If you are in any doubt about the contents of this Supplement, you should consult your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or other independent financial adviser. The Directors of the Company, whose names appear under the heading "Management and Administration" in the Prospectus dated 10 March 2015, accept responsibility for the information contained in the Prospectus and in this Supplement. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the Directors (who have taken all reasonable care to ensure that such is the case) the information contained in this Supplement is in accordance with the facts and does not omit anything likely to affect the import of the information. HERMES US SMID EQUITY FUND (a sub-fund of Hermes Investment Funds public limited company) SUPPLEMENT This Supplement contains information relating to the Fund. This Supplement forms part of and should be read in conjunction with the general description of the Company contained in the current Prospectus. With the exception of terms defined in this Supplement and unless the context requires otherwise, capitalised terms used in this Supplement shall have the meaning attributed to them in the Prospectus. The date of this Supplement No. 13 is 10 March 2015.
INDEX INTRODUCTION... 3 PROFILE OF A TYPICAL INVESTOR... 3 INITIAL OFFER OF SHARES... 4 HERMES US SMID EQUITY FUND... 5 RISK FACTORS... 6 DEALING INFORMATION... 6 2
INTRODUCTION This Supplement contains information relating to the Share Classes of Hermes US SMID Equity (the Fund ) Fund which are listed below together with the currency of denomination of each Share Class: Class F Shares Distributing Share Classes Sterling, Euro, US Dollars, Swiss Francs, Swedish Krona, Norwegian Krone, Danish Krone, Hong Kong Dollar and Singapore Dollar. Class R Shares Distributing Share Classes Class T Shares Distributing Share Classes Sterling, Euro, Swiss Francs, Swedish Krona, Norwegian Krone, Danish Krone, Hong Kong Dollar and Singapore Dollar. Euro, US Dollars, Swiss Francs, Swedish Krona, Norwegian Krone, Danish Krone, Hong Kong Dollar and Singapore Dollar. Euro, Swiss Francs, Swedish Krona, Norwegian Krone, Danish Krone, Hong Kong Dollar and Singapore Dollar. Sterling, Euro and US Dollars. Sterling and Euro. Class Z Shares Distributing Share Classes Sterling, Euro, US Dollars, Swiss Francs, Swedish Krona, Norwegian Krone, Danish Krone, Hong Kong Dollar and Singapore Dollar. Sterling, Euro, Swiss Francs, Swedish Krona, Norwegian Krone, Danish Krone, Hong Kong Dollar and Singapore Dollar. The base currency of the Fund is US Dollars. Funds of the Company in existence as at the date of this Supplement are set out in the Global Supplement. PROFILE OF A TYPICAL INVESTOR The Fund is suitable for investors seeking capital growth over a long term time horizon and who understand and accept a high level of risk with high volatility attached to a fund which delivers a US equity exposure. 3
INITIAL OFFER OF SHARES The Initial Offer Period in respect of all Share Classes listed below (in respect of which subscriptions have not been received) will close on 9 September 2015. Share Classes available are noted in the section entitled Introduction. Class F Shares SEK NOK DKK HKD SGD Share SEK20 NOK20 DKK10 HKD20 SGD3 Accumulating Distributing Accumulating Hedged Distributing Hedged Class R Shares US $ CHF SEK NOK DKK HKD SGD Share 2 US$2 CHF2 SEK20 NOK20 DKK10 HKD20 SGD3 Accumulating Distributing Accumulating Hedged Distributing Hedged Class T Shares Stg US $ Share Stg 1 2 US$2 Accumulating Distributing Accumulating Hedged Distributing Hedged Class Z Shares Stg CHF SEK NOK DKK Share Stg 1 2 CHF2 SEK20 NOK20 DKK10 Accumulating Distributing Accumulating Hedged Distributing Hedged 4
Investment Objective and Policies HERMES US SMID EQUITY FUND The investment objective of the Fund is to provide long-term capital appreciation. The Fund will seek to achieve its objective by investing primarily in equity or equity related securities of, or relating to, small and mid-capitalisation companies domiciled in the US, or which derive a large proportion of their income from US activities, which are listed or traded in the US or Canada and which the Investment Manager has identified as being, in its view, undervalued. The Investment Manager is not subject to any limitation on the types of companies to which it will seek exposure (either in terms of industry, size or focus). The Fund may invest in or gain exposure to (through the use of FDIs, as outlined below) such securities by investing primarily in equity or equity related securities listed or traded on Regulated Markets in the US and Canada. The Fund may (but is under no obligation to) select its Investments from the Russell 2500 Index. The Russell 2500 Index measures the performance of the small to mid-capitalisation segment of the U.S. equity market and represents the 2,500 smallest companies in the Russell 3000 Index. In pursuance of its investment policy, the Fund may also acquire units/shares of collective investment schemes, including exchange-traded funds, money market funds and other funds of the Company, where such collective investment schemes satisfy the requirements of the Central Bank. In pursuit of its investment objective, the Fund may utilise FDIs, such as Futures, Options and Swap agreements (such as currency Swaps for currency hedging purposes), for direct investment (i.e. to seek exposure to equity, equity related securities and/or collective investment schemes of the type referred to in the preceding paragraph) and/or efficient portfolio management purposes. FDIs will be used for purposes such as assisting cash flow management, for cost effectiveness and for gaining exposure to certain markets and securities in a quicker and/or more efficient manner. Please see section headed "Investment in FDIS and Efficient Portfolio Management" in the Prospectus for more information. For efficient portfolio management purposes the Fund may invest in and / or gain exposure to financial indices, enter into repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements and / or engage in stock lending (subject to the conditions and limits of the Central Bank). Leverage and Global Exposure The Fund may be leveraged up to 10% of its Net Asset Value. That is, the total exposure associated with the investments of the Fund, including investments in FDIs, may amount to 110% of the Net Asset Value of the Fund. The Fund s global exposure will be calculated using the commitment approach. Investment Guidelines In making its investment decisions, the Investment Manager will seek to consider CGRI Guidelines with regards to the holding of either individual securities or various categories or classes of securities. The CGRI Guidelines are intended to provide guidance on achieving best practice standards of corporate governance and equity stewardship and with the aim of adding value to and/or preserving value in the Funds. The Fund s Investments, other than its Investments in open-ended collective investment schemes, will normally be listed or traded on Regulated Markets. Currency Hedging Policy The Fund may enter into transactions for the purposes of hedging the currency exposure in accordance with the sections entitled Hedging at Portfolio Level and Hedging at Share Class Level in the Prospectus. 5
RISK FACTORS Potential investors and Shareholder are referred to the section of the Prospectus entitled Risk Factors. Regard should be had to the risks outlined under the heading General Risk Factors as each of these risk factors will be relevant in the context of an investment in the Fund. In addition, investors should specifically refer to the following risks which appear under the heading Fund Specific Risk Factors as these relate to risks arising as a result of the Funds Investments and / or portfolio management techniques:- Risk Prospectus page reference Equity Risk 25 Futures Risk 25 Small and Mid Cap Companies Risk 26 Warrants Risk 27 DEALING INFORMATION Class F Shares Class R Shares Class T Shares Class Z Shares Dealing Deadline Valuation 9.30 am (Irish time) on the relevant Dealing Day. The Valuation Point will be 12 noon (Irish time) on each Dealing Day. The value of instruments or securities which are quoted, listed or dealt in on a Regulated Market shall (save in certain specific cases) be the last traded price on such Regulated Market as at the Valuation Point, or the latest mid-market price at the Valuation Point when no last traded price is available Timing of Payment for Subscriptions Timing of Payment for Redemptions Minimum Initial Subscription Amount Minimum Subsequent Subscription Amount Payment must be received by the Administrator by close of business three Business Days from the receipt of applications for Shares. Redemption proceeds in respect of Shares will be paid on the fourth Business Day following the relevant Dealing Day. Stg 100,000* 1,000* Stg 1,000* Per Client No minimum No minimum No minimum Per Client Minimum Amount Minimum Amount Holding Redemption Stg 100,000* 1,000* Stg 1,000* Per Client No minimum No minimum No minimum Per Client Investment Management Fee Up to 0.75% of the Net Asset Value Up to 1.5% of the Net Asset Value No investment management fees or expenses** No investment management fees or expenses*** Administrator s Fee Up to 0.04% of the Net Asset Value of the Fund accrued and calculated daily and payable monthly in arrears, subject to an annual minimum fee of Stg 33,000. The Fund will also pay other costs to the Administrator such as transfer agency charges and transaction fees. Details are set out in the Prospectus in the section entitled Fees and Expenses. Custodian s Fee The Fund will bear transaction and custody charges which are calculated on the basis of the assets held. The Fund will also pay a trustee fee of up to 0.015% of its Net Asset Value to the Custodian. The Fund will also pay other costs to the Custodian such as out-of-pocket expenses and sub-custodial fees and expenses. Details are set out in the Prospectus in the section entitled Fees and Expenses. 6
Other Fees and Expenses All fees and expenses, not exceeding Stg 50,000 relating to the establishment of the Fund, including the fees of the advisers, such as legal advisers, will be borne by the Fund and will be amortised over the first five financial years of the lifetime of the Fund or such other period as the Directors may determine and advise to Shareholders, for example via the Company s financial statements. The Fund shall bear its attributable proportion of the organisational and operating expenses of the Company. Details of these and of other fees and expenses relating to the Company and Shareholders are set out in the Prospectus. Compulsory redemption threshold *or its foreign currency equivalent. All the Shares of the Fund may be compulsorily redeemed at the discretion of the Directors if, after the first anniversary of the first issue of Shares of the Fund, the Net Asset Value of the Fund falls below Stg 100,000,000 for any period of time. **Shareholders in the Class T Shares will be subject to a fee with regard to their investment in the Fund based on the Client between them and the Investment Manager. This fee will not exceed 1% per annum of the value of the Shareholder s holding in the Fund. ***Shareholders in the Class Z Shares will be subject to a fee with regard to their investment in the Fund based on the Client between them and the Investment Manager. This fee will not exceed 3% per annum of the value of the Shareholder s holding in the Fund. The Investment Manager reserves the right to repurchase the entire holding of Shares of any Shareholder (deducting any amount owed for unpaid investment management fees), if the relevant Client is terminated for any reason whatsoever. WF-10807626-8.exv 7