (G) (the “fund of funds” provisions) of the Investment Company Act, at any time its shares are owned by another investment company that is part of the same group of investment companies as the Fund. | |
| b. Make short sales of securities or maintain a short position except to the extent permitted by applicable law. The Fund does not, however, currently intend to engage in short sales. | |
| c. Invest in securities which cannot be readily resold because of legal or contractual restrictions, or which cannot otherwise be marketed, redeemed, put to the issuer or to a third party, or which do not mature within seven days, or which the Board of Directors of the Fund has not determined to be liquid pursuant to applicable law, if at the time of acquisition more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in such securities. Securities purchased in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act (a “Rule 144A Security”) and determined to be liquid by the Fund’s Board of Directors are not subject to the limitations set forth in this investment restriction. |
Portfolio securities of the Fund generally may not be purchased from, sold or loaned to the Manager or its affiliates or any of their directors, officers or employees, acting as principal, unless pursuant to a rule or exemptive order under the Investment Company Act.
The staff of the Commission has taken the position that purchased OTC options and the assets used as cover for written OTC options are illiquid securities. Therefore, the Fund has adopted an investment policy pursuant to which it will not purchase or sell OTC options if, as a result of such transaction, the sum of the market value of OTC options currently outstanding which are held by the Fund, the market value of the underlying securities covered by OTC call options currently outstanding which were sold by the Fund and margin deposits on the Fund’s existing OTC options on futures contracts exceeds 15% of the net assets of the Fund, taken at market value, together with all other assets of the Fund which are illiquid or are not otherwise readily marketable. However, if the OTC option is sold by the Fund to a primary U.S. Government securities dealer recognized by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and if the Fund has the unconditional contractual right to repurchase such OTC option from the dealer at a predetermined price, then the Fund will treat as illiquid such amount of the underlying securities as is equal to the repurchase price less the amount by which the option is “in-the-money” (i.e., current market value of the underlying securities minus the option’s strike price). The repurchase price with the primary dealers is typically a formula price which is generally based on a multiple of the premium received for the option, plus the amount by which the option is “in-the-money”. This policy as to OTC options is not a fundamental policy of the Fund and may be amended by the Board of Directors of the Fund without the approval of the Fund’s shareholders. However, the Fund will not change or modify this policy prior to the change or modification by the Commission staff of its position.
In addition, as a non-fundamental policy which may be changed by the Board of Directors and to the extent required by the Commission or its staff, the Fund will, for purposes of investment restriction (1), treat securities issued or guaranteed by the government of any one foreign country as the obligations of a single issuer.
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Because of the affiliation of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“Merrill Lynch”) with the Manager, the Fund is prohibited from engaging in certain transactions involving such firm or its affiliates except for brokerage transactions permitted under the Investment Company Act involving only usual and customary commissions or transactions pursuant to an exemptive order under the Investment Company Act. See “Portfolio Transactions.” Without such an exemptive order, the Fund would be prohibited from engaging in portfolio transactions with Merrill Lynch or any of its affiliates acting as principal.
Portfolio Turnover
The Manager will effect portfolio transactions without regard to the time the securities have been held, if, in its judgment, such transactions are advisable in light of a change in circumstances of a particular company or within a particular industry or in general market, financial or economic conditions. As a result of its investment policies, the Fund may engage in a substantial number of portfolio transactions and the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate may vary greatly from year to year or during periods within a year. The portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of the Fund’s annual sales or purchases of portfolio securities (exclusive of purchases or sales of securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one year or less) by the monthly average value of the securities in the portfolio during the year. A high portfolio turnover may result in negative tax consequences, such as an increase in capital gain dividends or in ordinary income dividends of accrued market discount. See “Dividends and Taxes — Taxes.” High portfolio turnover may also involve correspondingly greater transaction costs in the form of dealer spreads and brokerage commissions, which are borne directly by the Fund.
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND
Directors and Officers
The Directors of the Fund consist of seven individuals, five of whom are not “interested persons” of the Fund as defined in the Investment Company Act (the “non-interested Directors”). The Directors are responsible for the overall supervision of the operations of the Fund and perform the various duties imposed on the directors of investment companies by the Investment Company Act. Information about the Directors, executive officers and the portfolio manager of the Fund, including their ages and their principal occupations for at least the last five years, is set forth below. Unless otherwise noted, the address of each Director, executive officer and the portfolio manager is P.O. Box 9011, Princeton, New Jersey 08543-9011.
TERRY K. GLENN (59) — President and Director (1)(2) — Executive Vice President of the Manager and Fund Asset Management, L.P. (“FAM”) (which terms as used herein include their corporate predecessors) since 1983; President of Princeton Funds Distributor, Inc. (“PFD”) since 1986 and Director thereof since 1991; Executive Vice President and Director of Princeton Services since 1993; President of Princeton Administrators, L.P. since 1988.
DONALD CECIL (72) — Director(2)(3) — 1114 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036. Special Limited Partner of Cumberland Associates (an investment partnership) since 1982; Member of Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts; Member and Chairman of Westchester County (N.Y.) Board of Transportation.
EDWARD H. MEYER (72) — Director (2)(3) — 777 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10017. President of Grey Advertising Inc. since 1968, Chief Executive Officer since 1970 and Chairman of the Board of Directors since 1972; Director of The May Department Stores Company, Bowne & Co., Inc. (financial printers), Harman International Industries, Inc. and Ethan Allen Interiors, Inc.
CHARLES C. REILLY (68) — Director (2)(3) — 9 Hampton Harbor Road, Hampton Bays, New York 11946. Self-employed financial consultant since 1990; President and Chief Investment Officer of Verus Capital, Inc. from 1979 to 1990; Senior Vice President of Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder, Inc. from 1973 to
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RICHARD R. WEST (61) — Director (2)(3) — Box 604, Genoa, Nevada 89411. Professor of Finance since 1984, Dean from 1984 to 1993 and currently Dean Emeritus of New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business Administration; Director of Bowne & Co., Inc. (financial printers), Vornado Realty Trust, Inc. (real estate holding company), Vornado Operating Company, Inc. and Alexander’s, Inc. (real estate company).
ARTHUR ZEIKEL (67) — Director(1)(2) — 300 Woodland Avenue, Westfield, New Jersey 07090. Chairman of the Manager and FAM from 1997 to 1999 and President thereof from 1977 to 1997; Chairman of Princeton Services from 1997 to 1999, Director thereof from 1993 to 1999 and President thereof from 1993 to 1997; Executive Vice President of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (“ML & Co.”) from 1990 to 1999.
EDWARD D. ZINBARG (65) — Director (2)(3) — 5 Hardwell Road, Short Hills, New Jersey 07078-2117. Executive Vice President of The Prudential Insurance Company of America from 1988 to 1994; Former Director of Prudential Reinsurance Company and former Trustee of The Prudential Foundation.
DONALD C. BURKE (39) — Vice President and Treasurer (1)(2) — Senior Vice President and Treasurer of the Manager and FAM since 1999; Senior Vice President and Treasurer of Princeton Services since 1999; First Vice President of the Manager from 1997 to 1999; Vice President of the Manager from 1990 to 1997; Director of Taxation of the Manager since 1990; Vice President of PFD since 1999.
KENNETH L. CHIANG (37) — Senior Vice President (1) — First Vice President of the Manager since 1998; Managing Partner of Samuel Asset Management from 1997 to 1998; Vice President and Portfolio Manager of the Manager from 1993 to 1997.
HUBERTUS AARTS (36) — Vice President (1)(2) — Vice President and Portfolio Manager with Merrill Lynch Asset Management U.K. Limited (“MLAM UK”) since 1995; Portfolio Manager with Mees Pierson from 1993 to 1995 and with its predecessor, Pierson Heldring & Pierson, from 1990 to 1993.
JAMES E. RUSSELL (47) — Vice President (1) — First Vice President of the Manager since 1997; Vice President of the Manager from 1992 to 1997.
SUSAN B. BAKER (42) — Secretary (1)(2) — Director of the Manager since 1999; Vice President of the Manager from 1993 to 1999; attorney associated with the Manager since 1987.
| (1) | Interested person, as defined in the Investment Company Act, of the Fund. |
| (2) | Such Director or officer is a trustee, director or officer of certain other investment companies for which the Manager or FAM acts as the investment adviser or manager. |
| (3) | Member of the Fund’s Audit and Nominating Committee, which is responsible for the selection of the independent auditors and the selection and nomination of non-interested Directors. |
As of October 1, 1999, the Directors and officers of the Fund as a group (12 persons) owned an aggregate of less than 1% of the outstanding shares of the Fund. At such date, Mr. Zeikel, a Director of the Fund, Mr. Glenn, a Director and officer of the Fund, and the other officers of the Fund owned an aggregate of less than 1% of the outstanding shares of common stock of ML & Co.
Compensation of Directors
The Fund pays each non-interested Director a fee of $3,500 per year plus $500 per Board meeting attended. The Fund also compensates each member of the Audit and Nominating Committee (the “Committee”), which consists of the non-interested Directors at a rate of $500 per Committee meeting attended. The Fund pays the Chairman of the Committee an additional fee of $250 per Committee meeting attended. The Fund reimburses each non-interested Director for his out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at Board and Committee meetings.
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The following table shows the compensation earned by the non-interested Directors for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1999 and the aggregate compensation paid to them from all registered investment companies advised by the Manager and its affiliate, FAM (“MLAM/ FAM-advised funds”), for the calendar year ended December 31, 1998.
| Aggregate | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Pension or | Estimated | Compensation from | ||||||||||||||||||
| Retirement Benefits | Annual | Fund and Other | ||||||||||||||||||
| Position with | Compensation | Accrued as Part of | Benefits upon | MLAM/FAM- | ||||||||||||||||
| Name | Fund | From Fund | Fund Expense | Retirement | Advised Funds(1) | |||||||||||||||
| Donald Cecil | Director | $ | 8,500 | None | None | $ | 277,808 | |||||||||||||
| Roland M. Machold | Director | $ | 4,833 | None | None | $ | 39,208 | (2) | ||||||||||||
| Edward H. Meyer | Director | $ | 7,000 | None | None | $ | 214,558 | |||||||||||||
| Charles C. Reilly | Director | $ | 7,500 | None | None | $ | 362,858 | |||||||||||||
| Richard R. West | Director | $ | 7,500 | None | None | $ | 346,125 | |||||||||||||
| Edward D. Zinbarg | Director | $ | 7,500 | None | None | $ | 133,959 | |||||||||||||
| (1) | The Directors serve on the boards of MLAM/ FAM-advised funds as follows: Mr. Cecil (34 registered investment companies consisting of 34 portfolios); Mr. Machold (19 registered investment companies consisting of 19 portfolios); Mr. Meyer (34 registered investment companies consisting of 34 portfolios); Mr. Reilly (59 registered investment companies consisting of 72 portfolios); Mr. West (61 registered investment companies consisting of 85 portfolios); and Mr. Zinbarg (18 registered investment companies consisting of 18 portfolios). |
| (2) | Mr. Machold was elected a Director of the Fund and director or trustee of certain other MLAM/ FAM-advised funds on October 20, 1998. Mr. Machold resigned as a Director of the Fund and as director or trustee of certain other MLAM/ FAM advised funds on August 20, 1999. |
Directors of the Fund may purchase Class A shares of the Fund at net asset value. See “Purchase of Shares — Initial Sales Charge Alternatives — Class A and Class D Shares — Reduced Initial Sales Charges — Purchase Privilege of Certain Persons.”
Management and Advisory Arrangements
Management Services. The Manager provides the Fund with investment advisory and management services. Subject to the supervision of the Directors, the Manager is responsible for the actual management of the Fund’s portfolio and constantly reviews the Fund’s holdings in light of its own research analysis and that from other relevant sources. The responsibility for making decisions to buy, sell or hold a particular security rests with the Manager. The Manager performs certain of the other administrative services and provides all the office space, facilities, equipment and necessary personnel for management of the Fund.
Management Fee. The Fund has entered into an investment advisory agreement with the Manager (the “Management Agreement”), pursuant to which the Manager receives for its services to the Fund monthly compensation at the annual rate of 0.85% of the average daily net assets of the Fund. The table below sets forth information about the total management fees paid by the Fund to the Manager for the periods indicated.
| Fiscal Year Ended June 30, | Management Fee | |||
| 1999 | $ | 449,835 | ||
| 1998 | $ | 894,653 | ||
| 1997 | $ | 1,260,012 | ||
The Manager has also entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Merrill Lynch Asset Management U.K. Limited (“MLAM U.K.”) pursuant to which MLAM U.K. provides investment advisory services to the Manager with respect to the Fund.
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The table below sets forth information about the total sub-advisory fees paid by the Manager to MLAM U.K. for the periods indicated.
| Fiscal Year Ended June 30, | Sub-Advisory Fee | |||
| 1999 | $ | 10,654 | ||
| 1998 | $ | 104,922 | ||
| 1997 | $ | 144,451 | ||
Payment of Fund Expenses. The Management Agreement obligates the Manager to provide investment advisory services and to pay all compensation of and furnish office space for officers and employees of the Fund connected with investment and economic research, trading and investment management of the Fund, as well as the fees of all Directors of the Fund who are affiliated persons of the Manager. The Fund pays all other expenses incurred in the operation of the Fund, including among other things: taxes, expenses for legal and auditing services, costs of printing proxies, stock certificates, shareholder reports, prospectuses and statements of additional information, except to the extent paid by Merrill Lynch Funds Distributor, a division of PFD (the “Distributor”); charges of the custodian and sub-custodian, and the transfer agent; expenses of redemption of shares; SEC fees; expenses of registering the shares under Federal, state or foreign laws; fees and expenses of non-interested Directors; accounting and pricing costs (including the daily calculations of net asset value); insurance; interest; brokerage costs; litigation and other extraordinary or non-recurring expenses; and other expenses properly payable by the Fund. Accounting services are provided for the Fund by the Manager and the Fund reimburses the Manager for its costs in connection with such services on a semi-annual basis. The Distributor will pay certain promotional expenses of the Fund incurred in connection with the offering of shares of the Fund. Certain expenses will be financed by the Fund pursuant to distribution plans in compliance with Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act. See “Purchase of Shares — Distribution Plans.”
Organization of the Manager. The Manager is a limited partnership, the partners of which are ML & Co., a financial services holding company and the parent of Merrill Lynch, and Princeton Services. ML & Co. and Princeton Services are “controlling persons” of the Manager as defined under the Investment Company Act because of their ownership of its voting securities or their power to exercise a controlling influence over its management or policies.
The following entities may be considered “controlling persons” of MLAM U.K.: Merrill Lynch Europe PLC (MLAM U.K.’s parent), a subsidiary of Merrill Lynch International Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Merrill Lynch International, Inc., a subsidiary of ML & Co.
Duration and Termination. Unless earlier terminated as described herein, the Management Agreement will continue in effect for a period of two years from the date of execution and will remain in effect from year to year if approved annually (a) by the Directors of the Fund or by a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund and (b) by a majority of the Directors who are not parties to such contract or interested persons (as defined in the Investment Company Act) of any such party. Such contracts are not assignable and may be terminated without penalty on 60 days’ written notice at the option of either party or by vote of the shareholders of the Fund.
Transfer Agency Services. Financial Data Services, Inc. (the “Transfer Agent”), a subsidiary of ML & Co., acts as the Fund’s Transfer Agent pursuant to a Transfer Agency, Dividend Disbursing Agency and Shareholder Servicing Agency Agreement (the “Transfer Agency Agreement”). Pursuant to the Transfer Agency Agreement, the Transfer Agent is responsible for the issuance, transfer and redemption of shares and the opening and maintenance of shareholder accounts. Pursuant to the Transfer Agency Agreement, the Transfer Agent receives a fee of $11.00 per Class A or Class D account and $14.00 per Class B or Class C account and is entitled to reimbursement for certain transaction charges and out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the Transfer Agent under the Transfer Agency Agreement. Additionally, a $.20 monthly closed account charge will be assessed on all accounts which close during the calendar year. Application of this fee will commence the month following the month the account is closed. At the end of the calendar year, no further
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Distribution Expenses. The Fund has entered into four separate distribution agreements with the Distributor in connection with the continuous offering of each class of shares of the Fund (the “Distribution Agreements”). The Distribution Agreements obligate the Distributor to pay certain expenses in connection with the offering of each class of shares of the Fund. After the prospectuses, statements of additional information and periodic reports have been prepared, set in type and mailed to shareholders, the Distributor pays for the printing and distribution of copies thereof used in connection with the offering to dealers and investors. The Distributor also pays for other supplementary sales literature and advertising costs. The Distribution Agreements are subject to the same renewal requirements and termination provisions as the Management Agreement described above.
Code of Ethics
The Board of Directors of the Fund has adopted a Code of Ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the Investment Company Act that incorporates the Code of Ethics of the Manager (together, the “Codes”). The Codes significantly restrict the personal investing activities of all employees of the Manager and, as described below, impose additional, more onerous, restrictions on fund investment personnel.
The Codes require that all employees of the Manager pre-clear any personal securities investment (with limited exceptions, such as government securities). The pre-clearance requirement and associated procedures are designed to identify any substantive prohibition or limitation applicable to the proposed investment. The substantive restrictions applicable to all employees of the Manager include a ban on acquiring any securities in a “hot” initial public offering and a prohibition from profiting on short-term trading in securities. In addition, no employee may purchase or sell any security that at the time is being purchased or sold (as the case may be), or to the knowledge of the employee is being considered for purchase or sale, by any fund advised by the Manager. Furthermore, the Codes provide for trading “blackout periods” which prohibit trading by investment personnel of the Fund within periods of trading by the Fund in the same (or equivalent) security (15 or 30 days depending upon the transaction).
PURCHASE OF SHARES
Reference is made to “How to Buy, Sell, Transfer and Exchange Shares” in the Prospectus.
The Fund offers four classes of shares under the Merrill Lynch Select PricingSM System: shares of Class A and Class D are sold to investors choosing the initial sales charge alternatives and shares of Class B and Class C are sold to investors choosing the deferred sales charge alternatives. Each Class A, Class B, Class C or Class D share of the Fund represents an identical interest in the investment portfolio of the Fund and has the same rights, except that Class B, Class C and Class D shares bear the expenses of the ongoing account maintenance fees (also known as service fees) and Class B and Class C shares bear the expenses of the ongoing distribution fees and the additional incremental transfer agency costs resulting from the deferred sales charge arrangements. The contingent deferred sales charges (“CDSCs”), distribution fees and account maintenance fees that are imposed on Class B and Class C shares, as well as the account maintenance fees that are imposed on Class D shares, are imposed directly against those classes and not against all assets of the Fund and, accordingly, such charges do not affect the net asset value of any other class or have any impact on investors choosing another sales charge option. Dividends paid by the Fund for each class of shares are calculated in the same manner at the same time and differ only to the extent that account maintenance and distribution fees and any incremental transfer agency costs relating to a particular class are borne exclusively by that class. Each class has different exchange privileges. See “Shareholder Services — Exchange Privilege.”
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Investors should understand that the purpose and function of the initial sales charges with respect to the Class A and Class D shares are the same as those of the CDSCs and distribution fees with respect to the Class B and Class C shares in that the sales charges and distribution fees applicable to each class provide for the financing of the distribution of the shares of the Fund. The distribution-related revenues paid with respect to a class will not be used to finance the distribution expenditures of another class. Sales personnel may receive different compensation for selling different classes of shares.
The Merrill Lynch Select PricingSM System is used by more than 50 registered investment companies advised by the Manager or FAM. Funds advised by the Manager or FAM that utilize the Merrill Lynch Select PricingSM System are referred to herein as “Select Pricing Funds.”
The Fund or the Distributor may suspend the continuous offering of the Fund’s shares of any class at any time in response to conditions in the securities markets or otherwise and may thereafter resume such offering from time to time. Any order may be rejected by the Fund or the Distributor. Neither the Distributor nor the dealers are permitted to withhold placing orders to benefit themselves by a price change. Merrill Lynch may charge its customers a processing fee (presently $5.35) to confirm a sale of shares to such customers. Purchases made directly through the Transfer Agent are not subject to the processing fee.
Initial Sales Charge Alternatives — Class A and Class D Shares
Investors who prefer an initial sales charge alternative may elect to purchase Class D shares or, if an eligible investor, Class A shares. Investors choosing the initial sales charge alternative who are eligible to purchase Class A shares should purchase Class A shares rather than Class D shares because there is an account maintenance fee imposed on Class D shares. Investors qualifying for significantly reduced initial sales charges may find the initial sales charge alternative particularly attractive because similar sales charge reductions are not available with respect to the deferred sales charges imposed in connection with purchases of Class B or Class C shares. Investors not qualifying for reduced initial sales charges who expect to maintain their investment for an extended period of time also may elect to purchase Class A or Class D shares, because over time the accumulated ongoing account maintenance and distribution fees on Class B or Class C shares may exceed the initial sales charges and, in the case of Class D shares, the account maintenance fee. Although some investors who previously purchased Class A shares may no longer be eligible to purchase Class A shares of other Select Pricing Funds, those previously purchased Class A shares, together with Class B, Class C and Class D share holdings, will count toward a right of accumulation which may qualify the investor for a reduced initial sales charge on new initial sales charge purchases. In addition, the ongoing Class B and Class C account maintenance and distribution fees will cause Class B and Class C shares to have higher expense ratios, pay lower dividends and have lower total returns than the initial sales charge shares. The ongoing Class D account maintenance fees will cause Class D shares to have a higher expense ratio, pay lower dividends and have a lower total return than Class A shares.
The term “purchase,” as used in the Prospectus and this Statement of Additional Information in connection with an investment in Class A and Class D shares of the Fund, refers to a single purchase by an individual or to concurrent purchases, which in the aggregate are at least equal to the prescribed amounts, by an individual, his or her spouse and their children under the age of 21 years purchasing shares for his, her or their own account and to single purchases by a trustee or other fiduciary purchasing shares for a single trust estate or single fiduciary account although more than one beneficiary is involved. The term “purchase” also includes purchases by any “company,” as that term is defined in the Investment Company Act, but does not include purchases by any such company that has not been in existence for at least six months or which has no purpose other than the purchase of shares of the Fund or shares of other registered investment companies at a discount; provided, however, that it shall not include purchases by any group of individuals whose sole organizational nexus is that the participants therein are credit cardholders of a company, policyholders of an insurance company, customers of either a bank or broker-dealer or clients of an investment adviser.
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Eligible Class A Investors
Class A shares are offered to a limited group of investors and also will be issued upon reinvestment of dividends on outstanding Class A shares. Investors who currently own Class A shares in a shareholder account are entitled to purchase additional Class A shares of the Fund in that account. Certain employee-sponsored retirement or savings plans, including eligible 401(k) plans, may purchase Class A shares at net asset value provided such plans meet the required minimum number of eligible employees or required amount of assets advised by MLAM or any of its affiliates. Class A shares are available at net asset value to corporate warranty insurance reserve fund programs and U.S. branches of foreign banking institutions provided that the program has $3 million or more initially invested in Select Pricing Funds. Also eligible to purchase Class A shares at net asset value are participants in certain investment programs including TMASM Managed Trusts to which Merrill Lynch Trust Company provides discretionary trustee services, collective investment trusts for which Merrill Lynch Trust Company serves as trustee and certain purchases made in connection with certain fee-based programs. In addition, Class A shares are offered at net asset value to ML & Co. and its subsidiaries and their directors and employees and to members of the Boards of MLAM-advised investment companies. Certain persons who acquired shares of certain MLAM-advised closed-end funds in their initial offerings who wish to reinvest the net proceeds from a sale of their closed-end fund shares of common stock in shares of the Fund also may purchase Class A shares of the Fund if certain conditions are met. In addition, Class A shares of the Fund and certain other Select Pricing Funds are offered at net asset value to shareholders of Merrill Lynch Senior Floating Rate Fund, Inc., and, if certain conditions are met, to shareholders of Merrill Lynch Municipal Strategy Fund, Inc. and Merrill Lynch High Income Municipal Bond Fund, Inc. who wish to reinvest the net proceeds from a sale of certain of their shares of common stock pursuant to a tender offer conducted by such funds in shares of the Fund and certain other Select Pricing Funds.
Class A and Class D Sales Charge Information
Class A Shares
| For the Fiscal Year | Gross Sales | Sales Charges | Sales Charges | CDSCs Received on | ||||||||||||
| Ended | Charges | Retained By | Paid To | Redemption of | ||||||||||||
| June 30, | Collected | Distributor | Merrill Lynch | Load-Waived Shares | ||||||||||||
| 1999 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | ||||||||
| 1998 | $ | 17 | $ | 1 | $ | 16 | $ | 0 | ||||||||
| 1997 | $ | 104 | $ | 4 | $ | 100 | $ | 0 | ||||||||
Class D Shares
| For the Fiscal Year | Gross Sales | Sales Charges | Sales Charges | CDSCs Received on | ||||||||||||
| Ended | Charges | Retained by | Paid to | Redemption of | ||||||||||||
| June 30, | Collected | Distributor | Merrill Lynch | Load-Waived Shares | ||||||||||||
| 1999 | $ | 4,422 | $ | 232 | $ | 4,190 | $ | 0 | ||||||||
| 1998 | $ | 20,050 | $ | 1,389 | $ | 18,661 | $ | 0 | ||||||||
| 1997 | $ | 31,566 | $ | 1,954 | $ | 29,612 | $ | 0 | ||||||||
The Distributor may reallow discounts to selected dealers and retain the balance over such discounts. At times the Distributor may reallow the entire sales charge to such dealers. Since securities dealers selling Class A and Class D shares of the Fund will receive a concession equal to most of the sales charge, they may be deemed to be underwriters under the Securities Act.
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Reduced Initial Sales Charges
Reductions in or exemptions from the imposition of a sales load are due to the nature of the investors and/or the reduced sales efforts that will be needed to obtain such investments.
Reinvested Dividends. No initial sales charges are imposed upon Class A and Class D shares issued as a result of the automatic reinvestment of dividends.
Right of Accumulation. Reduced sales charges are applicable through a right of accumulation under which eligible investors are permitted to purchase shares of the Fund subject to an initial sales charge at the offering price applicable to the total of (a) the public offering price of the shares then being purchased plus (b) an amount equal to the then current net asset value or cost, whichever is higher, of the purchaser’s combined holdings of all classes of shares of the Fund and of any other Select Pricing Funds. For any such right of accumulation to be made available, the Distributor must be provided at the time of purchase, by the purchaser or the purchaser’s securities dealer, with sufficient information to permit confirmation of qualification. Acceptance of the purchase order is subject to such confirmation. The right of accumulation may be amended or terminated at any time. Shares held in the name of a nominee or custodian under pension, profit-sharing or other employee benefit plans may not be combined with other shares to qualify for the right of accumulation.
Letter of Intent. Reduced sales charges are applicable to purchases aggregating $25,000 or more of the Class A or Class D shares of the Fund or any Select Pricing Funds made within a 13-month period starting with the first purchase pursuant to a Letter of Intent. The Letter of Intent is available only to investors whose accounts are established and maintained at the Fund’s Transfer Agent. The Letter of Intent is not available to employee benefit plans for which Merrill Lynch provides plan participant recordkeeping services. The Letter of Intent is not a binding obligation to purchase any amount of Class A or Class D shares; however, its execution will result in the purchaser paying a lower sales charge at the appropriate quantity purchase level. A purchase not originally made pursuant to a Letter of Intent may be included under a subsequent Letter of Intent executed within 90 days of such purchase if the Distributor is informed in writing of this intent within such 90-day period. The value of Class A and Class D shares of the Fund and of other Select Pricing Funds presently held, at cost or maximum offering price (whichever is higher), on the date of the first purchase under the Letter of Intent, may be included as a credit toward the completion of such Letter, but the reduced sales charge applicable to the amount covered by such Letter will be applied only to new purchases. If the total amount of shares does not equal the amount stated in the Letter of Intent (minimum of $25,000), the investor will be notified and must pay, within 20 days of the expiration of such Letter, the difference between the sales charge on the Class A or Class D shares purchased at the reduced rate and the sales charge applicable to the shares actually purchased through the Letter. Class A or Class D shares equal to at least 5.0% of the intended amount will be held in escrow during the 13-month period (while remaining registered in the name of the purchaser) for this purpose. The first purchase under the Letter of Intent must be at least 5.0% of the dollar amount of such Letter. If a purchase during the term of such Letter would otherwise be subject to a further reduced sales charge based on the right of accumulation, the purchaser will be entitled on that purchase and subsequent purchases to the further reduced percentage sales charge that would be applicable to a single purchase equal to the total dollar value of the Class A or Class D shares then being purchased under such Letter, but there will be no retroactive reduction of the sales charge on any previous purchase.
The value of any shares redeemed or otherwise disposed of by the purchaser prior to termination or completion of the Letter of Intent will be deducted from the total purchases made under such Letter. An exchange from the Summit Cash Reserves Fund into the Fund that creates a sales charge will count toward completing a new or existing Letter of Intent from the Fund.
TMASM Managed Trusts. Class A shares are offered at net asset value to TMASM Managed Trusts to which Merrill Lynch Trust Company provides discretionary trustee services.
Employee AccessSM Accounts. Provided applicable threshold requirements are met, either Class A or Class D shares are offered at net asset value to Employee AccessSM Accounts available through authorized
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Employer-Sponsored Retirement or Savings Plans and Certain Other Arrangements. Certain employer-sponsored retirement or savings plans and certain other arrangements may purchase Class A or Class D shares at net asset value, based on the number of employees or number of employees eligible to participate in the plan, the aggregate amount invested by the plan in specified investments and/or the services provided by Merrill Lynch to the plan. Additional information regarding purchases by employer-sponsored retirement or savings plans and certain other arrangements is available toll-free from Merrill Lynch Business Financial Services at (800) 237-7777.
Purchase Privilege of Certain Persons. Directors of the Fund, members of the Boards of other MLAM/ FAM-advised investment companies, ML & Co. and its subsidiaries (the term “subsidiaries,” when used herein with respect to ML & Co., includes MLAM, FAM and certain other entities directly or indirectly wholly owned and controlled by ML & Co.) and their directors and employees, and any trust, pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for such persons, may purchase Class A shares of the Fund at net asset value. The Fund realizes economies of scale and reduction of sales-related expenses by virtue of the familiarity of these persons with the Fund. Employees and directors or trustees wishing to purchase shares of the Fund must satisfy the Fund’s suitability standards.
Class D shares of the Fund are offered at net asset value, without a sales charge, to an investor that has a business relationship with a Financial Consultant who joined Merrill Lynch from another investment firm within six months prior to the date of purchase by such investor, if the following conditions are satisfied: first, the investor must advise Merrill Lynch that it will purchase Class D shares of the Fund with proceeds from a redemption of shares of a mutual fund that was sponsored by the Financial Consultant’s previous firm and was subject to a sales charge either at the time of purchase or on a deferred basis; and, second, the investor must establish that such redemption had been made within 60 days prior to the investment in the Fund and the proceeds from the redemption had been maintained in the interim in cash or a money market fund.
Class D shares of the Fund are also offered at net asset value, without a sales charge, to an investor that has a business relationship with a Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant and that has invested in a mutual fund sponsored by a non-Merrill Lynch company for which Merrill Lynch has served as a selected dealer and where Merrill Lynch has either received or given notice that such arrangement will be terminated (“notice”) if the following conditions are satisfied: first, the investor must purchase Class D shares of the Fund with proceeds from a redemption of shares of such other mutual fund and the shares of such other fund were subject to a sales charge either at the time of purchase or on a deferred basis; and, second, such purchase of Class D shares must be made within 90 days after such notice.
Class D shares of the Fund are offered at net asset value, without a sales charge, to an investor that has a business relationship with a Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant and that has invested in a mutual fund for which Merrill Lynch has not served as a selected dealer if the following conditions are satisfied: first, the investor must advise Merrill Lynch that it will purchase Class D shares of the Fund with proceeds from the redemption of shares of such other mutual fund and that such shares have been outstanding for a period of no less than six months; and, second, such purchase of Class D shares must be made within 60 days after the redemption and the proceeds from the redemption must be maintained in the interim in cash or a money market fund.
Closed-End Fund Investment Option. Class A shares of the Fund and certain other Select Pricing Funds (“Eligible Class A Shares”) are offered at net asset value to shareholders of certain closed-end funds advised by FAM or MLAM who purchased such closed-end fund shares prior to October 21, 1994 (the date the Merrill Lynch Select Pricing SM System commenced operations) and wish to reinvest the net proceeds from a sale of their closed-end fund shares of common stock in Eligible Class A Shares, if the conditions set forth below are satisfied. Alternatively, closed-end fund shareholders who purchased such shares on or after October 21, 1994 and wish to reinvest the net proceeds from a sale of their closed-end fund shares are offered Class A shares (if eligible to buy Class A shares) or Class D shares of the Fund and other Select Pricing
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Shareholders of certain MLAM-advised continuously offered closed-end funds may reinvest at net asset value the net proceeds from a sale of certain shares of common stock of such funds in shares of the Fund. Upon exercise of this investment option, shareholders of Merrill Lynch Senior Floating Rate Fund, Inc. will receive Class A shares of the Fund, and shareholders of Merrill Lynch Municipal Strategy Fund, Inc. and Merrill Lynch High Income Municipal Bond Fund, Inc. will receive Class D shares of the Fund, except that shareholders already owning Class A shares of the Fund will be eligible to purchase additional Class A shares pursuant to this option, if such additional Class A shares will be held in the same account as the existing Class A shares and the other requirements pertaining to the reinvestment privilege are met. In order to exercise this investment option, a shareholder of one of the above-referenced continuously offered closed-end funds (an “eligible fund”) must sell his or her shares of common stock of the eligible fund (the “eligible shares”) back to the eligible fund in connection with a tender offer conducted by the eligible fund and reinvest the proceeds immediately in the designated class of shares of the Fund. This investment option is available only with respect to eligible shares as to which no Early Withdrawal Charge or CDSC (each as defined in the eligible fund’s prospectus) is applicable. Purchase orders from eligible fund shareholders wishing to exercise this investment option will be accepted only on the day that the related tender offer terminates and will be effected at the net asset value of the designated class of the Fund on such day.
Acquisition of Certain Investment Companies. Class D shares may be offered at net asset value in connection with the acquisition of the assets of or merger or consolidation with a personal holding company or a public or private investment company.
Deferred Sales Charge Alternatives — Class B and Class C Shares
Investors choosing the deferred sales charge alternatives should consider Class B shares if they intend to hold their shares for an extended period of time and Class C shares if they are uncertain as to the length of time they intend to hold their assets in Select Pricing Funds.
Because no initial sales charges are deducted at the time of the purchase, Class B and Class C shares provide the benefit of putting all of the investor’s dollars to work from the time the investment is made. The deferred sales charge alternatives may be particularly appealing to investors that do not qualify for the reduction in initial sales charges. Both Class B and Class C shares are subject to ongoing account maintenance fees and distribution fees; however, the ongoing account maintenance and distribution fees potentially may be offset to the extent any return is realized on the additional funds initially invested in Class B or Class C shares. In addition, Class B shares will be converted into Class D shares of the Fund after a conversion period of approximately eight years, and thereafter investors will be subject to lower ongoing fees.
The public offering price of Class B and Class C shares for investors choosing the deferred sales charge alternatives is the next determined net asset value per share without the imposition of a sales charge at the time of purchase. See “Pricing of Shares — Determination of Net Asset Value” below.
Contingent Deferred Sales Charges — Class B Shares
Class B shares that are redeemed within four years of purchase may be subject to a CDSC at the rates set forth below charged as a percentage of the dollar amount subject thereto. In determining whether a CDSC is applicable to a redemption, the calculation will be determined in the manner that results in the lowest applicable rate being charged. The charge will be assessed on an amount equal to the lesser of the proceeds of
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The following table sets forth the Class B CDSC:
| CDSC as a Percentage | ||||
| of Dollar Amount | ||||
| Year Since Purchase Payment Made | Subject to Charge | |||
| 0–1 | 4.0% | |||
| 1–2 | 3.0% | |||
| 2–3 | 2.0% | |||
| 3–4 | 1.0% | |||
| 4 and thereafter | None | |||
To provide an example, assume an investor purchased 100 shares at $10 per share (at a cost of $1,000) and in the third year after purchase, the net asset value per share is $12 and, during such time, the investor has acquired 10 additional shares upon dividend reinvestment. If at such time the investor makes his or her first redemption of 50 shares (proceeds of $600), 10 shares will not be subject to a CDSC because of dividend reinvestment. With respect to the remaining 40 shares, the charge is applied only to the original cost of $10 per share and not to the increase in net asset value of $2 per share. Therefore, $400 of the $600 redemption proceeds will be charged at a rate of 2.0% (the applicable rate in the third year after purchase).
The Class B CDSC may be waived on redemptions of shares in connection with certain post-retirement withdrawals from an Individual Retirement Account (“IRA”) or other retirement plan or following the death or disability (as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended) of a shareholder (including one who owns the Class B shares as joint tenant with his or her spouse), provided the redemption is requested within one year of the death or initial determination of disability or, if later, reasonably promptly following completion of probate. The Class B CDSC also may be waived on redemptions of shares by certain eligible 401(a) and 401(k) plans. The CDSC may also be waived for any Class B shares that are purchased by eligible 401(k) or eligible 401(a) plans that are rolled over into a Merrill Lynch or Merrill Lynch Trust Company custodied IRA and held in such account at the time of redemption. The Class B CDSC may be waived for any Class B shares that were acquired and held at the time of the redemption in an Employee AccessSM Account available through employers providing eligible 401(k) plans. The Class B CDSC may also be waived for any Class B shares that are purchased by a Merrill Lynch rollover IRA that was funded by a rollover from a terminated 401(k) plan managed by the MLAM Private Portfolio Group and held in such account at the time of redemption. The Class B CDSC may also be waived or its terms may be modified in connection with certain fee-based programs. The Class B CDSC may also be waived in connection with involuntary termination of an account in which Fund shares are held or for withdrawals through the Merrill Lynch Systematic Withdrawal Plan. See “Shareholder Services — Fee Based Programs” and “— Systematic Withdrawal Plan.”
Employer-Sponsored Retirement or Savings Plans and Certain Other Arrangements. Certain employer-sponsored retirement or savings plans and certain other arrangements may purchase Class B shares with a waiver of the CDSC upon redemption, based on the number of employees or number of employees eligible to participate in the plan, the aggregate amount invested by the plan in specified investments and/or the services provided by Merrill Lynch to the plan. Such Class B shares will convert into Class D shares approximately ten years after the plan purchases the first share of any Select Pricing Fund. Minimum purchase requirements may be waived or varied for such plans. Additional information regarding purchases by employer-sponsored
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Conversion of Class B Shares to Class D Shares. After approximately eight years (the “Conversion Period”), Class B shares will be converted automatically into Class D shares of the Fund. Class D shares are subject to an ongoing account maintenance fee of 0.25% of the average daily net assets but are not subject to the distribution fee that is borne by Class B shares. Automatic conversion of Class B shares into Class D shares will occur at least once each month (on the “Conversion Date”) on the basis of the relative net asset value of the shares of the two classes on the Conversion Date, without the imposition of any sales load, fee or other charge. Conversion of Class B shares to Class D shares will not be deemed a purchase or sale of the shares for Federal income tax purposes.
In addition, shares purchased through reinvestment of dividends on Class B shares also will convert automatically to Class D shares. The Conversion Date for dividend reinvestment shares will be calculated taking into account the length of time the shares underlying such dividend reinvestment shares were outstanding. If at the Conversion Date the conversion of Class B shares to Class D shares of the Fund in a single account will result in less than $50 worth of Class B shares being left in the account, all of the Class B shares of the Fund held in the account on the Conversion Date will be converted to Class D shares of the Fund.
In general, Class B shares of equity Select Pricing Funds will convert approximately eight years after initial purchase and Class B shares of taxable and tax-exempt fixed income Select Pricing Funds will convert approximately ten years after initial purchase. If, during the Conversion Period, a shareholder exchanges Class B shares with an eight-year Conversion Period for Class B shares with a ten-year Conversion Period, or vice versa, the Conversion Period applicable to the Class B shares acquired in the exchange will apply and the holding period for the shares exchanged will be tacked on to the holding period for the shares acquired. The Conversion Period also may be modified for investors that participate in certain fee-based programs. See “Shareholder Services — Fee-Based Programs.”
Class B shareholders of the Fund exercising the exchange privilege described under “Shareholder Services — Exchange Privilege” will continue to be subject to the Fund’s CDSC schedule if such schedule is higher than the CDSC schedule relating to the Class B shares acquired as a result of the exchange.
Share certificates for Class B shares of the Fund to be converted must be delivered to the Transfer Agent at least one week prior to the Conversion Date applicable to those shares. In the event such certificates are not received by the Transfer Agent at least one week prior to the Conversion Date, the related Class B shares will convert to Class D shares on the next scheduled Conversion Date after such certificates are delivered.
Contingent Deferred Sales Charges — Class C Shares
Class C shares that are redeemed within one year of purchase may be subject to a 1.0% CDSC charged as a percentage of the dollar amount subject thereto. In determining whether a Class C CDSC is applicable to a redemption, the calculation will be determined in the manner that results in the lowest possible rate being charged. The charge will be assessed on an amount equal to the lesser of the proceeds of redemption or the cost of the shares being redeemed. Accordingly, no Class C CDSC will be imposed on increases in net asset value above the initial purchase price. In addition, no Class C CDSC will be assessed on shares derived from reinvestment of dividends. It will be assumed that the redemption is first of shares held for over one year or shares acquired pursuant to reinvestment of dividends and then of shares held longest during the one-year period. A transfer of shares from a shareholder’s account to another account will be assumed to be made in the same order as a redemption. The Class C CDSC may be waived in connection with involuntary termination of an account in which Fund shares are held and withdrawals through the Merrill Lynch Systematic Withdrawal Plans. See “Shareholder Services — Systematic Withdrawal Plan.”
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Class B and Class C Sales Charge Information
| Class B Shares* | ||||||||
| For the Fiscal Year | CDSCs Received | CDSCs Paid to | ||||||
| Ended June 30, | by Distributor | Merrill Lynch | ||||||
| 1999 | $ | 97,417 | $ | 97,417 | ||||
| 1998 | $ | 268,729 | $ | 268,729 | ||||
| 1997 | $ | 424,847 | $ | 424,847 | ||||
| * | Additional Class B CDSCs payable to the Distributor may have been waived or converted to a contingent obligation in connection with a shareholder’s participation in certain fee-based programs. |
| Class C Shares | ||||||||
| For the Fiscal Year | CDSCs Received | CDSCs Paid to | ||||||
| Ended June 30, | by Distributor | Merrill Lynch | ||||||
| 1999 | $ | 1,132 | $ | 1,132 | ||||
| 1998 | $ | 904 | $ | 904 | ||||
| 1997 | $ | 2,530 | $ | 2,530 | ||||
Merrill Lynch compensates its Financial Consultants for selling Class B and Class C shares at the time of purchase from its own funds. Proceeds from the CDSC and the distribution fee are paid to the Distributor and are used in whole or in part by the Distributor to defray the expenses of dealers (including Merrill Lynch) related to providing distribution-related services to the Fund in connection with the sale of the Class B and Class C shares, such as the payment of compensation to financial consultants for selling Class B and Class C shares from the dealer’s own funds. The combination of the CDSC and the ongoing distribution fee facilitates the ability of the Fund to sell the Class B and Class C shares without a sales charge being deducted at the time of purchase. See “Distribution Plans” below. Imposition of the CDSC and the distribution fee on Class B and Class C shares is limited by the NASD asset-based sales charge rule. See “Limitations on the Payment of Deferred Sales Charges” below.
Distribution Plans
Reference is made to “Fees and Expenses” in the Prospectus for certain information with respect to the separate distribution plans for Class B, Class C and Class D shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act (each a “Distribution Plan”) with respect to the account maintenance and/or distribution fees paid by the Fund to the Distributor with respect to such classes.
The Distribution Plans for Class B, Class C and Class D shares each provides that the Fund pay the Distributor an account maintenance fee relating to the shares of the relevant class, accrued daily and paid monthly, at the annual rate of 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the Fund attributable to shares of the relevant class in order to compensate the Distributor and Merrill Lynch (pursuant to a sub-agreement) in connection with account maintenance activities with respect to Class B, Class C and Class D shares. Each of those classes has exclusive voting rights with respect to the Distribution Plan adopted with respect to such class pursuant to which account maintenance and/or distribution fees are paid (except that Class B shareholders may vote upon any material changes to expenses charged under the Class D Distribution Plan).
The Distribution Plans for Class B and Class C shares each provides that the Fund also pay the Distributor a distribution fee relating to the shares of the relevant class, accrued daily and paid monthly, at the annual rate of 0.75% of the average daily net assets of the Fund attributable to the shares of the relevant class in order to compensate the Distributor and Merrill Lynch (pursuant to a sub-agreement) for providing shareholder and distribution services and bearing certain distribution-related expenses of the Fund, including payments to financial consultants for selling Class B and Class C shares of the Fund. The Distribution Plans relating to Class B and Class C shares are designed to permit an investor to purchase Class B and Class C shares through dealers without the assessment of an initial sales charge and at the same time permit the dealer to compensate its financial consultants in connection with the sale of the Class B and Class C shares.
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The Fund’s Distribution Plans are subject to the provisions of Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act. In their consideration of each Distribution Plan, the Directors must consider all factors they deem relevant, including information as to the benefits of the Distribution Plan to the Fund and each related class of shareholders. Each Distribution Plan further provides that, so long as the Distribution Plan remains in effect, the selection and nomination of non-interested Directors shall be committed to the discretion of the non-interested Directors then in office. In approving each Distribution Plan in accordance with Rule 12b-1, the non-interested Directors concluded that there is reasonable likelihood that each Distribution Plan will benefit the Fund and its related class of shareholders. Each Distribution Plan can be terminated at any time, without penalty, by the vote of a majority of the non-interested Directors or by the vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding related class of voting securities of the Fund. A Distribution Plan cannot be amended to increase materially the amount to be spent by the Fund without the approval of the related class of shareholders and all material amendments are required to be approved by the vote of Directors, including a majority of the non-interested Directors who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the Distribution Plan, cast in person at a meeting called for that purpose. Rule 12b-1 further requires that the Fund preserve copies of the Distribution Plan and any report made pursuant to such plan for a period of not less than six years from the date of the Distribution Plan or such report, the first two years in an easily accessible place.
Among other things, each Distribution Plan provides that the Distributor shall provide and the Directors shall review quarterly reports of the disbursement of the account maintenance and/or distribution fees paid to the Distributor. Payments under the Distribution Plans are based on a percentage of average daily net assets attributable to the shares regardless of the amount of expenses incurred and, accordingly, distribution-related revenues from the Distribution Plans may be more or less than distribution-related expenses. Information with respect to the distribution-related revenues and expenses is presented to the Directors for their consideration in connection with their deliberations as to the continuance of the Class B and Class C Distribution Plans annually, as of December 31 of each year, on a “fully allocated accrual” basis and quarterly on a “direct expense and revenue/cash” basis. On the fully allocated accrual basis, revenues consist of the account maintenance fees, distribution fees, the CDSCs and certain other related revenues, and expenses consist of financial consultant compensation, branch office and regional operation center selling and transaction processing expenses, advertising, sales promotion and marketing expenses, corporate overhead and interest expense. On the direct expense and revenue/cash basis, revenues consist of the account maintenance fees, distribution fees and CDSCs and the expenses consist of financial consultant compensation.
As of December 31, 1998, the fully allocated accrual expenses incurred by the Distributor and Merrill Lynch for the period since the commencement of operations of Class B shares exceeded the fully allocated accrual revenues by approximately $890,000 (2.3% of Class B net assets at that date). As of June 30, 1999, direct cash revenues for the period since the commencement of operations of Class B shares exceeded direct cash expenses by $3,658,304 (10.7% of Class B net assets at that date). As of December 31, 1998, the fully allocated accrual expenses incurred by the Distributor and Merrill Lynch for the period since the commencement of operations of Class C shares exceeded the fully allocated accrual revenues by approximately $79,000 (2.5% of Class C net assets at that date). As of June 30, 1999, direct cash revenues for the period since the commencement of operations of Class C shares exceeded direct cash expenses by $140,132 (5.3% of Class C net assets at that date).
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1999, the Fund paid the Distributor $388,313 pursuant to the Class B Distribution Plan (based on average daily net assets subject to such Class B Distribution Plan of approximately $38.8 million), all of which was paid to Merrill Lynch for providing account maintenance and distribution-related activities and services in connection with Class B shares. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1999, the Fund paid the Distributor $31,538 pursuant to the Class C Distribution Plan (based on average daily net assets subject to such Class C Distribution Plan of approximately $3.2 million), all of which was paid to Merrill Lynch for providing account maintenance and distribution-related activities and services in connection with Class C shares. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1999, the Fund paid the Distributor $18,289 pursuant to the Class D Distribution Plan (based on average daily net assets subject to such Class D Distribution Plan of approximately $7.3 million), all of which was paid to Merrill Lynch for providing account maintenance activities in connection with Class D shares.
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Limitations on the Payment of Deferred Sales Charges
The maximum sales charge rule in the Conduct Rules of the NASD imposes a limitation on certain asset-based sales charges such as the distribution fee and the CDSC borne by the Class B and Class C shares but not the account maintenance fee. The maximum sales charge rule is applied separately to each class. As applicable to the Fund, the maximum sales charge rule limits the aggregate of distribution fee payments and CDSCs payable by the Fund to (1) 6.25% of eligible gross sales of Class B shares and Class C shares, computed separately (defined to exclude shares issued pursuant to dividend reinvestments and exchanges), plus (2) interest on the unpaid balance for the respective class, computed separately, at the prime rate plus 1% (the unpaid balance being the maximum amount payable minus amounts received from the payment of the distribution fee and the CDSC). In connection with the Class B shares, the Distributor has voluntarily agreed to waive interest charges on the unpaid balance in excess of 0.50% of eligible gross sales. Consequently, the maximum amount payable to the Distributor (referred to as the “voluntary maximum”) in connection with the Class B shares is 6.75% of eligible gross sales. The Distributor retains the right to stop waiving the interest charges at any time. To the extent payments would exceed the voluntary maximum, the Fund will not make further payments of the distribution fee with respect to Class B shares and any CDSCs will be paid to the Fund rather than to the Distributor; however, the Fund will continue to make payments of the account maintenance fee. In certain circumstances the amount payable pursuant to the voluntary maximum may exceed the amount payable under the NASD formula. In such circumstances payment in excess of the amount payable under the NASD formula will not be made.
The following table sets forth comparative information as of June 30, 1999 with respect to the Class B and Class C shares of the Fund indicating the maximum allowable payments that can be made under the NASD maximum sales charge rule and, with respect to the Class B shares, the Distributor’s voluntary maximum.
| Data Calculated as of June 30, 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Annual | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distribution | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allowable | Amounts | Fee at | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eligible | Allowable | Interest on | Maximum | Previously | Aggregate | Current Net | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gross | Aggregate | Unpaid | Amount | Paid to | Unpaid | Asset | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sales(1) | Sales Charges(2) | Balance(3) | Payable | Distributor(4) | Balance | Level(5) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class B Shares for the period August 5, 1994 (commencement of operations) to June 30, 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Under NASD Rule as Adopted | $ | 179,768 | $ | 11,202 | $ | 4,082 | $ | 15,284 | $ | 5,435 | $ | 9,849 | $ | 257 | ||||||||||||||
| Under Distributor’s Voluntary Waiver | $ | 179,768 | $ | 11,202 | $ | 932 | $ | 12,134 | $ | 5,435 | $ | 6,699 | $ | 257 | ||||||||||||||
| Class C Shares, for the period October 21, 1994 (commencement of operations) to June 30, 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Under NASD Rule as Adopted | $ | 9,904 | $ | 617 | $ | 218 | $ | 835 | $ | 166 | $ | 669 | $ | 20 | ||||||||||||||
| (1) | Purchase price of all eligible Class B or Class C shares sold during the periods indicated other than shares acquired through dividend reinvestment and the exchange privilege. |
| (2) | Includes amounts attributable to exchanges from Summit Cash Reserves Fund (“Summit”) which are not reflected in Eligible Gross Sales. Shares of Summit can only be purchased by exchange from another fund (the “redeemed fund”). Upon such an exchange, the maximum allowable sales charge payment to the redeemed fund is reduced in accordance with the amount of the redemption. This amount is then added to the maximum allowable sales charge payment with respect to Summit. Upon an exchange out of Summit, the remaining balance of this amount is deducted from the maximum allowable sales charge payment to Summit and added to the maximum allowable sales charge payment to the fund into which the exchange is made. |
| (3) | Interest is computed on a monthly basis based upon the prime rate, as reported in The Wall Street Journal, plus 1.0%, as permitted under the NASD Rule. |
| (4) | Consists of CDSC payments, distribution fee payments and accruals. See “What are the Fund’s fees and expenses?” in the Prospectus. This figure may include CDSCs that were deferred when a shareholder redeemed shares prior to the expiration of the applicable CDSC period and invested the proceeds, without the imposition of a sales charge, in Class A shares in conjunction with the shareholder’s participation in the Merrill Lynch Mutual Fund Advisor (Merrill Lynch MFASM) Program (the “MFA Program”). The CDSC is booked as a contingent obligation that may be payable if the shareholder terminates participation in the MFA Program. |
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| (5) | Provided to illustrate the extent to which the current level of distribution fee payments (not including any CDSC payments) is amortizing the unpaid balance. No assurance can be given that payments of the distribution fee will reach either the voluntary maximum (with respect to Class B shares) or the NASD maximum (with respect to Class B and Class C shares). |
REDEMPTION OF SHARES
Reference is made to “How to Buy, Sell, Transfer and Exchange Shares” in the Prospectus.
The Fund is required to redeem for cash all shares of the Fund upon receipt of a written request in proper form. The redemption price is the net asset value per share next determined after the initial receipt of proper notice of redemption. Except for any CDSC that may be applicable, there will be no charge for redemption if the redemption request is sent directly to the Transfer Agent. Shareholders liquidating their holdings will receive upon redemption all dividends reinvested through the date of redemption.
The right to redeem shares or to receive payment with respect to any such redemption may be suspended for more than seven days only for any period during which trading on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) is restricted as determined by the Commission or the NYSE is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings), for any period during which an emergency exists as defined by the Commission as a result of which disposal of portfolio securities or determination of the net asset value of the Fund is not reasonably practicable, and for such other periods as the Commission may by order permit for the protection of shareholders of the Fund.
The value of shares at the time of redemption may be more or less than the shareholder’s cost, depending in part on the market value of the securities held by the Fund at such time.
Redemption
A shareholder wishing to redeem shares held with the Transfer Agent may do so without charge by tendering the shares directly to the Transfer Agent at Financial Data Services, Inc., P.O. Box 45289, Jacksonville, Florida 32232-5289. Redemption requests delivered other than by mail should be delivered to Financial Data Services, Inc., 4800 Deer Lake Drive East, Jacksonville, Florida 32246-6484. Proper notice of redemption in the case of shares deposited with the Transfer Agent may be accomplished by a written letter requesting redemption. Proper notice of redemption in the case of shares for which certificates have been issued may be accomplished by a written letter as noted above accompanied by certificates for the shares to be redeemed. Redemption requests should not be sent to the Fund. The redemption request in either event requires the signature(s) of all persons in whose name(s) the shares are registered, signed exactly as such name(s) appear(s) on the Transfer Agent’s register. The signatures on the redemption request may require a guarantee by an “eligible guarantor institution” as defined in Rule 17Ad-15 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), the existence and validity of which may be verified by the Transfer Agent through the use of industry publications. In the event a signature guarantee is required, notarized signatures are not sufficient. In general, signature guarantees are waived on redemptions of less than $50,000 as long as the following requirements are met: (i) all requests require the signature(s) of all persons whose name(s) shares are recorded on the Transfer Agent’s register; (ii) all checks must be mailed to the stencil address of record on the Transfer Agent’s register and (iii) the stencil address must not have changed within 30 days. Certain rules may apply regarding certain account types such as but not limited to UGMA/ UTMA accounts, Joint Tenancies With Rights of Survivorship, contra broker transactions, and institutional accounts. In certain instances, the Transfer Agent may require additional documents such as, but not limited to, trust instruments, death certificates, appointments as executor or administrator, or certificates of corporate authority. For shareholders redeeming directly with the Transfer Agent, payments will be mailed within seven days of receipt of a proper notice of redemption.
At various times the Fund may be requested to redeem shares for which it has not yet received good payment (e.g., cash, Federal funds or certified check drawn on a U.S. bank). The Fund may delay or cause to be delayed the mailing of a redemption check until such time as it has assured itself that good payment (e.g.,
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Repurchase
The Fund also will repurchase Fund shares through a shareholder’s listed securities dealer. The Fund normally will accept orders to repurchase Fund shares by wire or telephone from dealers for their customers at the net asset value next computed after the order is placed. Shares will be priced at the net asset value calculated on the day the request is received, provided that the request for repurchase is submitted to the dealer prior to the regular close of business on the NYSE (generally, the NYSE closes at 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) and such request is received by the Fund from such dealer not later than 30 minutes after the close of business on the NYSE on the same day. Dealers have the responsibility of submitting such repurchase requests to the Fund not later than 30 minutes after the close of business on the NYSE, in order to obtain that day’s closing price.
The foregoing repurchase arrangements are for the convenience of shareholders and do not involve a charge by the Fund (other than any applicable CDSC). Securities firms that do not have selected dealer agreements with the Distributor, however, may impose a transaction charge on the shareholder for transmitting the notice of repurchase to the Fund. Merrill Lynch may charge its customers a processing fee (presently $5.35) to confirm a repurchase of shares to such customers. Repurchases made directly through the Transfer Agent on accounts held at the Transfer Agent are not subject to the processing fee. The Fund reserves the right to reject any order for repurchase, which right of rejection might adversely affect shareholders seeking redemption through the repurchase procedure. However, a shareholder whose order for repurchase is rejected by the Fund may redeem Fund shares as set forth above.
Reinstatement Privilege — Class A and Class D Shares
Shareholders who have redeemed their Class A or Class D shares of the Fund have a privilege to reinstate their accounts by purchasing Class A or Class D shares, as the case may be, of the Fund at net asset value without a sales charge up to the dollar amount redeemed. The reinstatement privilege may be exercised by sending a notice of exercise along with a check for the amount to be reinstated to the Transfer Agent within 30 days after the date the request for redemption was accepted by the Transfer Agent or the Distributor. Alternatively, the reinstatement privilege may be exercised through the investor’s Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant within 30 days after the date the request for redemption was accepted by the Transfer Agent or the Distributor. The reinstatement will be made at the net asset value per share next determined after the notice of reinstatement is received and cannot exceed the amount of the redemption proceeds.
PRICING OF SHARES
Determination of Net Asset Value
Reference is made to “How Shares are Priced” in the Prospectus.
The net asset value of the shares of all classes of the Fund is determined once daily Monday through Friday after the close of business on the NYSE on each day the NYSE is open for trading. The NYSE generally closes at 4:00 p.m., Eastern time. Any assets or liabilities initially expressed in terms of non-U.S. dollar currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at the prevailing market rates as quoted by one or more banks or dealers on the day of valuation. The NYSE is not open for trading on New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Net asset value is computed by dividing the value of the securities held by the Fund plus any cash or other assets (including interest and dividends accrued but not yet received) minus all liabilities (including
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The per share net asset value of Class B, Class C and Class D shares generally will be lower than the per share net asset value of Class A shares, reflecting the daily expense accruals of the account maintenance, distribution and higher transfer agency fees applicable with respect to Class B and Class C shares, and the daily expense accruals of the account maintenance fees applicable with respect to the Class D shares; moreover, the per share net asset value of the Class B and Class C shares generally will be lower than the per share net asset value of Class D shares reflecting the daily expense accruals of the distribution fees and higher transfer agency fees applicable with respect to Class B and Class C shares of the Fund. It is expected, however, that the per share net asset value of the four classes will tend to converge (although not necessarily meet) immediately after the payment of dividends, which will differ by approximately the amount of the expense accrual differentials between the classes.
Portfolio securities that are traded on stock exchanges are valued at the last sale price (regular way) on the exchange on which such securities are traded as of the close of business on the day the securities are being valued or, lacking any sales, at the last available bid price for long positions, and at the last available ask price for short positions. In cases where securities are traded on more than one exchange, the securities are valued on the exchange designated by or under the authority of the Directors as the primary market. Long positions in securities traded in the OTC market are valued at the last available bid price in the OTC market prior to the time of valuation. Short positions in securities traded in the OTC market are valued at the last available ask price in the OTC market prior to the time of valuation. Portfolio securities that are traded both in the OTC market and on a stock exchange are valued according to the broadest and most representative market. When the Fund writes an option, the amount of the premium received is recorded on the books of the Fund as an asset and an equivalent liability. The amount of the liability is subsequently valued to reflect the current market value of the option written, based upon the last sale price in the case of exchange-traded options or, in the case of options traded in the OTC market, the last asked price. Options purchased by the Fund are valued at their last sale price in the case of exchange-traded options or, in the case of options traded in the OTC market, the last bid price. Other investments, including financial futures contracts and related options, are stated at market value. Securities and assets for which market quotations are not readily available are stated at fair value as determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Directors of the Fund. Such valuations and procedures will be reviewed periodically by the Directors.
Generally, trading in non-U.S. securities, as well as U.S. Government securities and money market instruments, is substantially completed each day at various times prior to the close of business on the NYSE. The values of such securities used in computing the net asset value of the Fund’s shares are determined as of such times. Foreign currency exchange rates are also generally determined prior to the close of business on the NYSE. Occasionally, events affecting the values of such securities and such exchange rates may occur between the times at which they are determined and the close of business on the NYSE that may not be reflected in the computation of the Fund’s net asset value.
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Computation of Offering Price Per Share
An illustration of the computation of the offering price for Class A, Class B, Class C and Class D shares of the Fund based on the value of the Fund’s net assets and number of shares outstanding on June 30, 1999 is set forth below.
| Class A | Class B | Class C | Class D | |||||||||||||
| Net Assets | $ | 4,239,079 | $ | 34,319,606 | $ | 2,623,185 | $ | 7,202,008 | ||||||||
| Number of Shares Outstanding | 405,440 | 3,303,701 | 254,689 | 689,897 | ||||||||||||
| Net Asset Value Per Share (net assets divided by number of shares outstanding) | $ | 10.46 | $ | 10.39 | $ | 10.30 | $ | 10.44 | ||||||||
| Sales Charge (for Class A and Class D shares: 5.25% of offering price; 5.54% of net asset value per share)* | .55 | ** | ** | .55 | ||||||||||||
| Offering Price | $ | 11.01 | $ | 10.39 | $ | 10.30 | $ | 10.99 | ||||||||
| * | Rounded to the nearest one-hundredth percent; assumes maximum sales charge is applicable. |
| ** | Class B and Class C shares are not subject to an initial sales charge but may be subject to a CDSC on redemption of shares. See “Purchase of Shares — Deferred Sales Charges Alternatives — Class B and Class C Shares” herein. |
PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS AND BROKERAGE
Subject to policies established by the Board of Directors of the Fund, the Manager is primarily responsible for the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions and the allocation of brokerage. The Fund has no obligation to deal with any broker or group of brokers in the execution of transactions in portfolio securities and does not use any particular broker or dealer. In executing transactions with brokers and dealers, the Manager seeks to obtain the best net results for the Fund, taking into account such factors as price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), size of order, difficulty of execution and operational facilities of the firm and the firm’s risk in positioning a block of securities. While the Manager generally seeks reasonably competitive commission rates, the Fund does not necessarily pay the lowest spread or commission available. In addition, consistent with the Conduct Rules of the NASD and policies established by the Board of Directors of the Fund, the Manager may consider sales of shares of the Fund as a factor in the selection of brokers or dealers to execute portfolio transactions for the Fund; however, whether or not a particular broker or dealer sells shares of the Fund neither qualifies nor disqualifies such broker or dealer to execute transactions for the Fund.
Subject to obtaining the best net results, brokers who provide supplemental investment research services to the Manager may receive orders for transactions by the Fund. Such supplemental research services ordinarily consist of assessments and analyses of the business or prospects of a company, industry or economic sector. Information so received will be in addition to and not in lieu of the services required to be performed by the Manager under the Management Agreement, and the expenses of the Manager will not necessarily be reduced as a result of the receipt of such supplemental information. If in the judgment of the Manager the Fund will benefit from supplemental research services, the Manager is authorized to pay brokerage commissions to a broker furnishing such services that are in excess of commissions that another broker may have charged for effecting the same transaction. Certain supplemental research services may primarily benefit one or more other investment companies or other accounts for which the Manager exercises investment discretion. Conversely, the Fund may be the primary beneficiary of the supplemental research services received as a result of portfolio transactions effected for such other accounts or investment companies.
The Fund anticipates that its brokerage transactions involving securities of issuers domiciled in countries other than the United States generally will be conducted primarily on the principal stock exchanges of such countries. Brokerage commissions and other transaction costs on foreign stock exchange transactions generally are higher than in the United States, although the Fund will endeavor to achieve the best net results in
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Foreign equity securities may be held by the Fund in the form of ADRs, EDRs, GDRs or other securities convertible into foreign equity securities. ADRs, EDRs and GDRs may be listed on stock exchanges, or traded in over-the-counter markets in the United States or Europe, as the case may be. ADRs, like other securities traded in the United States, will be subject to negotiated commission rates. The Fund’s ability and decisions to purchase or sell portfolio securities of foreign issuers may be affected by laws or regulations relating to the convertibility and repatriation of assets. Because the shares of the Fund are redeemable on a daily basis in U.S. dollars, the Fund intends to manage its portfolio so as to give reasonable assurance that it will be able to obtain U.S. dollars to the extent necessary to meet anticipated redemptions. Under present conditions, it is not believed that these considerations will have any significant effect on its portfolio strategy.
Information about the brokerage commissions paid by the Fund, including commissions paid to Merrill Lynch, is set forth in the following table:
| Aggregate Brokerage | Commissions Paid | |||||||
| Fiscal Year Ended June 30, | Commissions Paid | to Merrill Lynch | ||||||
| 1999 | $ | 369,283 | $ | 38,903 | ||||
| 1998 | $ | 510,231 | $ | 52,087 | ||||
| 1997 | $ | 476,042 | $ | 56,999 | ||||
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1999, the brokerage commissions paid to Merrill Lynch represented 10.53% of the aggregate brokerage commissions paid and involved 8.94% of the Fund’s dollar amount of transactions involving payment of brokerage commissions.
The Fund may invest in certain securities traded in the OTC market and intends to deal directly with the dealers who make a market in securities involved, except in those circumstances in which better prices and execution are available elsewhere. Under the Investment Company Act, persons affiliated with the Fund and persons who are affiliated with such affiliated persons are prohibited from dealing with the Fund as principal in the purchase and sale of securities unless a permissive order allowing such transactions is obtained from the Commission. Since transactions in the OTC market usually involve transactions with the dealers acting as principal for their own accounts, the Fund will not deal with affiliated persons, including Merrill Lynch and its affiliates, in connection with such transactions. However, an affiliated person of the Fund may serve as its broker in OTC transactions conducted on an agency basis provided that, among other things, the fee or commission received by such affiliated broker is reasonable and fair compared to the fee or commission received by non-affiliated brokers in connection with comparable transactions. In addition, the Fund may not purchase securities during the existence of any underwriting syndicate for such securities of which Merrill Lynch is a member or in a private placement in which Merrill Lynch serves as placement agent except pursuant to procedures approved by the Board of Directors of the Fund that either comply with rules adopted by the Commission or with interpretations of the Commission staff. See “Investment Objective and Policies — Investment Restrictions.”
Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act generally prohibits members of the United States national securities exchanges from executing exchange transactions for their affiliates and institutional accounts that they manage unless the member (i) has obtained prior express authorization from the account to effect such transactions, (ii) at least annually furnishes the account with the aggregate compensation received by the member in effecting such transactions, and (iii) complies with any rules the Commission has prescribed with respect to the requirements of clauses (i) and (ii). To the extent Section 11(a) would apply to Merrill Lynch acting as a broker for the Fund in any of its portfolio transactions executed on any such securities exchange of which it is a member, appropriate consents have been obtained from the Fund and annual statements as to aggregate compensation will be provided to the Fund.
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The Board of Directors of the Fund has considered the possibility of seeking to recapture for the benefit of the Fund brokerage commissions and other expenses of possible portfolio transactions by conducting portfolio transactions through affiliated entities. For example, brokerage commissions received by affiliated brokers could be offset against the advisory fee paid by the Fund to the Manager. After considering all factors deemed relevant, the Board of Directors made a determination not to seek such recapture. The Board will reconsider this matter from time to time.
Because of different objectives or other factors, a particular security may be bought for one or more clients of the Manager or an affiliate when one or more clients of the Manager or an affiliate are selling the same security. If purchases or sales of securities arise for consideration at or about the same time that would involve the Fund or other clients or funds for which the Manager or an affiliate acts as manager transactions in such securities will be made, insofar as feasible, for the respective funds and clients in a manner deemed equitable to all. To the extent that transactions on behalf of more than one client of the Manager or an affiliate during the same period may increase the demand for securities being purchased or the supply of securities being sold, there may be an adverse effect on price.
SHAREHOLDER SERVICES
The Fund offers a number of shareholder services and investment plans described below that are designed to facilitate investment in shares of the fund. Full details as to each of such services, copies of the various plans and instructions as to how to participate in the various services or plans, or how to change options with respect thereto, can be obtained from the Fund, by calling the telephone number on the cover page hereof, or from the Distributor or Merrill Lynch. Certain of these services are available only to U.S. Investors.
Investment Account
Each shareholder whose account is maintained at the Transfer Agent has an Investment Account and will receive statements, at least quarterly, from the Transfer Agent. These statements will serve as transaction confirmations for automatic investment purchases and the reinvestment of dividends. The statements will also show any other activity in the account since the preceding statement. Shareholders will also receive separate confirmations for each purchase or sale transaction other than automatic investment purchases and the reinvestment of dividends. A shareholder with an account held at the Transfer Agent may make additions to his or her Investment Account at any time by mailing a check directly to the Transfer Agent. A shareholder may also maintain an account through Merrill Lynch. Upon the transfer of shares out of a Merrill Lynch brokerage account, an Investment Account in the transferring shareholder’s name may be opened automatically at the Transfer Agent.
Share certificates are issued only for full shares and only upon the specific request of a shareholder who has an Investment Account. Issuance of certificates representing all or only part of the full shares in an Investment Account may be requested by a shareholder directly from the Transfer Agent.
Shareholders may transfer their Fund shares from Merrill Lynch to another securities dealer that has entered into a selected dealer agreement with Merrill Lynch. Certain shareholder services may not be available for the transferred shares. After the transfer, the shareholder may purchase additional shares of funds owned before the transfer and all future trading of these assets must be coordinated by the new firm. If a shareholder wishes to transfer his or her shares to a securities dealer that has not entered into a selected dealer agreement with Merrill Lynch, the shareholder must either (i) redeem his or her shares, paying any applicable CDSC or (ii) continue to maintain an Investment Account at the Transfer Agent for those shares. The shareholder may also request the new securities dealer to maintain the shares in an account at the Transfer Agent registered in the name of the securities dealer for the benefit of the shareholder whether the securities dealer has entered into a selected dealer agreement or not.
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Shareholders considering transferring a tax-deferred retirement account, such as an individual retirement account, from Merrill Lynch to another securities dealer should be aware that, if the firm to which the retirement account is to be transferred will not take delivery of shares of the Fund, a shareholder must either redeem the shares, paying any applicable CDSC, so that the cash proceeds can be transferred to the account at the new firm, or such shareholder must continue to maintain a retirement account at Merrill Lynch for those shares.
Exchange Privilege
U.S. shareholders of each class of shares of the Fund have an exchange privilege with certain other Select Pricing Funds and Summit Cash Reserves Fund (“Summit”), a series of Financial Institutions Series Trust, which is a Merrill Lynch-sponsored money market fund specifically designated for exchange by holders of Class A, Class B, Class C and Class D shares of Select Pricing Funds. Shares with a net asset value of at least $100 are required to qualify for the exchange privilege and any shares utilized in an exchange must have been held by the shareholder for at least 15 days. Before effecting an exchange, shareholders should obtain a currently effective prospectus of the fund into which the exchange is to be made. Exercise of the exchange privilege is treated as a sale of the exchanged shares and a purchase of the acquired shares for Federal income tax purposes.
Exchanges of Class A and Class D Shares. Class A shareholders may exchange Class A shares of the Fund for Class A shares of a second Select Pricing Fund if the shareholder holds any Class A shares of the second fund in the account in which the exchange is made at the time of the exchange or is otherwise eligible to purchase Class A shares of the second fund. If the Class A shareholder wants to exchange Class A shares for shares of a second Select Pricing Fund, but does not hold Class A shares of the second fund in his or her account at the time of the exchange and is not otherwise eligible to acquire Class A shares of the second fund, the shareholder will receive Class D shares of the second fund as a result of the exchange. Class D shares also may be exchanged for Class A shares of a second Select Pricing Fund at any time as long as, at the time of the exchange, the shareholder holds Class A shares of the second fund in the account in which the exchange is made or is otherwise eligible to purchase Class A shares of the second fund. Class D shares are exchangeable with shares of the same class of other Select Pricing Funds.
Exchanges of Class A or Class D shares outstanding (“outstanding Class A or Class D shares”) for Class A or Class D shares of other Select Pricing Funds or for Class A shares of Summit, (“new Class A or Class D shares”) are transacted on the basis of relative net asset value per Class A or Class D share, respectively, plus an amount equal to the difference, if any, between the sales charge previously paid on the outstanding Class A or Class D shares and the sales charge payable at the time of the exchange on the new Class A or Class D shares. With respect to outstanding Class A or Class D shares as to which previous exchanges have taken place, the “sales charge previously paid” shall include the aggregate of the sales charges paid with respect to such Class A or Class D shares in the initial purchase and any subsequent exchange. Class A or Class D shares issued pursuant to dividend reinvestment are sold on a no-load basis in each of the funds offering Class A or Class D shares. For purposes of the exchange privilege, Class A or Class D shares acquired through dividend reinvestment shall be deemed to have been sold with a sales charge equal to the sales charge previously paid on the Class A or Class D shares on which the dividend was paid. Based on this formula, Class A and Class D shares generally may be exchanged into the Class A or Class D shares, respectively, of the other funds with a reduced sales charge or without a sales charge.
Exchanges of Class B and Class C Shares. Certain Select Pricing Funds with Class B or Class C shares outstanding (“outstanding Class B or Class C shares”) offer to exchange their Class B or Class C shares for Class B or Class C shares, respectively, of certain other Select Pricing Funds or for Class B shares of Summit (“new Class B or Class C shares”) on the basis of relative net asset value per Class B or Class C share, without the payment of any CDSC that might otherwise be due on redemption of the outstanding shares. Class B shareholders of the Fund exercising the exchange privilege will continue to be subject to the Fund’s CDSC schedule if such schedule is higher than the CDSC schedule relating to the new Class B shares acquired through use of the exchange privilege. In addition, Class B shares of the Fund acquired through use
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Exchanges for Shares of a Money Market Fund. Class A and Class D shares are exchangeable for Class A shares of Summit and Class B and Class C shares are exchangeable for Class B shares of Summit. Class A shares of Summit have an exchange privilege back into Class A or Class D shares of Select Pricing Funds; Class B shares of Summit have an exchange privilege back into Class B or Class C shares of Select Pricing Funds and, in the event of such an exchange, the period of time that Class B shares of Summit are held will count toward satisfaction of the holding period requirement for purposes of reducing any CDSC and toward satisfaction of any Conversion Period with respect to Class B shares. Class B shares of Summit will be subject to a distribution fee at an annual rate of 0.75% of average daily net assets of such Class B shares. This exchange privilege does not apply with respect to certain Merrill Lynch fee-based programs for which alternative exchange arrangements may exist. Please see your Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant for further information.
Prior to October 12, 1998, exchanges from the Fund and other Select Pricing Funds into a money market fund were directed to certain Merrill Lynch-sponsored money market funds other than Summit. Shareholders who exchanged Select Pricing Fund shares for shares of such other money market funds and subsequently wish to exchange those money market fund shares for shares of the Fund will be subject to the CDSC schedule applicable to such Fund shares, if any. The holding period for the money market fund shares will not count toward satisfaction of the holding period requirement for reduction of the CDSC imposed on such shares, if any, and, with respect to Class B shares, toward satisfaction of the Conversion Period. However, the holding period for Class B or Class C shares of a Fund received in exchange for such money market fund shares will be aggregated with the holding period for the fund shares originally exchanged for such money market fund shares for purposes of reducing the CDSC or satisfying the Conversion Period.
Exchanges by Participants in the MFA Program. The exchange privilege is modified with respect to certain retirement plans which participate in the MFA Program. Such retirement plans may exchange Class B, Class C or Class D shares that have been held for at least one year for Class A shares of the same fund on the basis of relative net asset values in connection with the commencement of participation in the MFA Program, i.e., no CDSC will apply. The one year holding period does not apply to shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends. Upon termination of participation in the MFA Program, Class A shares will be re-exchanged for the class of shares originally held. For purposes of computing any CDSC that may be payable upon redemption of Class B or Class C shares so reacquired, or the Conversion Period for Class B shares so reacquired, the holding period for the Class A shares will be “tacked” to the holding period for the Class B or Class C shares originally held. The Fund’s exchange privilege is also modified with respect to purchases of Class A and Class D shares by non-retirement plan investors under the MFA Program. First, the
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Exercise of the Exchange Privilege. To exercise the exchange privilege, a shareholder should contact his or her Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant, who will advise the Fund of the exchange. Shareholders of the Fund, and shareholders of the other Select Pricing Funds with shares for which certificates have not been issued, may exercise the exchange privilege by wire through their securities dealers. The Fund reserves the right to require a properly completed Exchange Application. This exchange privilege may be modified or terminated in accordance with the rules of the Commission. The Fund reserves the right to limit the number of times an investor may exercise the exchange privilege. Certain funds may suspend the continuous offering of their shares to the general public at any time and may thereafter resume such offering from time to time. The exchange privilege is available only to U.S. shareholders in states where the exchange legally may be made. It is contemplated that the exchange privilege may be applicable to other new mutual funds whose shares may be distributed by the Distributor.
Fee-Based Programs
Certain Merrill Lynch fee-based programs, including pricing alternatives for securities transactions (each referred to in this paragraph as a “Program”), may permit the purchase of Class A shares at net asset value. Under specified circumstances, participants in certain Programs may deposit other classes of shares which will be exchanged for Class A shares. Initial or deferred sales charges otherwise due in connection with such exchanges may be waived or modified, as may the Conversion Period applicable to the deposited shares. Termination of participation in a Program may result in the redemption of shares held therein or the automatic exchange thereof to another class at net asset value, which may be shares of a money market fund. In addition, upon termination of participation in a Program, shares that have been held for less than specified periods within such Program may be subject to a fee based upon the current value of such shares. These Programs also generally prohibit such shares from being transferred to another account at Merrill Lynch, to another broker-dealer or to the Transfer Agent. Except in limited circumstances (which may also involve an exchange as described above), such shares must be redeemed and another class of shares purchased (which may involve the imposition of initial or deferred sales charges and distribution and account maintenance fees) in order for the investment not to be subject to Program fees. Additional information regarding a specific Program (including charges and limitations on transferability applicable to shares that may be held in such Program) is available in such Program’s client agreement and from the Transfer Agent at 1-800-MER-FUND (1-(800)-637-3863).
Retirement and Education Savings Plans
Individual retirement accounts and other retirement and education savings plans are available from Merrill Lynch. Under these plans, investments may be made in the Fund and certain of the other mutual funds sponsored by Merrill Lynch as well as in other securities. Merrill Lynch may charge an initial establishment fee and an annual fee for each account. Information with respect to these plans is available on request from Merrill Lynch.
Dividends received in each of the plans referred to above are exempt from Federal taxation until distributed from the plans. Different tax rules apply to Roth IRA plans and education savings plans. Investors considering participation in any retirement or education savings plan should review specific tax laws relating thereto and should consult their attorneys or tax advisers with respect to the establishment and maintenance of any such plan.
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Automatic Investment Plans
A shareholder may make additions to an Investment Account at any time by purchasing Class A shares (if he or she is an eligible Class A investor) or Class B, Class C or Class D shares at the applicable public offering price. These purchases may be made either through the shareholder’s securities dealer, or by mail directly to the Transfer Agent, acting as agent for such securities dealer. Voluntary accumulation also can be made through a service known as the Fund’s Automatic Investment Plan. The Fund would be authorized, on a regular basis, to provide systematic additions to the Investment Account of such shareholder through charges of $50 or more to the regular bank account of the shareholder by either pre-authorized checks or automated clearing house debits. Alternatively, an investor that maintains a CMA® or CBA® Account may arrange to have periodic investments made in the Fund in amounts of $100 ($1 for retirement accounts) or more through the CMA® or CBA® Automated Investment Program.
Automatic Dividend Reinvestment Plan
Unless specific instructions are given as to the method of payment, dividends will be automatically reinvested, without sales charge, in additional full and fractional shares of the Fund. Such reinvestment will be at the net asset value of shares of the Fund as of the close of business on the NYSE on the monthly payment date for such dividends. No CDSC will be imposed upon redemption of shares issued as a result of the automatic reinvestment of dividends.
Shareholders may, at any time, by written notification to Merrill Lynch if their account is maintained with Merrill Lynch, or by written notification or by telephone (1-800-MER-FUND) to the Transfer Agent, if their account is maintained with the Transfer Agent elect to have subsequent dividends paid in cash, rather than reinvested in shares of the Fund or vice versa (provided that, in the event that a payment on an account maintained at the Transfer Agent, would amount to $10.00 or less, a shareholder will not receive such payment in cash and such payment will automatically be reinvested in additional shares). Commencing ten days after the receipt by the Transfer Agent of such notice, those instructions will be effected. The Fund is not responsible for any failure of delivery to the shareholder’s address of record and no interest will accrue on amounts represented by uncashed dividend checks. Cash payments can also be directly deposited to the shareholder’s bank account.
Systematic Withdrawal Plan
A shareholder may elect to receive systematic withdrawals from his or her Investment Account by check or through automatic payment by direct deposit to his or her bank account on either a monthly or quarterly basis as provided below. Quarterly withdrawals are available for shareholders that have acquired shares of the Fund having a value, based on cost or the current offering price, of $5,000 or more, and monthly withdrawals are available for shareholders with shares having a value of $10,000 or more.
At the time of each withdrawal payment, sufficient shares are redeemed from those on deposit in the shareholder’s account to provide the withdrawal payment specified by the shareholder. The shareholder may specify the dollar amount and the class of shares to be redeemed. Redemptions will be made at net asset value as determined 15 minutes after the close of business on the NYSE (generally, the NYSE closes at 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) on the 24th day of each month or the 24th day of the last month of each quarter, whichever is applicable. If the NYSE is not open for business on such date, the shares will be redeemed at the close of business on the following business day. The check for the withdrawal payment will be mailed, or the direct deposit for withdrawal payment will be made, on the next business day following redemption. When a shareholder is making systematic withdrawals, dividends on all shares in the Investment Account are reinvested automatically in Fund shares. A shareholder’s Systematic Withdrawal Plan may be terminated at any time, without charge or penalty, by the shareholder, the Fund, the Transfer Agent or the Distributor.
With respect to redemptions of Class B or Class C shares pursuant to a systematic withdrawal plan, the maximum number of Class B or Class C shares that can be redeemed from an account annually shall not
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Withdrawal payments should not be considered as dividends. Each withdrawal is a taxable event. If periodic withdrawals continuously exceed reinvested dividends, the shareholder’s original investment may be reduced correspondingly. Purchases of additional shares concurrent with withdrawals are ordinarily disadvantageous to the shareholder because of sales charges and tax liabilities. The Fund will not knowingly accept purchase orders for shares of the Fund from investors that maintain a Systematic Withdrawal Plan unless such purchase is equal to at least one year’s scheduled withdrawals or $1,200, whichever is greater. Automatic investments may not be made into an Investment Account in which the shareholder has elected to make systematic withdrawals.
Alternatively, a shareholder whose shares are held within a CMA® or CBA® Account may elect to have shares redeemed on a monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, semiannual or annual basis through the CMA® or CBA® Systematic Redemption Program. The minimum fixed dollar amount redeemable is $50. The proceeds of systematic redemptions will be posted to the shareholder’s account three business days after the date the shares are redeemed. All redemptions are made at net asset value. A shareholder may elect to have his or her shares redeemed on the first, second, third or fourth Monday of each month, in the case of monthly redemptions, or of every other month, in the case of bimonthly redemptions. For quarterly, semiannual or annual redemptions, the shareholder may select the month in which the shares are to be redeemed and may designate whether the redemption is to be made on the first, second, third or fourth Monday of the month. If the Monday selected is not a business day, the redemption will be processed at net asset value on the next business day. The CMA® or CBA® Systematic Redemption Program is not available if Fund shares are being purchased within the account pursuant to the Automated Investment Program. For more information on the CMA® or CBA® Systematic Redemption Program, eligible shareholders should contact their Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant.
DIVIDENDS AND TAXES
Dividends
The Fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income, if any. Dividends from such net investment income will be paid at least annually. All net realized capital gains, if any, will be distributed to the Fund’s shareholders at least annually. From time to time, the Fund may declare a special distribution at or about the end of the calendar year in order to comply with Federal tax requirements that certain percentages of its ordinary income and capital gains be distributed during the year. If in any fiscal year, the Fund has net income from certain foreign currency transactions, such income will be distributed at least annually.
See “Shareholder Services — Automatic Dividend Reinvestment Plan” for information concerning the manner in which dividends may be reinvested automatically in shares of the Fund. A shareholder whose account is maintained at the Transfer Agent or whose account is maintained through Merrill Lynch may elect in writing to receive any such dividends in cash. Dividends are taxable to shareholders, as discussed below, whether they are reinvested in shares of the Fund or received in cash. The per share dividends on Class B and Class C shares will be lower than the per share dividends on Class A and Class D shares as a result of the account maintenance, distribution and higher transfer agency fees applicable with respect to the Class B and Class C shares; similarly, the per share dividends on Class D shares will be lower than the per share dividends
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Taxes
The Fund intends to continue to qualify for the special tax treatment afforded regulated investment companies (“RICs”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). As long as it so qualifies, the Fund (but not its shareholders) will not be subject to Federal income tax on the part of its net ordinary income and net realized capital gains that it distributes to Class A, Class B, Class C and Class D shareholders (together, the “shareholders”). The Fund intends to distribute substantially all of such income.
Dividends paid by the Fund from its ordinary income or from an excess of net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses (together referred to hereafter as “ordinary income dividends”) are taxable to shareholders as ordinary income. Distributions made from an excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses (including gains or losses from certain transactions in futures and options) (“capital gain dividends”) are taxable to shareholders as long-term capital gains, regardless of the length of time the shareholder has owned Fund shares. Any loss upon the sale or exchange of Fund shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of any capital gain dividends received by the shareholder. Distributions in excess of the Fund’s earnings and profits will first reduce the adjusted tax basis of a holder’s shares and, after such adjusted tax basis is reduced to zero, will constitute capital gains to such holder (assuming the shares are held as a capital asset). Certain categories of capital gains are taxable at different rates. Generally not later than 60 days after the close of its taxable year, the Fund will provide its shareholders with a written notice designating the amount of any capital gain dividends as well as any amount of capital gain dividends in the different categories of capital gain referred to above.
Dividends are taxable to shareholders even though they are reinvested in additional shares of the Fund. A portion of the Fund’s ordinary income dividends may be eligible for the dividends received deduction allowed to corporations under the Code, if certain requirements are met. For this purpose, the Fund will allocate dividends eligible for the dividends received deduction among the Class A, Class B, Class C and Class D shareholders according to a method (which it believes is consistent with the Commission rule permitting the issuance and sale of multiple classes of stock) that is based on the gross income allocable to Class A, Class B, Class C and Class D shareholders during the taxable year, or such other method as the Internal Revenue Service may prescribe. If the Fund pays a dividend in January that was declared in the previous October, November or December to shareholders of record on a specified date in one of such months, then such dividend will be treated for tax purposes as being paid by the Fund and received by its shareholders on December 31 of the year in which such dividend was declared.
Ordinary income dividends paid to shareholders who are nonresident aliens or foreign entities will be subject to a 30% U.S. withholding tax under existing provisions of the Code applicable to foreign individuals and entities unless a reduced rate of withholding or a withholding exemption is provided under applicable treaty law. Nonresident shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisers concerning the applicability of the U.S. withholding tax.
Under certain provisions of the Code, some shareholders may be subject to a 31% withholding tax on ordinary income dividends, capital gain dividends and redemption payments (“backup withholding”). Generally, shareholders subject to backup withholding will be those for whom no certified taxpayer identification number is on file with the Fund or who, to the Fund’s knowledge, have furnished an incorrect number. When establishing an account, an investor must certify under penalty of perjury that such number is correct and that such investor is not otherwise subject to backup withholding.
Dividends and interest received by the Fund may give rise to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. Shareholders may be able to claim United States foreign tax credits with respect to such taxes, subject to certain conditions and limitations contained in the Code. For example, certain retirement accounts
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No gain or loss will be recognized by Class B shareholders on the conversion of their Class B shares into Class D shares. A shareholder’s basis in the Class D shares acquired will be the same as such shareholder’s basis in the Class B shares converted, and the holding period of the acquired Class D shares will include the holding period for the converted Class B shares.
If a shareholder exercises an exchange privilege within 90 days of acquiring the shares, then the loss the shareholder can recognize on the exchange will be reduced (or the gain increased) to the extent any sales charge paid to the Fund on the exchanged shares reduces any sales charge the shareholder would have owed upon the purchase of the new shares in the absence of the exchange privilege. Instead, such sales charge will be treated as an amount paid for the new shares.
A loss realized on a sale or exchange of shares of the Fund will be disallowed if other Fund shares are acquired (whether through the automatic reinvestment of dividends or otherwise) within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the date that the shares are disposed of. In such a case, the basis of the shares acquired will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.
The Code requires a RIC to pay a nondeductible 4% excise tax to the extent the RIC does not distribute, during each calendar year, 98% of its ordinary income, determined on a calendar year basis, and 98% of its capital gains, determined, in general, on an October 31 year end, plus certain undistributed amounts from previous years. While the Fund intends to distribute its income and capital gains in the manner necessary to minimize imposition of the 4% excise tax, there can be no assurance that sufficient amounts of the Fund’s taxable income and capital gains will be distributed to avoid entirely the imposition of the tax. In such event, the Fund will be liable for the tax only on the amount by which it does not meet the foregoing distribution requirements.
The Fund may invest in securities rated in the medium to lower rating categories of nationally recognized rating organizations, and in unrated securities (“high yield bonds”), as previously described. Some of these high yield bonds may be purchased at a discount and may therefore cause the Fund to accrue and distribute income before amounts due under the obligations are paid. In addition, a portion of the interest payments on such high yield securities may be treated as dividends for Federal income tax purposes; in such case, if the issuer of such high yield securities is a domestic corporation, dividend payments by the Fund will be eligible for the dividends received deduction to the extent of the deemed dividend portion of such interest payments.
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Tax Treatment of Options, Futures and Forward Foreign Exchange Transactions
The Fund may write, purchase or sell options, futures and forward foreign exchange contracts. Options and futures contracts that are “section 1256 contracts” will be “marked to market” for Federal income tax purposes at the end of each taxable year, i.e., each such option or futures contract will be treated as sold for its fair market value on the last day of the taxable year. Unless such contract is a forward foreign exchange contract, or is a non-equity option or a regulated futures contract for a non-U.S. Currency for which the Fund elects to have gain or loss treated as ordinary gain or loss under Code section 988 (as described below), gain or loss from section 1256 contracts will be 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. Application of these rules to section 1256 contracts held by the Fund may alter the timing and character of distributions to shareholders. The mark-to-market rules outlined above, however, will not apply to certain transactions entered into by the Fund solely to reduce the risk of changes in price or interest or currency exchange rates with respect to its investments.
A forward foreign exchange contract that is a Section 1256 contract will be marked to market, as described above. However, the character of gain or loss from such a contract will generally be ordinary under Code Section 988. The Fund may, nonetheless, elect to treat the gain or loss from certain forward foreign exchange contracts as capital. In this case, gain or loss realized in connection with a forward foreign exchange contract that is a Section 1256 contract will be characterized as 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gain or loss.
Code Section 1092, which applies to certain “straddles,” may affect the taxation of the Fund’s sales of securities and transactions in equity swaps, options, futures and forward foreign exchange contracts. Under Section 1092, the Fund may be required to postpone recognition for tax purposes of losses incurred in certain sales of securities and certain closing transactions in equity swaps, options, futures and forward foreign exchange contracts.
Special Rules for Certain Foreign Currency Transactions
In general, gains from “foreign currencies” and from foreign currency options, foreign currency futures and forward foreign exchange contracts relating to investments in stocks, securities or foreign currencies will be qualifying income for purposes of determining whether the Fund qualifies as a RIC. It is currently unclear, however, who will be treated as the issuer of a foreign currency instrument or how foreign currency options, futures, or forward foreign exchange contracts will be valued for purposes of the RIC diversification requirements applicable to the Fund.
Under Code Section 988, special rules are provided for certain transactions in a foreign currency other than the taxpayer’s functional currency (i.e., unless certain special rules apply, currencies other than the U.S. dollar). In general, foreign currency gains or losses from certain debt instruments, from certain forward contracts, from futures contracts that are not “regulated futures contracts” and from unlisted options will be treated as ordinary income or loss under Code Section 988. In certain circumstances, the Fund may elect capital gain or loss treatment for such transactions. Regulated futures contracts, as described above, will be taxed under Code Section 1256 unless application of Section 988 is elected by the Fund. In general, however, Code Section 988 gains or losses will increase or decrease the amount of the Fund’s investment company taxable income available to be distributed to shareholders as ordinary income. Additionally, if Code Section 988 losses exceed other investment company taxable income during a taxable year, the Fund would not be able to make any ordinary income dividend distributions, and all or a portion of distributions made before the losses were realized but in the same taxable year would be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders, thereby reducing the basis of each shareholder’s Fund shares and resulting in a capital gain for any shareholder who received a distribution greater than such shareholder’s basis in Fund shares (assuming the shares were held as a capital asset). These rules and the mark-to-market rules described above, however, will not apply to certain transactions entered into by the Fund solely to reduce the risk of currency fluctuations with respect to its investments.
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The foregoing is a general and abbreviated summary of the applicable provisions of the Code and Treasury regulations presently in effect. For the complete provisions, reference should be made to the pertinent Code sections and the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder. The Code and the Treasury regulations are subject to change by legislative, judicial or administrative action either prospectively or retroactively.
Ordinary income and capital gain dividends may also be subject to state and local taxes.
Certain states exempt from state income taxation dividends paid by RICs that are derived from interest on U.S. Government obligations. State law varies as to whether dividend income attributable to U.S. Government obligations is exempt from state income tax.
Shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisers regarding specific questions as to Federal, foreign, state or local taxes. Foreign investors should consider applicable foreign taxes in their evaluation of an investment in the Fund.
PERFORMANCE DATA
From time to time the Fund may include its average annual total return and other total return data in advertisements or information furnished to present or prospective shareholders. Total return figures are based on the Fund’s historical performance and are not intended to indicate future performance. Average annual total return is determined separately for Class A, Class B, Class C and Class D shares in accordance with formulas specified by the Commission.
Average annual total return quotations for the specified periods are computed by finding the average annual compounded rates of return (based on net investment income and any realized and unrealized capital gains or losses on portfolio investments over such periods) that would equate the initial amount invested to the redeemable value of such investment at the end of each period. Average annual total return is computed assuming all dividends and distributions are reinvested and taking into account all applicable recurring and nonrecurring expenses, including the maximum sales charge in the case of Class A and Class D shares and the CDSC that would be applicable to a complete redemption of the investment at the end of the specified period as in the case of Class B and Class C shares and the maximum sales charge in the case of Class A and D shares. Dividends paid by the Fund with respect to all shares, to the extent any dividends are paid, will be calculated in the same manner at the same time on the same day and will be in the same amount, except that account maintenance and distribution charges and any incremental transfer agency costs relating to each class of shares will be borne exclusively by that class. The Fund will include performance data for all classes of shares of the Fund in any advertisement or information including performance data of the Fund.
The Fund also may quote annual, average annual and annualized total return and aggregate total return performance data, both as a percentage and as a dollar amount based on a hypothetical $1,000 investment, for various periods other than those noted below. Such data will be computed as described above, except that (1) as required by the periods of the quotations, actual annual, annualized or aggregate data, rather than average annual data, may be quoted and (2) the maximum applicable sales charges will not be included with respect to annual or annualized rates of return calculations. Aside from the impact on the performance data calculations of including or excluding the maximum applicable sales charges, actual annual or annualized total return data generally will be lower than average annual total return data since the average rates of return reflect compounding of return; aggregate total return data generally will be higher than average annual total return data since the aggregate rates of return reflect compounding over a longer period of time. In advertisements distributed to investors whose purchases are subject to waiver of the CDSC in the case of Class B and Class C shares (such as investors in certain retirement plans) or to reduced sales loads in the case of Class A and Class D shares, the performance data may take into account the reduced, and not the maximum, sales charge or may not take into account the CDSC and therefore may reflect greater total return since, due to the reduced sales charges or waiver of the CDSC, a lower amount of expenses is deducted. See “Purchase of Shares.” The Fund’s total return may be expressed either as a percentage or as a dollar amount
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Set forth below is total return information for the Class A, Class B, Class C and Class D shares of the Fund for the periods indicated.
| Class A Shares | Class C Shares | |||||||||||||||
| Expressed as | Redeemable Value | Expressed as | Redeemable Value | |||||||||||||
| a percentage | of a hypothetical | a percentage | of a hypothetical | |||||||||||||
| based on a | $1,000 investment | based on a | $1,000 investment | |||||||||||||
| hypothetical | at the end of | hypothetical | at the end of | |||||||||||||
| Period | $1,000 investment | the period | $1,000 investment | the period | ||||||||||||
| Average Annual Total Return (including maximum applicable sales charges) |
||||||||||||||||
| One Year Ended June 30, 1999 | 7.30 | % | $ | 1,073.00 | 11.08 | % | $ | 1,110.80 | ||||||||
| Inception (October 21, 1994) to June 30, 1999 | 4.08 | % | $ | 1,206.10 | 4.16 | % | $ | 1,210.90 | ||||||||
| Annual Total Return (excluding maximum applicable sales charges) |
||||||||||||||||
| Year Ended June 30, | ||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | 13.24 | % | $ | 1,132.40 | 12.08 | % | $ | 1,120.80 | ||||||||
| 1998 | (7.15 | )% | $ | 928.50 | (8.19 | )% | $ | 918.10 | ||||||||
| 1997 | 7.53 | % | $ | 1,075.30 | 6.38 | % | $ | 1,063.80 | ||||||||
| 1996 | 23.87 | % | $ | 1,238.70 | 22.56 | % | $ | 1,225.60 | ||||||||
| Inception (October 21, 1994) to June 30, 1995 | (9.11 | )% | $ | 908.90 | (9.75 | )% | $ | 902.50 | ||||||||
| Aggregate Total Return (including maximum applicable sales charges) |
||||||||||||||||
| Inception (October 21, 1994) to June 30, 1999 | 20.61 | % | $ | 1,206.10 | 21.09 | % | $ | 1,210.90 | ||||||||
| Class B Shares | Class D Shares | |||||||||||||||
| Expressed as | Redeemable Value | Expressed as | Redeemable Value | |||||||||||||
| a percentage | of a hypothetical | a percentage | of a hypothetical | |||||||||||||
| based on a | $1,000 investment | based on a | $1,000 investment | |||||||||||||
| hypothetical | at the end of | hypothetical | at the end of | |||||||||||||
| Period | $1,000 investment | the period | $1,000 investment | the period | ||||||||||||
| Average Annual Total Return | ||||||||||||||||
| (including maximum applicable sales charges) | ||||||||||||||||
| One Year Ended June 30, 1999 | 8.01 | % | $ | 1,080.10 | 6.99 | % | $ | 1,069.90 | ||||||||
| Inception (August 5, 1994) to June 30, 1999 | 3.57 | % | $ | 1,187.60 | 3.25 | % | $ | 1,169.70 | ||||||||
| Annual Total Return (excluding maximum applicable sales charges) |
||||||||||||||||
| Year Ended June 30, | ||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | 12.01 | % | $ | 1,120.10 | 12.91 | % | $ | 1,129.10 | ||||||||
| 1998 | (8.15 | )% | $ | 918.50 | (7.43 | )% | $ | 925.70 | ||||||||
| 1997 | 6.47 | % | $ | 1,064.70 | 7.27 | % | $ | 1,072.70 | ||||||||
| 1996 | 22.57 | % | $ | 1,225.70 | 23.50 | % | $ | 1,235.00 | ||||||||
| Inception (August 5, 1994) to June 30, 1995 | (11.55 | )% | $ | 884.50 | (10.85 | )% | $ | 891.50 | ||||||||
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| Class B Shares | Class D Shares | |||||||||||||||
| Expressed as | Redeemable Value | Expressed as | Redeemable Value | |||||||||||||
| a percentage | of a hypothetical | a percentage | of a hypothetical | |||||||||||||
| based on a | $1,000 investment | based on a | $1,000 investment | |||||||||||||
| hypothetical | at the end of | hypothetical | at the end of | |||||||||||||
| Period | $1,000 investment | the period | $1,000 investment | the period | ||||||||||||
| Aggregate Total Return | ||||||||||||||||
| (including maximum applicable sales charges) | ||||||||||||||||
| Inception (August 5, 1994) to June 30, 1999 | 18.76% | $1,187.60 | 16.97% | $1,169.70 | ||||||||||||
In order to reflect the reduced sales charges in the case of Class A or Class D shares, or the waiver of the CDSC in the case of Class B or Class C shares applicable to certain investors, as described under “Purchase of Shares,” the total return data quoted by the Fund in advertisements directed to such investors may take into account the reduced, and not the maximum, sales charge or may not take into account the CDSC, and therefore may reflect greater total return since, due to the reduced sales charges or the waiver of CDSCs, a lower amount of expenses may be deducted.
On occasion, the Fund may compare its performance to various indices including the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, or to performance data published by Lipper Analytical Services, Inc., Morningstar Publications, Inc. (“Morningstar”), CDA Investment Technology, Inc., Money Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, Business Week, Forbes Magazine, Fortune Magazine or other industry publications. When comparing its performance to a market index, the Fund may refer to various statistical measures derived from the historic performance of the Fund and the index, such as standard deviation and beta. In addition, from time to time, the Fund may include the Fund’s Morningstar risk-adjusted performance ratings in advertisements or supplemental sales literature. As with other performance data, performance comparisons should not be considered indicative of the Fund’s relative performance for any future period.
Total return figures are based on the Fund’s historical performance and are not intended to indicate future performance. The Fund’s total return will vary depending on market conditions, the securities comprising the Fund’s portfolio, the Fund’s operating expenses and the amount of realized and unrealized net capital gains or losses during the period. The value of an investment in the Fund will fluctuate and an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Description of Shares
The Fund was incorporated under Maryland law on April 12, 1994. At the date of this Statement of Additional Information, the Fund has an authorized capital of 400,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.10 per share, divided into Class A, Class B, Class C and Class D shares, each of which consists of 100,000,000 shares. Under the Articles of Incorporation of the Fund, the Directors have the authority to issue separate classes of shares which would represent interests in the same assets of the Fund and have identical voting, dividend, liquidation and other rights and the same terms and conditions except that expenses related to the distribution and/ or account maintenance of the shares of a class may be borne solely by such class, and a class may have exclusive voting rights with respect to matters relating to the expenses being borne only by such class. Upon liquidation of the Fund, shareholders of each class are entitled to share pro rata in the net assets of the Fund available for distribution to shareholders, except for any expenses which may be attributable only to one class. Shares have no preemptive rights. The redemption, conversion and exchange rights are described elsewhere herein and in the Prospectus. Shares issued are fully paid and nonassessable by the Fund.
Shareholders are entitled to one vote for each full share held and fractional votes for fractional shares held in the election of Directors (to the extent hereafter provided) and on other matters submitted to a vote of shareholders, except that shareholders of a class bearing distribution and/ or account maintenance expenses as provided above shall have exclusive voting rights with respect to matters relating to such distribution and/ or account maintenance expenditures. The Fund does not intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders in any year in which the Investment Company Act does not require shareholders to elect Directors. In addition, the by-laws of the Fund require that a special meeting of stockholders be held upon the written request of at least 10% of the outstanding shares of the Fund entitled to vote at such meeting, if such request is in compliance with applicable Maryland law. Voting rights for Directors are not cumulative. Each share of Common Stock is entitled to participate equally in dividends and distributions declared by the Fund and in the net assets of the Fund upon liquidation or dissolution after satisfaction of outstanding liabilities, except that expenses related to the account maintenance and/ or distribution of the shares within a class will be borne solely by such class. Stock certificates are issued by the Transfer Agent only on specific request. Certificates for fractional shares are not issued in any case.
The Manager provided the initial capital for the Fund by purchasing 10,000 shares of common stock of the Fund for $100,000. Such shares were acquired for investment and can only be disposed of by redemption. The organizational expenses of the Fund were paid by the Fund and are being amortized over a period not exceeding five years. The proceeds realized by the Manager upon the redemption of any of the shares initially purchased by it will be reduced by the proportional amount of the unamortized organizational expenses which the number of such initial shares being redeemed bears to the number of shares initially purchased.
Independent Auditors
Deloitte & Touche LLP, 117 Campus Drive, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 has been selected as the independent auditors of the Fund. The selection of independent auditors is subject to approval by the non-interested Directors of the Fund. The independent auditors are responsible for auditing the annual financial statements of the Fund.
Custodian
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., 40 Water Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109 (the “Custodian”), acts as the custodian of the Fund’s assets. Under its contract with the Fund, the Custodian is authorized, among other things, to establish separate accounts in foreign currencies and to cause foreign securities owned by the Fund to be held in its offices outside the U.S. and with certain foreign banks and securities depositories. The
50
Transfer Agent
Financial Data Services, Inc., 4800 Deer Lake Drive East, Jacksonville, Florida 32246-6484, acts as the Fund’s Transfer Agent. The Transfer Agent is responsible for the issuance, transfer and redemption of shares and the opening, maintenance and servicing of shareholder accounts. See “How to Buy, Sell, Transfer and Exchange Shares — Through the Transfer Agent” in the Prospectus.
Legal Counsel
Brown & Wood LLP, One World Trade Center, New York, New York 10048-0557, is counsel for the Fund.
Reports to Shareholders
The fiscal year of the Fund ends on June 30 of each year. The Fund sends to its shareholders at least semi-annually reports showing the Fund’s portfolio and other information. An annual report, containing financial statements audited by independent auditors, is sent to shareholders each year. After the end of each year, shareholders will receive Federal income tax information regarding dividends and capital gains distributions.
Shareholder Inquiries
Shareholder inquiries may be addressed to the Fund at the address or telephone number set forth on the cover page of this Statement of Additional Information.
Additional Information
The Prospectus and this Statement of Additional Information do not contain all the information set forth in the Registration Statement and the exhibits relating thereto, which the Fund has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, D.C., under the Securities Act and the Investment Company Act, to which reference is hereby made.
Under a separate agreement, ML & Co. has granted the Fund the right to use the “Merrill Lynch” name and has reserved the right to withdraw its consent to the use of such name by the Fund at any time or to grant the use of such name to any other company, and the Fund has granted ML & Co. under certain conditions, the use of any other name it might assume in the future, with respect to any corporation organized by ML & Co.
To the knowledge of the Fund, no person or entity owned beneficially 5% or more of a class of the Fund’s shares as of October 1, 1999.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Fund’s audited financial statements are incorporated in this Statement of Additional Information by reference to its 1999 annual report to shareholders. You may request a copy of the annual report at no charge by calling (800) 456-4587 ext. 789 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on any business day.
51
Code #18186-10-99
PART C
Item 23. Exhibits
| Exhibit | ||||||
| Number | Description | |||||
| 1(a) | — | Articles of Incorporation of the Registrant, dated April 8, 1994.(a) | ||||
| (b) | — | Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation of the Registrant, dated May 18, 1994.(b) | ||||
| (c) | — | Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation of the Registrant, dated July 26, 1994.(c) | ||||
| (d) | — | Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation of the Registrant, dated August 3, 1994.(d) | ||||
| (e) | — | Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation of the Registrant, dated October 17, 1994.(d) | ||||
| (f) | — | Articles Supplementary to the Articles of Incorporation of the Registrant, dated October 17, 1994.(d) | ||||
| 2 | — | By-Laws of the Registrant.(a) | ||||
| 3 | — | Portions of the Articles of Incorporation and the By-Laws of the Registrant defining the rights of shareholders.(e) | ||||
| 4(a) | — | Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant and Merrill Lynch Asset Management, L.P.(b) | ||||
| (b) | — | Form of Sub-Advisory Agreement between Merrill Lynch Asset Management, L.P. and Merrill Lynch Asset Management U.K. Limited.(b) | ||||
| 5(a) | — | Form of Class A Shares Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and Merrill Lynch Funds Distributor, a division of Princeton Funds Distributor, Inc. (the “Distributor").(f) | ||||
| (b) | — | Form of Class B Shares Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and the Distributor.(b) | ||||
| (c) | — | Form of Class C Shares Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and the Distributor.(f) | ||||
| (d) | — | Form of Class D Shares Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and the Distributor.(f) | ||||
| 6 | — | None. | ||||
| 7 | — | Form of Custody Agreement between the Registrant and Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.(b) | ||||
| 8(a) | — | Form of Transfer Agency, Dividend Disbursing Agency and Shareholder Servicing Agency Agreement between the Registrant and Merrill Lynch Financial Data Services, Inc. (now known as Financial Data Services, Inc.)(b) | ||||
| (b) | — | Form of License Agreement relating to the use of name between the Registrant and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.(b) | ||||
| 9(a) | — | Opinion of Brown & Wood LLP, counsel for the Registrant.(h) | ||||
| (b) | — | Consent of Brown & Wood LLP, counsel to the Registrant. | ||||
| 10 | — | Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP, independent auditors for the Registrant. | ||||
| 11 | — | Certificate of Merrill Lynch Asset Management, L.P.(b) | ||||
| 12 | — | None. | ||||
| 13(a) | — | Form of Class B Distribution Plan and Class B Distribution Plan Sub-Agreement of the Registrant.(b) | ||||
| (b) | — | Form of Class C Distribution Plan and Class C Distribution Plan Sub-Agreement of the Registrant.(f) | ||||
| (c) | — | Form of Class D Distribution Plan and Class D Distribution Plan Sub-Agreement of the Registrant.(f) | ||||
C-1
| Exhibit | ||||||
| Number | Description | |||||
| 14 | — | None. | ||||
| 15 | — | Merrill Lynch Select Pricing SM System Plan pursuant to Rule 18f-3.(g) | ||||
| (a) | Filed on April 29, 1994 as an Exhibit to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (File No. 33-53399)(the “Registration Statement”). |
| (b) | Filed on June 23, 1994 as an Exhibit to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement. |
| (c) | Filed on July 28, 1994 as an Exhibit to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement. |
| (d) | Filed on October 25, 1995 as an Exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement. |
| (e) | Reference is made to Article IV, Article V (Sections 3, 5, 6 and 7), Articles VI, VII and IX of the Registrant’s Articles of Incorporation, as amended and supplemented, filed as Exhibits 1(a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) to the Registration Statement and to Article II, Article III (Sections 1, 3, 5 and 6) and Articles VI, VII, XIII and XIV of the Registrant’s By-Laws, filed as Exhibit 2 to the Registration Statement. |
| (f) | Filed on October 19, 1994 as an Exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement. |
| (g) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 18 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 13 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, filed on January 25, 1996, relating to shares of Merrill Lynch New York Municipal Bond Fund series of Merrill Lynch Multi-State Municipal Series Trust (File No. 2-99473). |
| (h) | Filed on July 28, 1994 as an Exhibit to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement. |
Item 24. Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with the Registrant
Not applicable.
Item 25. Indemnification
Reference is made to Article VI of Registrant’s Articles of Incorporation, Article VI of Registrant’s By-Laws, Section 2-418 of the Maryland General Corporation Law and Section 9 of the Class A, Class B, Class C and Class D Distribution Agreements.
Article VI of the By-Laws provides that each officer and director of the Registrant shall be indemnified by the Registrant to the full extent permitted under the General Laws of the State of Maryland, except that such indemnity shall not protect any such person against any liability to the Registrant or any stockholder thereof to which such person would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office. Absent a court determination that an officer or director seeking indemnification was not liable on the merits or guilty of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office, the decision by the Registrant to indemnify such person must be based upon the reasonable determination of independent counsel or non-party independent directors, after review of the facts, that such officer or director is not guilty of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office.
Each officer and director of the Registrant claiming indemnification within the scope of Article VI of the By-Laws shall be entitled to advances from the Registrant for payment of the reasonable expenses incurred by him in connection with proceedings to which he is a party in the manner and to the full extent permitted under the General Laws of the State of Maryland; provided, however, that the person seeking indemnification shall provide to the Registrant a written affirmation of his good faith belief that the standard of conduct necessary for indemnification by the Registrant has been met and a written undertaking to repay any such advance, if it should ultimately be determined that the standard of conduct has not been met, and provided further that at
C-2
The Registrant may purchase insurance on behalf of an officer or director protecting such person to the full extent permitted under the General Laws of the State of Maryland from liability arising from his activities as officer or director of the Registrant. The Registrant, however, may not purchase insurance on behalf of any officer or director of the Registrant that protects or purports to protect such person from liability to the Registrant or to its stockholders to which such officer or director would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office.
The Registrant may indemnify, make advances or purchase insurance to the extent provided in Article VI of the By-Laws on behalf of an employee or agent who is not an officer or director of the Registrant.
In Section 9 of the Class A, Class B, Class C and Class D Distribution Agreements relating to the securities being offered hereby, the Registrant agrees to indemnify the Distributor and each person, if any, who controls the Distributor within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “1933 Act”), against certain types of civil liabilities arising in connection with the Registration Statement or Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the 1933 Act may be permitted to Directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant and the principal underwriter pursuant to the foregoing provisions or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a Director, officer, or controlling person of the Registrant and the principal underwriter in connection with the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such Director, officer or controlling person or the principal underwriter in connection with the shares being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
Item 26. Business and Other Connections of Manager
Merrill Lynch Asset Management, L.P. (“MLAM” or the “Manager”), acts as the investment adviser for the following open-end registered investment companies: Merrill Lynch Adjustable Rate Securities Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Americas Income Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Asset Builder Program, Inc., Merrill Lynch Asset Growth Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Asset Income Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Capital Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Convertible Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Developing Capital Markets Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Disciplined Equity Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Dragon Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch EuroFund, Merrill Lynch Fundamental Growth Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Global Allocation Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Global Bond Fund for Investment and Retirement, Merrill Lynch Global Growth Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Global Holdings, Inc., Merrill Lynch Global Resources Trust, Merrill Lynch Global SmallCap Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Global Technology Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Global Utility Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Global Value Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Growth Fund, Merrill Lynch Healthcare Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Intermediate Government Bond Fund, Merrill Lynch International Equity Fund, Merrill Lynch Latin America Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Middle East/ Africa Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Municipal Series Trust, Merrill Lynch Pacific Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Ready Assets Trust, Merrill Lynch Real Estate Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Retirement Series Trust, Merrill Lynch Series Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Short-Term Global Income Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Strategic Dividend Fund, Merrill Lynch U.S. Treasury Money Fund, Merrill Lynch U.S.A. Government Reserves, Merrill Lynch Utility Income Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Variable Series
C-3
Fund Asset Management, L.P. (“FAM”), an affiliate of the Manager, acts as the investment adviser for the following open-end registered investment companies: CBA Money Fund, CMA Government Securities Fund, CMA Money Fund, CMA Multi-State Municipal Series Trust, CMA Tax-Exempt Fund, CMA Treasury Fund, The Corporate Fund Accumulation Program, Inc., Financial Institutions Series Trust, Merrill Lynch Basic Value Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch California Municipal Series Trust, Merrill Lynch Corporate Bond Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Corporate High Yield Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Emerging Tigers Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Federal Securities Trust, Merrill Lynch Funds for Institutions Series, Merrill Lynch Multi-State Limited Maturity Municipal Series Trust, Merrill Lynch Multi-State Municipal Series Trust, Merrill Lynch Municipal Bond Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Phoenix Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Special Value Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch World Income Fund, Inc., and The Municipal Fund Accumulation Program, Inc.; and for the following closed-end registered investment companies: Apex Municipal Fund, Inc., Corporate High Yield Fund, Inc., Corporate High Yield Fund II, Inc., Corporate High Yield Fund III, Inc., Debt Strategies Fund, Inc., Debt Strategies Fund II, Inc., Debt Strategies Fund III, Inc., Income Opportunities Fund 1999, Inc., Income Opportunities Fund 2000, Inc., Merrill Lynch Municipal Strategy Fund, Inc., MuniAssets Fund, Inc., MuniEnhanced Fund, Inc., MuniHoldings Fund, Inc., MuniHoldings Fund II, Inc., MuniHoldings California Insured Fund, Inc., MuniHoldings California Insured Fund II, Inc., MuniHoldings California Insured Fund III, Inc., MuniHoldings California Insured Fund IV, Inc., MuniHoldings California Insured Fund V, Inc., MuniHoldings Florida Insured Fund, MuniHoldings Florida Insured Fund II, MuniHoldings Florida Insured Fund III, MuniHoldings Florida Insured Fund IV, MuniHoldings Florida Insured Fund V, MuniHoldings Insured Fund, Inc., MuniHoldings Insured Fund II, Inc., MuniHoldings Insured Fund III, Inc., MuniHoldings Insured Fund IV, Inc., MuniHoldings Michigan Insured Fund, Inc., MuniHoldings Michigan Insured Fund II, Inc., MuniHoldings New Jersey Insured Fund, Inc., MuniHoldings New Jersey Insured Fund II, Inc., MuniHoldings New Jersey Insured Fund III, Inc., MuniHoldings New Jersey Insured Fund IV, Inc., MuniHoldings New York Fund, Inc., MuniHoldings New York Insured Fund, Inc., MuniHoldings New York Insured Fund II, Inc., MuniHoldings New York Insured Fund III, Inc., MuniHoldings New York Insured Fund IV, Inc., MuniHoldings Pennsylvania Insured Fund, MuniInsured Fund, Inc., MuniVest Fund, Inc., MuniVest Fund II, Inc., MuniVest Florida Fund, MuniVest Michigan Insured Fund, Inc., MuniVest New Jersey Fund, Inc., MuniVest Pennsylvania Insured Fund, MuniYield Arizona Fund, Inc., MuniYield California Fund, Inc., MuniYield California Insured Fund, Inc., MuniYield California Insured Fund II, Inc., MuniYield Florida Fund, MuniYield Florida Insured Fund, MuniYield Fund, Inc., MuniYield Insured Fund, Inc., MuniYield Michigan Fund, Inc., MuniYield Michigan Insured Fund, Inc., MuniYield New Jersey Fund, Inc., MuniYield New Jersey Insured Fund, Inc., MuniYield New York Insured Fund, Inc., MuniYield New York Insured Fund II, Inc., MuniYield Pennsylvania Fund, MuniYield Quality Fund, Inc., MuniYield Quality Fund II, Inc., Senior High Income Portfolio, Inc. and Worldwide DollarVest Fund, Inc.
The address of each of these registered investment companies is P.O. Box 9011, Princeton, New Jersey 08543-9011, except that the address of Merrill Lynch Funds for Institutions Series and Merrill Lynch Intermediate Government Bond Fund is One Financial Center, 23rd Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02111-2665. The address of the Manager, FAM, Princeton Services, Inc. (“Princeton Services”) and Princeton Administrators, L.P. (“Princeton Administrators”) is also P.O. Box 9011, Princeton, New Jersey 08543-9011. The address of Princeton Funds Distributor, Inc. (“PFD”) and of Merrill Lynch Funds Distributor (“MLFD”) is P.O. Box 9081, Princeton, New Jersey 08543-9081. The address of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“Merrill Lynch”) and ML & Co. is World Financial Center, North Tower, 250 Vesey Street, New York, New York 10281-1201. The address of the Fund’s transfer agent, Financial Data Services, Inc. (“FDS”), is 4800 Deer Lake Drive East, Jacksonville, Florida 32246-6484.
C-4
Set forth below is a list of each executive officer and partner of the Manager indicating each business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature in which each such person or entity has been engaged since July 1, 1997 for his, her or its own account or in the capacity of director, officer, partner or trustee. In addition, Mr. Glenn is President and Mr. Burke is Vice President and Treasurer of all or substantially all of the investment companies described in the first two paragraphs of this Item 26, and Messrs. Doll, Giordano and Monagle are officers of one or more of such companies.
| Position(s) with the | Other Substantial Business, | |||
| Name | Manager | Profession, Vocation or Employment | ||
| ML & Co. | Limited Partner | Financial Services Holding Company; Limited Partner of FAM | ||
| Princeton Services | General Partner | General Partner of FAM | ||
| Jeffrey M. Peek | President | President of FAM; President and Director of Princeton Services; Executive Vice President of ML & Co.; Managing Director and Co-Head of the Investment Banking Division of Merrill Lynch in 1997 | ||
| Terry K. Glenn | Executive Vice President | Executive Vice President of FAM; Executive Vice President and Director of Princeton Services; President and Director of PFD; Director of FDS; President of Princeton Administrators | ||
| Gregory A. Bundy | Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director | Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of FAM; Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of Princeton Services; Co-CEO of Merrill Lynch Australia from 1997 to 1999 | ||
| Donald C. Burke | Senior Vice President, Treasurer and Director of Taxation | Senior Vice President and Treasurer of FAM; Senior Vice President and Treasurer of Princeton Services; Vice President of PFD; First Vice President of the Manager from 1997 to 1999; Vice President of the Manager from 1990 to 1997 | ||
| Michael G. Clark | Senior Vice President | Senior Vice President of FAM; Senior Vice President of Princeton Services; Treasurer and Director of PFD; First Vice President of the Manager from 1997 to 1999; Vice President of the Manager from 1996 to 1997 | ||
| Robert C. Doll | Senior Vice President | Senior Vice President of FAM; Senior Vice President of Princeton Services; Chief Investment Officer of Oppenheimer Funds, Inc. in 1999 and Executive Vice President thereof from 1991 to 1999 | ||
| Linda L. Federici | Senior Vice President | Senior Vice President of FAM; Senior Vice President of Princeton Services |
C-5
| Position(s) with the | Other Substantial Business, | |||
| Name | Manager | Profession, Vocation or Employment | ||
| Vincent R. Giordano | Senior Vice President | Senior Vice President of FAM; Senior Vice President of Princeton Services | ||
| Michael J. Hennewinkel | Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel | Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel of FAM; Senior Vice President of Princeton Services | ||
| Philip L. Kirstein | Senior Vice President | Senior Vice President of FAM; Senior Vice President, Secretary, General Counsel and Director of Princeton Services | ||
| Debra W. Landsman-Yaros | Senior Vice President | Senior Vice President of FAM; Senior Vice President of Princeton Services; Vice President of PFD | ||
| Stephen M. M. Miller | Senior Vice President | Executive Vice President of Princeton Administrators; Senior Vice President of Princeton Services | ||
| Joseph T. Monagle, Jr. | Senior Vice President | Senior Vice President of FAM; Senior Vice President of Princeton Services | ||
| Brian A. Murdock | Senior Vice President | Senior Vice President of FAM; Senior Vice President of Princeton Services | ||
| Gregory D. Upah | Senior Vice President | Senior Vice President of FAM; Senior Vice President of Princeton Services |
Merrill Lynch Asset Management U.K. Limited (“MLAM U.K.”) acts as sub-adviser for the following registered investment companies: The Corporate Fund Accumulation Program, Inc., Corporate High Yield Fund, Inc., Corporate High Yield Fund II, Inc., Corporate High Yield Fund III, Inc., Debt Strategies Fund, Inc., Debt Strategies Fund II, Inc., Debt Strategies Fund III, Inc., Income Opportunities Fund 1999, Inc., Income Opportunities Fund 2000, Inc., Merrill Lynch Americas Income Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Asset Builder Program, Inc., Merrill Lynch Asset Growth Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Asset Income Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Basic Value Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Capital Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Consults International Portfolio, Merrill Lynch Convertible Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Corporate Bond Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Corporate High Yield Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Developing Capital Markets Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch, Disciplined Equity Fund, Inc. Merrill Lynch Dragon Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Emerging Tigers Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch EuroFund, Merrill Lynch Fundamental Growth Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Global Allocation Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Global Bond Fund for Investment and Retirement, Merrill Lynch Global Growth Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Global Holdings, Inc., Merrill Lynch Global Resources Trust, Merrill Lynch Global SmallCap Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Global Technology Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Global Utility Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Global Value Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Growth Fund, Merrill Lynch Healthcare Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch International Equity Fund, Merrill Lynch Latin America Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Middle East/ Africa Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Pacific Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Phoenix Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Real Estate Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Series Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Senior Floating Rate Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Senior Floating Rate Fund II, Inc., Merrill Lynch Short-Term Global Income Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Special Value Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Strategic Dividend Fund, Merrill Lynch Utility Income Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Variable Series Funds, Inc., Merrill Lynch World Income Fund, Inc., The Municipal Fund Accumulation Program, Inc. and Worldwide DollarVest Fund, Inc. The address of each of these registered investment companies is P.O. Box 9011, Princeton, New Jersey 08543-9011. The address of MLAM U.K. is 33 King William Street, London EC4R 9AS, England.
C-6
Set forth below is a list of each executive officer and director of MLAM U.K. indicating each business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature in which each such person has been engaged since July 1, 1997, for his or her own account or in the capacity of director, officer, partner or trustee. In addition, Messrs. Glenn, Burke and Albert are officers of one or more of the registered investment companies listed in the first two paragraphs of this Item 26.
| Other Substantial Business, | ||||
| Name | Positions with MLAM U.K. | Profession, Vocation or Employment | ||
| Terry K. Glenn | Director and Chairman | Executive Vice President of MLAM and FAM; Executive Vice President and Director of Princeton Services; President and Director of PFD; President of Princeton Administrators | ||
| Alan J. Albert | Senior Managing Director | Vice President of MLAM | ||
| Nicholas C.D. Hall | Director | Director of Merrill Lynch Europe PLC.; General Counsel of Merrill Lynch International Private Banking Group | ||
| Donald C. Burke | Treasurer | Senior Vice President and Treasurer of MLAM and FAM; Director of Taxation of MLAM; Senior Vice President and Treasurer of Princeton Services; Vice President of PFD; First Vice President of MLAM from 1997 to 1999; Vice President of MLAM from 1990 to 1997 | ||
| Carol Ann Langham | Company Secretary | None | ||
| Debra Anne Searle | Assistant Company Secretary | None | ||
Item 27. Principal Underwriters
(a) MLFD, a division of PFD, acts as the principal underwriter for the Registrant and for each of the open-end registered investment companies referred to in the first two paragraphs of Item 26 except CBA Money Fund, CMA Government Securities Fund, CMA Money Fund, CMA Multi-State Municipal Series Trust, CMA Tax-Exempt Fund, CMA Treasury Fund, The Corporate Fund Accumulation Program, Inc. and The Municipal Fund Accumulation Program, Inc. MLFD also acts as the principal underwriter for the following closed-end registered investment companies: Merrill Lynch High Income Municipal Bond Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Municipal Strategy Fund, Inc., Merrill Lynch Senior Floating Rate Fund, Inc. and Merrill Lynch Senior Floating Rate Fund II, Inc. A separate division of PFD acts as the principal underwriter of a number of other investment companies.
(b) Set forth below is information concerning each director and officer of PFD. The principal business address of each such person is P.O. Box 9081, Princeton, New Jersey 08543-9081, except that the address of Messrs. Breen, Crook, Fatseas and Wasel is One Financial Center, 23rd Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02111-2665.
| Position(s) and Office(s) | Position(s) and Office(s) | |||||
| Name | with PFD | with Registrant | ||||
| Terry K. Glenn | President and Director | President and Director | ||||
| Michael G. Clark | Treasurer and Director | None | ||||
C-7
| Position(s) and Office(s) | Position(s) and Office(s) | |||||
| Name | with PFD | with Registrant | ||||
| Thomas J. Verage | Director | None | ||||
| Robert W. Crook | Senior Vice President | None | ||||
| Michael J. Brady | Vice President | None | ||||
| William M. Breen | Vice President | None | ||||
| Donald C. Burke | Vice President | Vice President and Treasurer | ||||
| James T. Fatseas | Vice President | None | ||||
| Debra W. Landsman-Yaros | Vice President | None | ||||
| Michelle T. Lau | Vice President | None | ||||
| Salvatore Venezia | Vice President | None | ||||
| William Wasel | Vice President | None | ||||
| Robert Harris | Secretary | None | ||||
(c) Not applicable.
Item 28. Location of Accounts and Records
All accounts, books and other documents required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) and the rules thereunder are maintained at the offices of the Registrant (800 Scudders Mill Road, Plainsboro, New Jersey 08536), and its transfer agent, Financial Data Services, Inc. (4800 Deer Lake Drive East, Jacksonville, Florida 32246-6484).
Item 29. Management Services
Other than as set forth under the caption “Management of the Fund — Merrill Lynch Asset Management” in the Prospectus constituting Part A of the Registration Statement and under “Management of the Fund — Management and Advisory Arrangements” in the Statement of Additional Information constituting Part B of the Registration Statement, the Registrant is not a party to any management-related service contract.
Item 30. Undertakings.
Not applicable.
C-8
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act and the Investment Company Act, the Registrant certifies that it meets all the requirements for effectiveness of this Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 485(b) under the Securities Act and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the Township of Plainsboro, and State of New Jersey, on the 29th day of October, 1999.
| MERRILL LYNCH GLOBAL SMALLCAP FUND, INC. | |
| (Registrant) |
| By | /s/ DONALD C. BURKE |
|
|
|
| (Donald C. Burke, Vice President and Treasurer) |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Post-Effective Amendment to its Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| Signature | Title | Date | ||
|
TERRY K. GLENN* (Terry K. Glenn) |
President and Director (Principal Executive Officer) |
|||
|
DONALD C. BURKE* (Donald C. Burke) |
Vice President and Treasurer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
|||
|
DONALD CECIL* (Donald Cecil) |
Director | |||
|
EDWARD H. MEYER* (Edward H. Meyer) |
Director | |||
|
CHARLES C. REILLY* (Charles C. Reilly) |
Director | |||
|
RICHARD R. WEST* (Richard R. West) |
Director | |||
|
ARTHUR ZEIKEL* (Arthur Zeikel) |
Director | |||
|
EDWARD D. ZINBARG* (Edward D. Zinbarg) |
Director | |||
|
*By: /s/ DONALD C. BURKE (Donald C. Burke, Attorney-in-Fact) |
October 29, 1999 |
C-9
POWER OF ATTORNEY
The undersigned, the Directors/ Trustees and the Officers of each of the registered investment companies listed below, hereby authorize Terry K. Glenn, Donald C. Burke and Joseph T. Monagle, Jr. or any of them, as attorney-in-fact, to sign on his or her behalf in the capacities indicated any Registration Statement or amendment thereto (including post-effective amendments) for each of the following registered investment companies and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, with the Securities and Exchange Commission: Merrill Lynch Americas Income Fund, Inc.; Merrill Lynch Developing Capital Markets Fund, Inc.; Merrill Lynch Dragon Fund, Inc.; Merrill Lynch Emerging Tigers Fund, Inc.; Merrill Lynch EuroFund; Merrill Lynch Global Allocation Fund, Inc.; Merrill Lynch Global Bond Fund for Investment and Retirement; Merrill Lynch Global Holdings, Inc.; Merrill Lynch Global SmallCap Fund, Inc.; Merrill Lynch Global Technology Fund, Inc.; Merrill Lynch Global Value Fund, Inc.; Merrill Lynch Healthcare Fund, Inc.; Merrill Lynch International Equity Fund; Merrill Lynch Latin America Fund, Inc.; Merrill Lynch Middle East/ Africa Fund, Inc.; Merrill Lynch Pacific Fund, Inc.; Merrill Lynch Short-Term Global Income Fund, Inc.; Merrill Lynch Technology Fund, Inc.; and Worldwide DollarVest Fund, Inc.
Dated: April 16, 1999
|
/s/ TERRY K. GLENN Terry K. Glenn (President/ Principal Executive Officer/ Director/ Trustee) |
/s/ DONALD C. BURKE ----------------------------------------------- Donald C. Burke (Vice President/ Treasurer/ Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
|
|
/s/ DONALD CECIL Donald Cecil (Director/ Trustee) |
/s/ ROLAND M. MACHOLD ----------------------------------------------- Roland M. Machold (Director/ Trustee) |
|
|
/s/ EDWARD H. MEYER Edward H. Meyer (Director/ Trustee) |
/s/ CHARLES C. REILLY ----------------------------------------------- Charles C. Reilly (Director/ Trustee) |
|
|
/s/ RICHARD R. WEST Richard R. West (Director/ Trustee) |
/s/ ARTHUR ZEIKEL ----------------------------------------------- Arthur Zeikel (Director/ Trustee) |
|
|
/s/ EDWARD D. ZINBARG Edward D. Zinbarg (Director/ Trustee) |
C-10
EXHIBIT INDEX
| Exhibit | ||||||
| Number | Description | |||||
| 9(b) | — | Consent of Brown & Wood LLP, counsel to the Registrant. | ||||
| 10 | — | Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP, independent auditors for the Registrant. | ||||
|
|