July 2023 Market Insights

By: ANTHONY MINOPOLI, PRESIDENT & CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER

We are at a very interesting crossroads in the U.S. economy. On the one hand we are still awaiting the most predicted recession in our history. On the other hand, housing starts remain incredibly strong. The U.S. stock market remained very strong with the S&P returning 6.6%1 for the month of June. While long-running predictions linger of a recession, we continue to see extensive investment into the U.S. and this investment exceeds what is flowing into any other country. A recent article from Chief Investment Officer Magazine, on June 20, 2023, entitled “Get Ready for US Manufacturing Supercycle, BofA Quinlan Trumpets”, by Larry Light, highlighted that according to Joe Quinlan, head of CIO market strategy for Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank, the amount of foreign investment provides a good reason to plug money into American stocks, industrial ones in particular. This situation makes investing in America a “veritable no-brainer,” he wrote in a research note.2

The article and Quinlan argued in favor of “one of the most enduring but unappreciated facts of economic life: that no country in the world—including China—attracts as much foreign direct investment (FDI) as the U.S.” The strategist noted that “the world’s top corporations are beating a path to the U.S. and nary a week goes by without another announcement of plans by a foreign firm to build a major new plant in Arizona, Georgia, and a host of other states.”

Part of the support for all of this investment is that U.S. consumer consumption remains very high and with only 4.5% of the global population, the U.S. accounts for 30% of world’s personal consumption, per the United Nations. Another aspect of the opportunity of investment comes from increased federal spending on infrastructure, renewable energy, and new factories to produce computer chips. This is causing many strategists to recommend increased exposure to infrastructure-related industrial companies, especially those dedicated to renewables and the infrastructure supporting them.

While all this is going on, market participants are evaluating the Fed actions of a pause, cuts, or additional increases. In late June, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell indicated that policy rates can be increased in both July and September if inflation does not start slowing down. My personal reading of Powell’s comments is that he wants to maintain flexibility. He was pushed on the notion that the Fed may consider raising rates at every other meeting, but it seems that he does not prefer to be boxed into a specific strategy. As one involved in the management of portfolios, being hemmed in is not a proper strategy because as markets change and evolve, Powell needs to have the flexibility to change and evolve with the data.

Among the various reasons for the resilience of the US economy, one of the less appreciated arguments is the rotation in consumer spending away from goods and towards services. This compositional shift is good for GDP growth because the vast majority of services are domestically produced, while as much as a third of goods are imported.

At the height of the shutdown, US consumers were on a goods spending binge and a large portion of that spending was on imports. A paper by Higgins and Klitgaard at the New York Fed - "How Much Have Consumers Spent on Imports during the Pandemic?"- looked at this in detail.3 They found that some of the hottest sectors such as furniture, electrical equipment and appliances experienced big demand increases and brought in significant imports.

This has been reversing for the last two years. When spending initially started to die down, imports remained strong as retailers attempted to rebuild inventory, but once they figured out how weak demand was, imports started to contract, supply chains unclogged, and goods prices cooled off. Meanwhile, the surge in service demand boosted spending and prices, with only a small boost to imports.

How important is this demand rotation towards industries with high domestic content? A paper by Hobijn, Nechio and Wilson at the San Francisco Fed - "How Much Do We Spend on Imports?”- calculated that 10.3% of overall consumer spending was on imports, but the shares were much higher for durable goods (33.1%) and nondurables (26.0%) than for services (2.1%). The authors then adjusted the data to account for the origin of intermediate inputs, and the respective numbers were 10.7%, 23.3%, 19.1% and 6.2% respectively. In other words, we need to be focused on inflation domestically and globally.

We continue to believe that the Fed will raise interest rates to combat inflation. Let’s face it, their initial thought that inflation was “transitory” proved to be incorrect, so they have been playing catch-up. We are now at the point that inflation has slowed some, but not nearly enough to declare the battle complete. As mentioned, investment and demand both remain strong so we have countervailing trends that will need to be resolved. The equity markets have performed well with the S&P 500 up 15.9% year to date through July 5th and Nasdaq up over 32% this year.4 It is for this reason that we also believe that the stock markets have performed well. I think it is important to realize that while growth stocks have performed, value stocks have not been nearly as robust, returning 5.1% this year through June 30th, as measured by the Russell 1000 Value Index.4

So, what’s an investor to do? For starters, continue monitoring your respective portfolio. Evaluate possible rebalances, which could include harvesting gains from the growth side of the ledger, allowing investors to lock in those gains. At the same time, looking at the equity and fixed income split relative to your targets is also critical. With markets this undecided and the possibility of further Fed action, we think maintaining balance is the prudent course of action. We are always available if you want to discuss your portfolio structuring.

Until next month.

Source: Bloomberg

Source: https://www.ai-cio.com/news/get-ready-us-manufacturing-supercycle-bofa-quinlan/

http://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/publications/economicletter/
2019/january/how-much-do-we-spend-on-imports/

Source: Bloomberg

A portrait of Anthony Minopoli wearing a dark suit, white shirt, and red tie.

CORE BOND FUND

	One Month (As of 6/30/23)	YTD (As of 6/30/23)	1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)
Core Bond Fund-I Shares	-0.46%	1.91%	-1.07%	0.64%	0.99%
Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index	-0.36%	2.09%	-0.94%	0.77%	0.93%
Lipper Core Bond Fund Average	-0.30%	2.21%	-0.73%	0.74%	-
Lipper Percentile Rank			63%	58%
	Core Bond Fund-I Shares
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	-0.46%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	1.91%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	-1.07%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	0.64%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	0.99%
	Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	-0.36%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	2.09%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	-0.94%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	0.77%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	0.93%
	Lipper Core Bond Fund Average
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	-0.30%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	2.21%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	-0.73%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	0.74%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	-
	Lipper Percentile Rank
One Month (As of 6/30/23)
YTD (As of 6/30/23)
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	63%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	58%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)

*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Core Bond Funds. Number of Funds in Category: 521 (1 Year) and 457 (5 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 0.66%, Net Expense Ratio 0.50%.

LIMITED DURATION FUND

	One Month (As of 6/30/23)	YTD (As of 6/30/23)	1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)
Limited Duration Bond Fund-I Shares	-0.39%	1.44%	1.03%	1.18%	1.02%
Bloomberg Government/Credit 1-3 Year Index	-0.41%	1.13%	0.52%	1.13%	0.98%
Lipper Short Investment Grade Debt Fund Average	-0.11%	1.81%	1.85%	1.28%%	-
Lipper Percentile Rank			74%	57%
	Limited Duration Bond Fund-I Shares
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	-0.39%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	1.44%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	1.03%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	1.18%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	1.02%
	Bloomberg Government/Credit 1-3 Year Index
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	-0.41%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	1.13%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	0.52%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	1.13%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	0.98%
	Lipper Short Investment Grade Debt Fund Average
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	-0.11%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	1.81%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	1.85%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	1.28%%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	-
	Lipper Percentile Rank
One Month (As of 6/30/23)
YTD (As of 6/30/23)
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	74%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	57%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)

Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Short Investment Grade Debt Funds. Number of Funds in Category: 378 (1 Year) and 308 (5 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 0.66%, Net Expense Ratio 0.50%.

LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

	One Month (As of 6/30/23)	YTD (As of 6/30/23)	1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)
Large Cap Growth Fund-I Shares	6.91%	26.85%	22.28%	9.95%	10.01%
Russell 1000 Growth Index	6.84%	29.02%	27.11%	15.14%	14.27%
Lipper Multi-Cap Growth Fund Average	6.98%	22.60%	21.55%	9.93%	-
Lipper Percentile Rank			30%	50%
	Large Cap Growth Fund-I Shares
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	6.91%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	26.85%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	22.28%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	9.95%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	10.01%
	Russell 1000 Growth Index
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	6.84%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	29.02%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	27.11%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	15.14%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	14.27%
	Lipper Multi-Cap Growth Fund Average
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	6.98%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	22.60%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	21.55%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	9.93%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	-
	Lipper Percentile Rank
One Month (As of 6/30/23)
YTD (As of 6/30/23)
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	30%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	50%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)

*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Multi-Cap Growth Funds. Number of Funds in Category: 649 (1 Year) and 578 (5 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 0.90%, Net Expense Ratio 0.90%.

LARGE CAP VALUE FUND

	One Month (As of 6/30/23)	YTD (As of 6/30/23)	1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)
Large Cap Value Fund-I Shares	6.67%	6.16%	13.01%	7.88%	7.84%
Russell 1000 Value Index	6.64%	5.12%	11.54%	8.11%	7.66%
Lipper Multi-Cap Value Fund Average	6.63%	5.03%	11.64%	7.88%	-
Lipper Percentile Rank			30%	50%
	Large Cap Value Fund-I Shares
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	6.67%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	6.16%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	13.01%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	7.88%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	7.84%
	Russell 1000 Value Index
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	6.64%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	5.12%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	11.54%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	8.11%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	7.66%
	Lipper Multi-Cap Value Fund Average
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	6.63%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	5.03%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	11.64%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	7.88%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	-
	Lipper Percentile Rank
One Month (As of 6/30/23)
YTD (As of 6/30/23)
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	30%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	50%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)

*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Multi-Cap Value Funds. Number of Funds in Category: 670 (1 Year) and 586 (5 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 0.90%, Net Expense Ratio 0.90%.

SMALL CAP FUND

	One Month (As of 6/30/23)	YTD (As of 6/30/23)	1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)
Small Cap Equity Fund-I Shares	8.90%	8.89%	14.21%	4.25%	5.87%
Russell 2000 Index	8.13%	8.09%	12.31%	4.21%	6.68%
Lipper Small Cap Fund Average	8.43%	6.87%	12.28%	5.14%	-
Lipper Percentile Rank			56%	83%
	Small Cap Equity Fund-I Shares
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	8.90%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	8.89%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	14.21%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	4.25%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	5.87%
	Russell 2000 Index
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	8.13%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	8.09%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	12.31%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	4.21%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	6.68%
	Lipper Small Cap Fund Average
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	8.43%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	6.87%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	12.28%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	5.14%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	-
	Lipper Percentile Rank
One Month (As of 6/30/23)
YTD (As of 6/30/23)
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	56%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	83%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)

*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Small-Cap Core Funds. Number of Funds in Category: 694 (1 Year) and 614 (5 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 1.05%, Net Expense Ratio 1.05%.

INTERNATIONAL EQUITY FUND

	One Month (As of 6/30/23)	YTD (As of 6/30/23)	1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)
International Equity-I Shares	4.59%	8.75%	10.90%	1.63%	4.68%
FTSE All World Ex US Index	4.43%	9.50%	13.14%	4.21%	4.46%
Lipper International Multi-Cap Fund Average	4.52%	10.74%	15.58%	3.55%	-
Lipper Percentile Rank			93%	72%
	International Equity-I Shares
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	4.59%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	8.75%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	10.90%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	1.63%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	4.68%
	FTSE All World Ex US Index
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	4.43%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	9.50%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	13.14%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	4.21%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	4.46%
	Lipper International Multi-Cap Fund Average
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	4.52%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	10.74%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	15.58%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	3.55%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	-
	Lipper Percentile Rank
One Month (As of 6/30/23)
YTD (As of 6/30/23)
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	93%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	72%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)

* Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: International Multi-Cap Core. Number of Funds in Category: 328 (1 Year) and 265 (5 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 1.16%, Net Expense Ratio 1.10%.

REAL ESTATE FUND

	One Month (As of 6/30/23)	YTD (As of 6/30/23)	1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	3 Years (As of 6/30/23)	Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)
Real Estate-I Shares	5.25%	5.19%	-3.83%%	7.99%	3.54%
FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index	5.15%	5.37%	-0.13%	8.91%	1.11%
Lipper Real Estate Average	4.96%	4.73%	-2.76%	6.48%	-
Lipper Percentile Rank		60%	27%
	Real Estate-I Shares
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	5.25%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	5.19%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	-3.83%%
3 Years (As of 6/30/23)	7.99%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	3.54%
	FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	5.15%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	5.37%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	-0.13%
3 Years (As of 6/30/23)	8.91%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	1.11%
	Lipper Real Estate Average
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	4.96%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	4.73%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	-2.76%
3 Years (As of 6/30/23)	6.48%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	-
	Lipper Percentile Rank
One Month (As of 6/30/23)
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	60%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	27%
3 Years (As of 6/30/23)
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)

* Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Real Estate Number of Funds in Category: 248 (1 Year) and 230 (3 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 1.07%, Net Expense Ratio 1.00%.

LONG-SHORT EQUITY FUND

	One Month (As of 6/30/23)	YTD (As of 6/30/23)	1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)
Long-Short Equity – I Shares	3.31%	-0.04%	3.86%	8.17%	3.94%
HFRX Equity Market Neutral Developed Index	1.16%	0.89%	3.45%	1.03%	-0.77%
Lipper Alternative Long/Short Average	3.38%	5.34%	7.98%	7.97%	-
Lipper Percentile rank			12%	21%
	Long-Short Equity – I Shares
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	3.31%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	-0.04%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	3.86%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	8.17%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	3.94%
	HFRX Equity Market Neutral Developed Index
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	1.16%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	0.89%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	3.45%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	1.03%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	-0.77%
	Lipper Alternative Long/Short Average
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	3.38%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	5.34%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	7.98%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	7.97%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	-
	Lipper Percentile rank
One Month (As of 6/30/23)
YTD (As of 6/30/23)
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	12%
5 Years (As of 6/30/23)	21%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)

*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Alternative Long/Short Equity Number of Funds in Category: 222 (1 Year) and 199 (3 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 2.15, Net Expense Ratio 2.06%.

U.S. ALL CAP INDEX FUND

	One Month (As of 6/30/23)	YTD (As of 6/30/23)	1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	3 Years (As of 6/30/23)	Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)
U.S. All Cap Index – I Shares	7.17%	18.76%	21.22%	14.52%	11.15%
Knights of Columbus U.S. All Cap Index	7.27%	18.70%	21.35%	14.78%	11.49%
Lipper Multi-Cap Core Average	6.51%	12.63%	15.93%	12.08%	-
Lipper Percentile rank			12%	21%
	U.S. All Cap Index – I Shares
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	7.17%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	18.76%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	21.22%
3 Years (As of 6/30/23)	14.52%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	11.15%
	Knights of Columbus U.S. All Cap Index
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	7.27%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	18.70%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	21.35%
3 Years (As of 6/30/23)	14.78%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	11.49%
	Lipper Multi-Cap Core Average
One Month (As of 6/30/23)	6.51%
YTD (As of 6/30/23)	12.63%
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	15.93%
3 Years (As of 6/30/23)	12.08%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)	-
	Lipper Percentile rank
One Month (As of 6/30/23)
YTD (As of 6/30/23)
1 Year (As of 6/30/23)	12%
3 Years (As of 6/30/23)	21%
Since Inception (As of 6/30/23)

*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Multi-Cap Core Number of Funds in Category: 659 (1 Year) and 588 (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 200 out of 378 funds measured for the one-year ranking period and ranked 175 out of 307 funds measured for the five-year ranking period as of June 30, 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 359 out of 516 funds measured for the one-year ranking period and ranked 260 out of 456 funds measured for the five-year ranking period as of June 30, 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 478 out of 652 funds measured for the one-year ranking period ranked and 493 out of 580 funds measured for the five-year ranking period as of June 30, 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 228 out of 660 funds measured for the one-year ranking period and ranked 338 out of 581 funds measured for the five-year ranking period as of June 30, 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 599 out of 701 funds measured for the one-year ranking period and ranked 532 out of 619 funds measured for the five-year ranking period as of June 30, 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 327 out of 337 funds measured for the one-year ranking period and ranked 204 out of 267 funds measured for the five-year ranking period as of June 30, 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 132 out of 248 funds measured for the one-year ranking and ranked 28 out of 230 funds measured for the three-year ranking period as of June 30, 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 170 out of 222 funds measured for the one-year ranking and ranked 99 out of 199 funds measured for the three-year ranking period as of June 30, 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 139 out of 660 funds measured for the one-year ranking period and ranked 100 out of 588 funds measured for the three-year ranking as of June 30, 2023.