APRIL 2023 MARKET INSIGHTS

By: ANTHONY MINOPOLI , PRESIDENT & CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER

Every month as I sit to write this essay, I try to focus on a current theme (I will come to Silicon Valley Bank, I promise!). This month, I was thinking about financial innovation, and this came to mind when Deutsche Bank’s stock came under pressure in late March due to the spiking price of Credit Default Swaps (CDS) to protect investors from a default on Deutsche Bank’s bonds. Beyond being the world’s largest Catholic fraternal society, the financial services business of the Knights of Columbus is centered on insurance, so suffice it so say I am in favor of both protection and financial innovation.

In May of 1987, I was a rising sophomore in college and started my summer internship at Evaluation Associates. I did well enough, and the office was close to school so they asked if I wanted to work part time during the school year. As a kid growing up in Bridgeport, Connecticut, I did not know much about the stock market, but by the end of May in 1987, I found my professional calling. In any event, I remember noting how the markets performed well during that summer and the S&P 500 was up about 36% for the first nine months of the year. Of course, we all know what happened on October 19, 1987, and that was when I learned about portfolio insurance, how it was supposed to work and how it all unraveled. I was blessed to be surrounded by many smart and old hands at investing and was curious enough to ask questions, a lot of questions.

I graduated college in 1990 and stayed at EAI and saw the spiking rates in 1994 that caused damage in the markets due to much stress in the bond markets. Numerous fixed income shops at the forefront of mortgage investing visited with us to explain the current science of slicing and dicing mortgage bonds through Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (CMOs) and I remember some people from Blackrock coming to EAI to show us the new CMOs and how they were evaluating the risk. It was an education for me to be sure. As rates moved up in 1994, many investors had expressed bets through various parts of CMOs, interest only, principal only, inverse floaters and the like. The one challenge of mortgage investing is evaluating the propensity and sometimes irrational behavior of homeowners to either prepay or not prepay their mortgages. This was my second brush with financial innovation that led to some investors having risky positions and positions they did not fully understand and being punished by the rapidly rising rate environment in 1994.

In 1996, Long Term Capital Management (LTCM) came to visit EAI with all of their PhDs and we were supposed to be dazzled. I was still dazzled, but fortunately Bill Crerend, our founding partner and one of my true mentors, was less dazzled and asked the right questions. In a future essay, I will recount the story of how Bill got one of our major clients OUT of Bernie Madoff in the mid 80’s. In 1996, Bill was troubled by the amount of leverage employed by the strategy as well as the withdrawal rights for investors. The general partners that managed the fund could withdraw money annually and investors had to leave money in for three years. Bill told them that we would have a very short meeting if they could not offer the same liquidity provisions to investors that they provided for themselves. They said they would not change the liquidity provision; he ended the meeting, and I learned the valuable lesson to never violate your investment principles and to follow your risk management process and philosophy. Ultimately, we looked awfully smart for never having invested with this firm, although prior to Long Term Capital’s demise, we did take some curious questions from our investors as to why we would not invest with them. In 1998, LTCM’s undoing was taking on tremendous risk with excessive leverage and when the bets moved against them, they unraveled very quickly.

So, coming back to Deutsche Bank, the bank was pressured in late March by a spike in CDS prices for investors seeking to protect themselves against the bank defaulting. Pushing around CDS prices can work just like an excessive short on a company. This stress brings others to the party only adding further stress. Using CDS to protect a debt holding remains a very sound practice. I doubt the inventors of CDS viewed it to be used as a weapon of mass destruction against a company. These have been instances of financial stress and financial innovation intersecting during my career. I am sure this won’t be the last!

During March, we experienced the extreme duress and ultimate closing of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank of New York. The failure of the banks caused significant assets to move to the systemically important banks (JP Morgan Chase, Citicorp, Bank of America and Wells Fargo) and money to move into money market funds as a way of protecting cash from a bank run or bank failure.[1] A secondary impact of this is the tightening of lending conditions by banks and the most recent data, from 1/31/2023, shows an already elevated level of banks that are tightening lending standards. With the recent banking events, it’s more probable these pressures grew further, and the creation of credit is one of the most important drivers of economic growth. As we move beyond the banking crisis, it will become apparent as to the quality and the precision of the Fed’s actions and whether we avert a true crisis, have a shallow recession or end up in a period of stagflation.

This crisis was supremely different than 2008 because that crisis was due to leverage and extremely low-quality assets. In this case, the Fed played with fire by keeping rates far too low for far too long and Treasury Secretary Yellen and Federal Reserve Chairman Powell either really believed or were simply just trying to have the public believe that the recent bout of inflation was transitory. We now know that not to be true.

Where are we now? OPEC+ announced a cut in oil supplies the first weekend of April. They are betting, and they might be right, that our domestic supplies have been shut in for just long enough that the U.S. will not be able to quickly bring oil to the market. Despite all the machinations, stocks were up 3.7%[2] in March, as measured by the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested. This positive month, despite the banking pressure, may be as much driven by the hope and belief that the Fed is done with their hiking cycle. Even if that is true, the market will then need to focus on economic headwinds and the potential for a recession. As the S&P is up over 7%1 this year, we do think it is prudent to make sure that portfolios are well balanced. Given the general weakness in stocks in 2022, most will likely find that they are still underweight their equity target and we feel being at the low end of the equity range is prudent until we find solid footing, understand where the fed is in terms of interest rate policy, and see a few more months of economic releases to be able to gauge the trajectory of the economy. Given declining rates, the Bloomberg Aggregate Bond Index was up 2.5%1 for the month. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slid during the month from 3.92% to 3.47%1 as there was a bit of a rush to safety: the potential for a recession and a possible end to the Fed hiking cycle all benefitted fixed income securities.

I hope April is a little less exciting!

Until next month.

[1] For the top 10 holdings of each fund click here (https://www.kofcassetadvisors.org/en/resources/top-10-holdings.pdf). Current and future holdings are subject to risk.

[2] Source: Bloomberg

CORE BOND FUND

	One Month (As of 3/31/23)	YTD (As of 3/31/23)	1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)
Core Bond Fund-I Shares	2.14%	2.97%	-5.91%	0.77%	1.15%
Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index	2.54%	2.96%	-4.78%	0.91%	1.06%
Lipper Core Bond Fund Average	2.18%	3.05%	-5.20%	0.86%
Lipper Percentile Rank			77%	58%
	Core Bond Fund-I Shares
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	2.14%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	2.97%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-5.91%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	0.77%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	1.15%
	Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	2.54%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	2.96%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-4.78%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	0.91%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	1.06%
	Lipper Core Bond Fund Average
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	2.18%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	3.05%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-5.20%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	0.86%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)
	Lipper Percentile Rank
One Month (As of 3/31/23)
YTD (As of 3/31/23)
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	77%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	58%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)

*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Core Bond Funds. Number of Funds in Category: 518 (1 Year) and 458 (5 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 0.66%, Net Expense Ratio 0.50%.

LIMITED DURATION FUND

	One Month (As of 3/31/23)	YTD (As of 3/31/23)	1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)
Limited Duration Bond Fund-I Shares	1.20%	1.63%	0.16%	1.26%	1.07%
Bloomberg Government/Credit 1-3 Year Index	1.45%	1.51%	0.26%	1.26%	1.05%
Lipper Short Investment Grade Debt Fund Average	0.88%	1.63%	-0.12%	1.30%
Lipper Percentile Rank			34%	55%
	Limited Duration Bond Fund-I Shares
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	1.20%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	1.63%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	0.16%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	1.26%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	1.07%
	Bloomberg Government/Credit 1-3 Year Index
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	1.45%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	1.51%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	0.26%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	1.26%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	1.05%
	Lipper Short Investment Grade Debt Fund Average
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	0.88%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	1.63%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-0.12%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	1.30%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)
	Lipper Percentile Rank
One Month (As of 3/31/23)
YTD (As of 3/31/23)
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	34%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	55%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)

Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Short Investment Grade Debt Funds. Number of Funds in Category: 367 (1 Year) and 304 (5 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 0.66%, Net Expense Ratio 0.50%.

LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

	One Month (As of 3/31/23)	YTD (As of 3/31/23)	1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)
Large Cap Growth Fund-I Shares	6.42%	13.20%	-11.99%	8.64%	8.80%
Russell 1000 Growth Index	6.84%	14.37%	-10.90%	13.66%	13.05%
Lipper Multi-Cap Growth Fund Average	3.92%	11.35%	-15.03%	9.20%
Lipper Percentile Rank			37%	85%
	Large Cap Growth Fund-I Shares
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	6.42%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	13.20%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-11.99%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	8.64%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	8.80%
	Russell 1000 Growth Index
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	6.84%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	14.37%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-10.90%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	13.66%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	13.05%
	Lipper Multi-Cap Growth Fund Average
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	3.92%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	11.35%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-15.03%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	9.20%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)
	Lipper Percentile Rank
One Month (As of 3/31/23)
YTD (As of 3/31/23)
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	37%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	85%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)

*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Multi-Cap Growth Funds. Number of Funds in Category: 656 (1 Year) and 586 (5 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 0.90%, Net Expense Ratio 0.90%.

LARGE CAP VALUE FUND

	One Month (As of 3/31/23)	YTD (As of 3/31/23)	1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)
Large Cap Value Fund-I Shares	-1.04%	0.62%	-6.71%	7.05%	7.37%
Russell 1000 Value Index	-0.46%	1.01%	-5.91%	7.50%	7.37%
Lipper Multi-Cap Value Fund Average	-1.42%	1.15%	-5.31%	7.41%	-
Lipper Percentile Rank			75%	59%
	Large Cap Value Fund-I Shares
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	-1.04%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	0.62%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-6.71%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	7.05%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	7.37%
	Russell 1000 Value Index
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	-0.46%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	1.01%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-5.91%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	7.50%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	7.37%
	Lipper Multi-Cap Value Fund Average
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	-1.42%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	1.15%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-5.31%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	7.41%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	-
	Lipper Percentile Rank
One Month (As of 3/31/23)
YTD (As of 3/31/23)
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	75%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	59%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)

*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Multi-Cap Value Funds. Number of Funds in Category: 661 (1 Year) and 579 (5 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 0.90%, Net Expense Ratio 0.90%.

SMALL CAP FUND

	One Month (As of 3/31/23)	YTD (As of 3/31/23)	1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)
Small Cap Equity Fund-I Shares	-4.11%	2.66%	-11.75%	4.27%	5.29%
Russell 2000 Index	-4.78%	2.74%	-11.61%	4.71%	6.23%
Lipper Small Cap Fund Average	-4.70%	2.74%	-7.67%	5.53%
Lipper Percentile Rank			57%	86%
	Small Cap Equity Fund-I Shares
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	-4.11%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	2.66%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-11.75%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	4.27%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	5.29%
	Russell 2000 Index
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	-4.78%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	2.74%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-11.61%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	4.71%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	6.23%
	Lipper Small Cap Fund Average
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	-4.70%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	2.74%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-7.67%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	5.53%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)
	Lipper Percentile Rank
One Month (As of 3/31/23)
YTD (As of 3/31/23)
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	57%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	86%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)

*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Small-Cap Core Funds. Number of Funds in Category: 712 (1 Year) and 632 (5 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 1.05%, Net Expense Ratio 1.05%.

INTERNATIONAL EQUITY FUND

	One Month (As of 3/31/23)	YTD (As of 3/31/23)	1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)
International Equity-I Shares	2.023%	5.79%	-9.21%	2.28%	4.47%
FTSE All World Ex US Index	2.36%	6.57%	-4.82%	3.11%	4.25%
Lipper International Multi-Cap Fund Average	2.49%	7.72%	-2.33%	2.55%	-
Lipper Percentile Rank			98%	61%
	International Equity-I Shares
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	2.023%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	5.79%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-9.21%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	2.28%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	4.47%
	FTSE All World Ex US Index
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	2.36%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	6.57%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-4.82%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	3.11%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	4.25%
	Lipper International Multi-Cap Fund Average
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	2.49%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	7.72%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-2.33%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	2.55%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	-
	Lipper Percentile Rank
One Month (As of 3/31/23)
YTD (As of 3/31/23)
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	98%
5 Years (As of 3/31/23)	61%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)

* Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: International Multi-Cap Core. Number of Funds in Category: 346 (1 Year) and 270 (5 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 1.16%, Net Expense Ratio 1.10%.

REAL ESTATE FUND

	One Month (As of 3/31/23)	YTD (As of 3/31/23)	1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	3 Years (As of 3/31/23)	Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)
Real Estate-I Shares	-2.73%	3.49%	-18.44%	12.85%	3.32%
FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index	-2.54%	2.68%	-19.22%	12.08%	0.45
Lipper Real Estate Average	-1.88%	2.71%	-19.59%	10.01	-
Lipper Percentile Rank		22%	10%
	Real Estate-I Shares
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	-2.73%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	3.49%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-18.44%
3 Years (As of 3/31/23)	12.85%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	3.32%
	FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	-2.54%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	2.68%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-19.22%
3 Years (As of 3/31/23)	12.08%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	0.45
	Lipper Real Estate Average
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	-1.88%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	2.71%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-19.59%
3 Years (As of 3/31/23)	10.01
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	-
	Lipper Percentile Rank
One Month (As of 3/31/23)
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	22%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	10%
3 Years (As of 3/31/23)
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)

* Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Real Estate Number of Funds in Category: 251 (1 Year) and 233 (3 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 1.07%, Net Expense Ratio 1.00%.

LONG-SHORT EQUITY FUND

	One Month (As of 3/31/23)	YTD (As of 3/31/23)	1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	3 Years (As of 3/31/23)	Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)
Long-Short Equity – I Shares	-1.01%	-2.40%	2.83%	7.39%	3.50
HFRX Equity Market Neutral Developed Index	0.01%	-0.29%	-0.31%	1.64%	-1.18%
Lipper Alternative Long/Short Average	0.55%	1.98%	-2.41%	9.88	-
Lipper Percentile rank			21%	67%
	Long-Short Equity – I Shares
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	-1.01%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	-2.40%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	2.83%
3 Years (As of 3/31/23)	7.39%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	3.50
	HFRX Equity Market Neutral Developed Index
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	0.01%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	-0.29%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-0.31%
3 Years (As of 3/31/23)	1.64%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	-1.18%
	Lipper Alternative Long/Short Average
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	0.55%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	1.98%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-2.41%
3 Years (As of 3/31/23)	9.88
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	-
	Lipper Percentile rank
One Month (As of 3/31/23)
YTD (As of 3/31/23)
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	21%
3 Years (As of 3/31/23)	67%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)

*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Alternative Long/Short Equity Number of Funds in Category: 229 (1 Year) and 202 (3 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 2.15, Net Expense Ratio 2.06%.

U.S. ALL CAP INDEX FUND

	One Month (As of 3/31/23)	YTD (As of 3/31/23)	1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	3 Years (As of 3/31/23)	Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)
U.S. All Cap Index – I Shares	2.83%	8.74%	-8.50%	19.01%	9.06%
Knights of Columbus U.S. All Cap Index	2.66%	8.65%	-8.36%	19.51%	9.41%
Lipper Multi-Cap Core Average	1.63%	5.71%	-7.92%	17.03%	-
Lipper Percentile rank			62%	24%
	U.S. All Cap Index – I Shares
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	2.83%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	8.74%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-8.50%
3 Years (As of 3/31/23)	19.01%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	9.06%
	Knights of Columbus U.S. All Cap Index
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	2.66%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	8.65%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-8.36%
3 Years (As of 3/31/23)	19.51%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	9.41%
	Lipper Multi-Cap Core Average
One Month (As of 3/31/23)	1.63%
YTD (As of 3/31/23)	5.71%
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	-7.92%
3 Years (As of 3/31/23)	17.03%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)	-
	Lipper Percentile rank
One Month (As of 3/31/23)
YTD (As of 3/31/23)
1 Year (As of 3/31/23)	62%
3 Years (As of 3/31/23)	24%
Since Inception (As of 3/31/23)

*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Multi-Cap Core Number of Funds in Category: 669 (1 Year) and 597 (3 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 0.60%, Net Expense Ratio 0.25%.

The performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth less than their original cost and current performance may be higher or lower than the performance quoted. Investment performance does not reflect the redemption fee; if it was reflected, the total return would be lower than shown. For performance data current to the most recent month end, please call 1-844-KC-FUNDS.

Fund performance for the 1 year, 5 year, and Since Inception periods are annualized. The inception date for Limited Duration, Core Bond, Large Cap Growth, Large Cap Value, Small Cap, and International are February 27, 2015. 5-year fund performance is not available for the Real Estate Fund, Long/Short Equity, or the U.S. All Cap Index since the funds’ inception dates are September 30, 2019, December 21, 2019, and December 31, 2019, respectively.

Effective July 21, 2020, the Knights of Columbus Real Estate Fund underwent a change in its Investment Objective and a name change to reflect the new investment strategy as detailed in The Funds’ Prospectus update of July 20, 2020. The Fund was formerly known as Knights of Columbus Global Real Estate Fund. Results prior to July 20, 2020, reflect the performance of the Fund's previous strategy.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or to reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to keep Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses, (excluding interest, taxes, fund brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and non-routine expenses) from exceeding the Net Expense Ratio for the respective Funds’ Institutional Shares average daily net assets until February 28, 2024.

Benchmark Definitions

Bloomberg Government/Credit 1-3 Year Index – benchmark for Limited Duration Fund
The U.S. Government/Credit Index is the non-securitized component of the U.S. Aggregate Index and was the first macro index launched by Barclays Capital. The U.S. Government/Credit Index includes Treasuries (i.e., public obligations of the U.S. Treasury that have remaining maturities of more than one year), government-related issues (i.e., agency, sovereign, supranational, and local authority debt), and corporates. The U.S. Government/Credit Index was launched on January 1, 1979 and is a subset of the U.S. Aggregate Index. The 1-3 year index includes all medium and larger issues of U.S. government, investment-grade corporate, and investment-grade international dollar-denominated bonds that have maturities of between 1 and 3 years and are publicly issued.

Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index – benchmark for Core Bond Fund
The Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index is a broad-based flagship benchmark that measures the investment grade, US dollar denominated, fixed-rate taxable bond market. The index includes Treasuries, government-related and corporate securities, MBS (agency fixed-rate and hybrid ARM pass-throughs), ABS and CMBS (agency and non-agency). Provided the necessary inclusion rules are met, US Aggregate eligible securities also contribute to the multi-currency Global Aggregate Index and the US Universal Index, which includes high yield and emerging markets debt. The US Aggregate Index was created in 1986.

FTSE All-World Ex-U.S. Index – benchmark for International Equity Fund
The FTSE All-World ex US Index is one of a number of indexes designed to help investors benchmark their international investments. The index comprises Large and Mid cap stocks providing coverage of Developed and Emerging Markets excluding the US. The index is derived from the FTSE Global Equity Index Series (GEIS), which covers 98% of the world’s investable market capitalization.

Russell 1000 Growth Index – benchmark for Large Cap Growth Fund
The Russell 1000 Growth Index measures the performance of the large-cap growth segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 1000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. The Russell 1000 Growth Index is constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased barometer for the large-cap growth segment. The Index is completely reconstituted annually to ensure new and growing equities are included and that the represented companies continue to reflect growth characteristics.

Russell 1000 Value Index – benchmark for Large Cap Value Fund
The Russell 1000 Value Index measures the performance of the large-cap value segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 1000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower expected growth values. The Russell 1000 Value Index is constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased barometer for the large-cap value segment. The Index is completely reconstituted annually to ensure new and growing equities are included and that the represented companies continue to reflect value characteristics.

Russell 2000 Index – benchmark for Small Cap Fund
The Russell 2000 Index measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe. The Russell 2000 Index is a subset of the Russell 3000® Index representing approximately 10% of the total market capitalization of that index. It includes approximately 2000 of the smallest securities based on a combination of their market cap and current index membership. The Russell 2000 is constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased small-cap barometer and is completely reconstituted annually to ensure larger stocks do not distort the performance and characteristics of the true small-cap opportunity set.

FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index – benchmark for Real Estate Fund
The FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index contains all Equity REITs not designated as Timber REITs or Infrastructure REITs. Prior to December 2010, the index included Timber REITs and Infrastructure REITs.

HFRX Equity Market Neutral Index – benchmark for Long/Short Equity Fund
HFRX Equity Market Neutral Index The HFRX Equity Market Neutral Index employs sophisticated quantitative techniques of analyzing price data to ascertain information about future price movement and relationships between securities, select securities for purchase and sale. These can include both Factor-based and Statistical Arbitrage/Trading Strategies.

Knights of Columbus U.S. All Cap Index – benchmark for U.S. All Cap Index Fund
Knights of Columbus U.S. All Cap Index Adheres to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines. Consists of all common stocks and real estate investment trusts in the Solactive US Broad Market Index excluding companies that are determined by Institutional Shareholder.

Bloomberg®, Bloomberg 1-3 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index and Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index are service marks of Bloomberg Finance L.P. and its affiliates, including Bloomberg Index Services Limited (“BISL”), the administrator of the index (collectively, “Bloomberg”) and have been licensed for use for certain purposes by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors. Bloomberg is not affiliated with Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors, and Bloomberg does not approve, endorse, review, or recommend any Knights of Columbus Funds. Bloomberg does not guarantee the timeliness, accurateness, or completeness of any data or information relating to Knights of Columbus Funds.

Indices are unmanaged and do not reflect the effect of fees. One cannot invest directly in an index.

Lipper Peer Group Definitions

Lipper Short Investment Grade Debt Classification – peer group for Limited Duration Fund
Funds that invest primarily in investment-grade debt issues (rated in the top four grades) with dollar-weighted average maturities of less than three years. The Limited Duration Bond fund ranked 126 out of 367 funds measured for the one-year ranking period and ranked 166 out of 304 funds measured for the five-year ranking period as of March 31, 2023.

Lipper Core Bond Classification – peer group for Core Bond Fund
Funds that invest at least 85% in domestic investment-grade debt issues (rated in the top four grades) with any remaining investment in non-benchmark sectors such as high-yield, global and emerging market debt. These funds maintain dollar-weighted average maturities of five to ten years. The Core Bond fund ranked 398 out of 518 funds measured for the one-year ranking period and ranked 265 out of 458 funds measured for the five-year ranking period as of March 31, 2023.

Lipper Multi-Cap Growth Classification – peer group for Large Cap Growth Fund
Funds that, by portfolio practice, invest in a variety of market capitalization ranges without concentrating 75% of their equity assets in any one market capitalization range over an extended period of time. Multi-cap growth funds typically have above-average characteristics compared to the S&P SuperComposite 1500 Index. The Large Cap Growth fund ranked 241 out of 656 funds measured for the one-year ranking period ranked and 501 out of 586 funds measured for the five-year ranking period as of March 31, 2023.

Lipper Multi-Cap Value Classification – peer group for Large Cap Value Fund
Funds that, by portfolio practice, invest in a variety of market capitalization ranges without concentrating 75% of their equity assets in any one market capitalization range over an extended period of time. Multi-cap value funds typically have below-average characteristics compared to the S&P SuperComposite 1500 Index. The Large Cap Value fund ranked 499 out of 661 funds measured for the one-year ranking period and ranked 342 out of 579 funds measured for the five-year ranking period as of March 31, 2023.

Lipper Small-Cap Core Classification – peer group for Small Cap Fund
Funds that, by portfolio practice, invest at least 75% of their equity assets in companies with market capitalizations (on a three-year weighted basis) below Lipper’s USDE small-cap ceiling. Small cap core funds have more latitude in the companies in which they invest. These funds typically have average characteristics compared to the S&P SmallCap 600 Index. The Small Cap Equity fund ranked 406 out of 712 funds measured for the one-year ranking period and ranked 544 out of 632 funds measured for the five-year ranking period as of March 31, 2023.

Lipper International Multi-Cap Core Classification – peer group for International Equity Fund
Funds that, by portfolio practice, invest in a variety of market capitalization ranges without concentrating 75% of their equity assets in any one market capitalization range over an extended period of time. International multi-cap funds typically have characteristics compared to the MSCI EAFE Index. The International Equity fund ranked 302 out of 334 funds measured for the one-year ranking period and ranked 338 out of 346 funds measured for the five-year ranking period as of March 31, 2023.

Lipper Real Estate Classification – peer group for Real Estate Fund
Funds invest primarily in equity securities of domestic and foreign companies engaged in the real estate industry. The Real Estate fund ranked 54 out of 251 funds measured for the one-year ranking and ranked 24 out of 233 funds measured for the three-year ranking period as of March 31, 2023.

Lipper Alternative Long/Short Equity Classification – peer group for Long/Short Equity Fund
Funds that employ portfolio strategies combining long holdings of equities with short sales of equities, equity options or equity index options. The funds may be either net long or net short, depending on the portfolio manager’s view of the market. The Long/Short fund ranked 47 out of 229 funds measured for the one-year ranking and ranked 136 out of 202 funds measured for the three-year ranking period as of March 31, 2023.

Lipper Multi-Cap Core Classification – peer group for U.S. All Cap Index Fund
Funds that, by portfolio practice, invest in a variety of market capitalization ranges without concentrating 75% of their equity assets in any one market-capitalization range over an extended period of time. The U.S. All Cap Index fund ranked 416 out of 669 funds measured for the one-year ranking period and ranked 146 out of 597 funds measured for the three-year ranking as of March 31, 2023.