Royce Investment Partners (“Royce”), the Fund’s investment adviser, invests the Fund’s assets primarily in equity securities of small- and micro-cap companies that it believes are trading below its estimate of their current worth. Small- and micro-cap companies are those that have a market capitalization not greater than that of the largest company in the Russell 2000® Index at the time of its most recent reconstitution.

The Fund uses multiple investment disciplines in an effort to provide exposure to approaches that have historically performed well in different market environments. These disciplines include “High Quality,” which looks for companies that have high returns on invested capital and that Royce believes have significant competitive advantages; “Emerging Quality,” which seeks companies that are newer in their lifecycle but that Royce believes can become High Quality in the future; “Traditional Value,” which looks for companies trading at prices below Royce’s estimate of their current worth; and “Quality Value,” which seeks companies with attractive profit margins, strong free cash flows, and lower leverage that also trade at what Royce believes are attractive valuations. The Fund’s portfolio managers generally focus on one of these approaches in managing segments of the Fund’s assets, while the Lead Portfolio Manager collaborates with the managers across all segments.

The Fund invests at least 65% of its net assets in equity securities of such small- and micro-cap companies, under normal circumstances. Although the Fund generally focuses on securities of U.S. companies, it may invest up to 25% of its net assets (measured at the time of investment) in securities of companies headquartered in foreign countries. The Fund may invest in other investment companies that invest in equity securities. The Fund may sell securities to, among other things, secure gains, limit losses, redeploy assets into what Royce deems to be more promising opportunities, and/or manage cash levels in the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund does not focus its investments in companies that do business in the State of Pennsylvania.