Sales Charges
Each of the Natixis Funds offer Classes A and C shares to the public. The Vaughan Nelson Small Cap Value Fund is currently closed to new investors. No new accounts may be opened and no additional investments may be made in Class B shares. Each class has different costs associated with buying, selling and holding Fund shares which allows you to choose the class that best meets your needs. Which class is best for you depends upon a number of factors, including the size of your investment and how long you intend to hold your shares. Certain share classes and certain shareholder features may not be available to you if you hold your shares in a street name account. Your financial representative can help you decide which class of shares is most appropriate for you.Review the sales charges that apply to the purchase and sale of Fund shares by selecting a share class below:
Class A
Class B
Class C
Class A shares:
The offering price of Class A shares is their net asset value plus a sales charge (sometimes called a “front-end sales charge”) which varies depending upon the size of your purchase. As you can see in the tables below, sales charges diminish at various breakpoints.
Due to rounding, the actual sales charge for a particular transaction may be higher or lower than the rates listed above.
* For purchases of Class A shares of the Fund of $1 million or more, there is no front-end sales charge, but a CDSC of 1.00% may apply to redemption of your shares within 18 months of the date of purchase. See the section “How the CDSC is Applied to Your Shares” in the funds' prospectuses for more information.
** Not imposed on shares that are purchased with reinvested dividends or other distributions.
If you invest in Class A shares through a financial intermediary, it is the responsibility of the financial intermediary to ensure that you obtain the proper "breakpoint" discount. It will be necessary at the time of purchase to inform the Distributor and the financial intermediary of the existence of other accounts in which there are holdings eligible to be aggregated to meet sales load breakpoints of the Funds. You may be required to provide certain records and information, such as account statements, with respect to all of your accounts that hold shares, including accounts with other financial intermediaries and your family members' and other related party accounts, in order to verify your eligibility for a reduced sales charge. If the Distributor is not notified that you are eligible for a reduced sales charge, the Distributor will be unable to ensure that the reduction is applied to your account. Additional information concerning sales load breakpoints is available from your financial intermediary or in the Funds' statement of additional information.
Reducing Front-End Sales Charges
There are several ways you can lower your sales charge for Class A shares, including:- Letter of Intent – By signing a Letter of Intent, you may purchase Class A shares of any Natixis Fund over a 13-month period but pay sales charges as if you had purchased all shares at once. This program can save you money if you plan to invest $50,000 or more (or $100,000 or more into Natixis Diversified Income Fund, Loomis Sayles Multi-Asset Real Return Fund, Loomis Sayles Strategic Alpha Fund, or any of the Natixis Income Funds) within 13 months. Purchases of all shares may be used toward meeting the Letter of Intent.
- Cumulative Purchase Discount – You may be entitled to a reduced sales charge if your “total investment” reaches a breakpoint for a reduced sales charge. The total investment is determined by adding the amount of your current purchase in a Fund, including the applicable sales charge, to the current public offering price of all series and classes of shares of the Natixis Funds held by you in one or more accounts. Certain shares held through Loomis Sayles Distributors, L.P. may not be eligible for this privilege. If your total investment exceeds a sales charge breakpoint in the table above, the lower sales charge applies to entire amount of your current purchase in the Fund.
- Combining Accounts – This allows you to combine shares of multiple Natixis Funds and classes for purposes of calculating your sales charge.
Individual Accounts: You may elect to combine your purchase(s) and your total investment, as defined above, with the purchases and total investment of your spouse, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, in-laws (of those previously mentioned) individual fiduciary accounts, sole proprietorships, single trust estates and any other individuals acceptable to the Distributor.
Certain Retirement Plan Accounts: The Distributor may, at its discretion, combine the purchase(s) and total investment of all qualified participants in the same retirement plan for purposes of determining the availability of a reduced sales charge.
In most instances, individual accounts may not be linked with certain retirement plan accounts for the purposes of calculating sales charges. Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (“SIMPLE IRA”) contributions will automatically be linked with those of other participants in the same SIMPLE IRA Plan (Class A shares only). SIMPLE IRA accounts may not be linked with any other Natixis Fund account for rights of accumulation. Please refer to the SAI for more detailed information on combining accounts.
Eliminating Front-End Sales Charges and CDSC
Class A Shares may be offered without front-end sales charges or a CDSC to the following individuals and institutions:- Any government entity that is prohibited from paying a sales charge or commission to purchase mutual fund shares;
- Selling brokers, sales representatives, registered investment advisers, financial planners or other intermediaries under arrangements with the Distributor (this also applies to spouses and minor children under the age of 21 of those mentioned);
- Fund Trustees, former Trustees, employees of affiliates of the Natixis Funds and other individuals who are affiliated with any Natixis Fund (this also applies to any spouse, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren and in-laws of those mentioned);
- Participants in certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. The availability of this pricing may depend upon the policies and procedures of your specific financial intermediary; consult your financial adviser;
- Non-discretionary and non-retirement accounts of bank trust departments or trust companies, but only if they principally engage in banking or trust activities;
- Clients of an adviser or subadviser to any Natixis Fund with investments of $25,000 or more in the Natixis Funds
- Investments of $5 million or more in Limited Term Government and Agency Fund by corporations purchasing shares for their own account, credit unions, or bank trust departments and trust companies with discretionary accounts which they hold in a fiduciary capacity; and
- Clients of NGAM Advisors that invest in a Natixis Fund that does not offer Class Y shares;
In order to receive Class A shares without a front-end sales charge or a CDSC, you must notify the appropriate Fund of your eligibility at the time of purchase. Due to operational limitations at your financial intermediary, a sales charge or a CDSC may be assessed; please consult your financial representative.
Repurchasing Fund Shares
You may apply proceeds from redeeming Class A shares of a Fund to repurchase Class A shares of any Natixis Fund without paying a front-end sales charge. To qualify, you must reinvest some or all of the proceeds within 120 days after your redemption and notify Natixis Funds in writing (directly or through your financial representative) at the time of reinvestment that you are taking advantage of this privilege. You may reinvest your proceeds by sending a new check for some or all of the redemption amount. Please note: for U.S. federal income tax purposes, a redemption generally is treated as a sale that involves tax consequences, even if the proceeds are later invested. Please consult your tax advisor to discuss how redemption would affect you.
Eliminating the CDSC
As long as the Distributor is notified at the time you sell, the CDSC for Class A shares will be generally be eliminated in the following cases: (1) to make distributions from a Retirement Plan (a plan termination or total plan redemption may incur a CDSC); (2) to make payments through a systematic withdrawal plan; (3) due to shareholder death or disability; (4) to return excess IRA contributions; or (5) to make required minimum distributions at age 70 ½ (applies only to the amount necessary to meet the required minimum distributions).Please see the SAI for more information on eliminating or reducing front-end sales charges and CDSC.
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Class B shares
No new accounts may be opened and no additional investments may be made in Class B shares. There is a CDSC on shares that are sold within six years of the date of their acquisition. The amount of CDSC, if any, declines each year that you own your shares (except in the third and fourth years, which have the same CDSC). The holding period for purposes of timing the conversion to Class A shares and determining the CDSC will continue to run after an exchange to Class B shares of another Natixis Fund. If you previously held Class B shares in Natixis Cash Management Trust – Money Market Series, your shares may have stopped aging until they were exchanged into Class B shares of another Natixis Fund. The CDSC equals the following percentages of the dollar amounts subject to the charge.
Eliminating the CDSC
As long as the Distributor is notified at the time you sell, the CDSC for Class B shares will be generally be eliminated in the following cases: (1) to make distributions from a Retirement Plan (a plan termination or total plan redemption may incur a CDSC); (2) to make payments through a systematic withdrawal plan; (3) due to shareholder death or disability; (4) to return excess IRA contributions; or (5) to make required minimum distributions at age 70 ½ (applies only to the amount necessary to meet the required minimum distributions).Please see the SAI for more information on eliminating or reducing front-end sales charges and CDSC.
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Class C shares
The offering price of Class C shares is their net asset value, without a front-end sales charge. Class C shares are subject to a CDSC of 1.00% on redemptions made within one year of the date of their acquisition. The holding period from determining the CDSC will continue to run after an exchange to Class C shares of another Natixis Fund.
Eliminating the CDSC
As long as the Distributor is notified at the time you sell, the CDSC for Class C shares will generally be eliminated in the following cases: (1) to make distributions from a Retirement Plan (a plan termination or total plan redemption may incur a CDSC); (2) to make payments through a systematic withdrawal plan; (3) due to shareholder death or disability; (4) to return excess IRA contributions; or (5) to make required minimum distributions at age 70 ½ (applies only to the amount necessary to meet the required minimum distributions).
How the CDSC Is Applied to Your Shares
The CDSC is a sales charge you pay when you redeem certain Fund shares. The CDSC:- is calculated based on the number of shares you are selling;
- Calculation is based on either your original purchase price or the current net asset value of the shares being sold, whichever is lower in order to minimize your CDSC;
- is deducted from the proceeds of the redemption unless you request, at the time of the redemption, that it be deducted from the amount remaining in your account; and
- applies to redemptions made within the time frame shown above for each class.
- increases in net asset value above the purchase price;
- shares you acquired by reinvesting your dividends or capital gains distributions; or
- Exchanges. However, the original purchase date of the shares from which the exchange is made determines if the newly acquired shares are subject to the CDSC when they are sold.
Because distribution and service (12b-1) fees are paid out of the funds’ assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges and service fees.
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