Delaware Real Estate Securities Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in the securities of companies in the real estate or real estate-related industries (80% policy). The 80% policy is nonfundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval, but the Fund will provide shareholders with at least 60 days' notice before changing this 80% policy. The Fund does not invest directly in real estate. The Fund may invest in securities of issuers of any size, including issuers with small, mid or large market capitalizations, although the Fund generally tends to focus on mid- and large-capitalization issuers.

“Real estate” securities include securities offered by issuers that receive at least 50% of their gross revenue from the construction, ownership, leasing, management, financing or sale of residential, commercial or industrial real estate. Real estate securities issuers typically include REITs, REOCs, real estate brokers and developers, real estate managers, hotel franchisers, real estate holding companies and publicly-traded limited partnerships.

“Real estate-related” securities include securities issued by companies primarily engaged in businesses that sell or offer products or services that are closely related to the real estate industry. Real estate-related securities issuers typically include construction and related building companies, manufacturers and distributors of building supplies, brokers, financial institutions that issue or service mortgages and resort companies.

The Fund’s investment strategy utilizes a three-step bottom-up approach (researching individual issuers) with a strong focus on quality, risk and a valuation-based stock selection methodology, supported by a top-down (assessing the market environment) overlay as a check and a balance. The Macquarie Global Listed Real Estate Team (the “Team”) seeks to identify and capitalize on investment opportunities through an integrated approach to individual security-level analysis and long-term trends impacting real estate markets and cycles. The Team applies combined research sources in a disciplined and systematic manner, taking account of mis-pricing opportunities, long term value creation and the level of risk these assets bring to the Fund in both absolute and relative terms. The Team looks to manage risk by allocating capital where it believes it will have the most potential to drive returns which is ultimately in bottom-up stock and sector selection (as further described below) over and above top-down country and regional selection, where the Team feels performance is far harder to derive consistently.

Most of the Fund’s real estate securities portfolio consists of securities issued by REITs and REOCs that are listed on a securities exchange or traded over-the-counter. A REIT is a corporation (or trust or association that otherwise would be taxable as such) that invests in real estate, mortgages on real estate or shares issued by other REITs. REITs may be characterized as equity REITs (that is, REITs that primarily invest in land and improvements thereon), mortgage REITs (that is, REITs that primarily invest in mortgages on real estate and other real estate debt) or hybrid REITs, which invest in both land and improvements thereon and real estate mortgages. The Fund primarily invests in shares of equity REITs but also invests lesser portions of its assets in shares of mortgage REITs and hybrid REITs.

The Fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets in foreign securities and may invest up to 20% of its net assets in securities issued by companies outside of the real estate industry.

The Fund also may invest in an ETF to replicate a REIT or real estate stock index or a basket of REITs or real estate stocks, as well as in an ETF that attempts to provide enhanced performance, or inverse performance, on such indexes or baskets. The Fund may invest in companies that are offered in IPOs.

An investment in the a may encounter the risk of greater volatility, due to the limited number of issuers of real estate and real estate-related securities, than an investment in a portfolio of securities selected from a greater number of issuers.

Fund summaries

The Manager may seek investment advice and recommendations from its affiliates: Macquarie Investment Management Global Limited (MIMGL) and  Macquarie Investment Management Europe Limited (MIMEL) (together, the “Affiliated Sub-Advisors”). The Manager may also permit these Affiliated Sub-Advisors to execute Fund security trades on behalf of the Manager and exercise investment discretion for securities in certain markets where the Manager believes it will be beneficial to utilize an Affiliated Sub-Advisor’s specialized market knowledge.