To pursue its investment objective, the Fund will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in a diversified portfolio of common stock and securities convertible into common stock of mid capitalization (“mid cap”) companies. Mid cap stocks are defined as those companies with public stock market capitalizations within the range of the market capitalization of companies constituting the Bloomberg U.S. Mid Cap® Index at the time of investment. As of December 31, 2025, the capitalization range of the Bloomberg U.S. Mid Cap® Index was between 1.03 billion and $75.9 billion. The market capitalization of the companies in the Fund’s portfolio and the Bloomberg U.S. Mid Cap® Index changes over time; the Fund will not automatically sell or cease to purchase stock of a company it already owns solely because the company’s market capitalization grows or falls outside these ranges. The Fund may also invest in real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), including mortgage REITs, and other real estate-related securities.

Sterling Capital Management LLC (“Sterling Capital”) believes that undervalued companies with good earnings prospects have superior appreciation potential with reasonable levels of risk. Quantitatively, Sterling Capital focuses on a stock’s fundamental valuation relative to its peers. Sterling Capital considers additional quantitative measures, such as earnings momentum and relative price strength. Qualitatively, Sterling Capital seeks to identify business catalysts which will serve to drive future earnings growth, increase investor interest and expand valuation.