Macquarie Asset Management

 

 Optimum Small-Mid Cap Value Fund

Overview

Key features

The objective of Optimum Small-Mid Cap Value Fund is to seek long-term growth of capital.

LSV Asset Management uses a quantitative investment model to make investment decisions by ranking securities based on fundamental measures of value and indicators of near-term appreciation potential.

Wellington Management Company LLP (Wellington) uses a bottom-up fundamental approach, coupled with forensic accounting data analysis, to identify securities that appear to be misunderstood or undervalued in the market. Wellington focuses on companies with strong free cash flows, attractive valuations, and management teams that have a history of returning capital to shareholders.

Benchmark and peer group

Russell 2500™ Value Index

The Russell 2500 Value Index measures the performance of the small- to mid-cap value segment of the US equity universe. It includes those Russell 2500 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.

Lipper Small-Cap Core Funds Average

The Lipper Small-Cap Core Funds Average represents the average return of small-cap core mutual funds tracked by Lipper.

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Performance

The performance quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted.

Total returns may reflect waivers and/or expense reimbursements by the manager and/or distributor for some or all of the periods shown. Performance would have been lower without such waivers and reimbursements.

Returns for less than one year are not annualized.

Performance at NAV assumes that no front-end sales charge applied. Performance at max offer price assumes that a front-end sales charge applied.

Class A shares have a maximum up-front sales charge of 5.75% and are subject to an annual distribution fee.

Index performance returns do not reflect any management fees, transaction costs, or expenses. Indices are unmanaged and one cannot invest directly in an index.

Returns for less than one year are not annualized.

Performance at NAV assumes that no contingent deferred sales charge applied or the investment was not redeemed. Performance at max offer price assumes that a contingent deferred sales charge applied to the extent applicable.

Class C shares redeemed within one year of purchase are subject to a 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC). Class C shares are eligible to automatically convert to Class A shares with a lower 12b-1 fee approximately eight years after you buy Class C shares.

Index performance returns do not reflect any management fees, transaction costs, or expenses. Indices are unmanaged and one cannot invest directly in an index.

Returns for less than one year are not annualized.

Index performance returns do not reflect any management fees, transaction costs, or expenses. Indices are unmanaged and one cannot invest directly in an index.

Standard deviation measures historical volatility of returns.
Net expense ratio reflects a contractual waiver of certain fees and/or expense reimbursements from July 31, 2024 through July 30, 2025. Please see the fee table in the Fund’s prospectus for more information.

 

Lipper fund data for all time periods shown are as of the date shown. Although a Fund may outperform peers when compared to Lipper peer groups, the returns for that period may still be negative. Rankings shown are provided by Lipper, Inc., a leading independent analysis service. Rankings and performance for other time periods are available from Lipper.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The Fund offers other share classes, and their performance and rankings may be lower than those of the class shown.

Lipper rankings reflect a fund's historical total return performance, excluding sales charges as applicable, relative to peers as of the above date. The ratings are subject to change every month and are based on equal-rated average of percentile ranks for the total return metrics over 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods, if applicable. Lipper rankings are not intended to predict future results, and Lipper does not guarantee the accuracy of this information.

Expense waivers may have been in effect for some or all of the periods shown. Performance would have been lower if waivers did not apply or if sales charges were included. Lipper rankings may have been lower if waivers did not apply or if sales charges were included.

Management

Investment manager

Delaware Management Company

Sub-advisors

LSV Asset Management

Josef Lakonishok, Ph.D. - Founding Partner, Portfolio Manager, CEO, CIO

Start date on the Fund: January 2016

Josef Lakonishok shares primary responsibility for the day-to-day management of LSV’s share of the Fund’s assets. Dr. Lakonishok has served as CEO, CIO, partner and portfolio manager for LSV since its founding in 1994.

Menno Vermeulen, CFA - Partner, Portfolio Manager

Start date on the Fund: January 2016

Menno Vermeulen shares primary responsibility for the day-to-day management of LSV’s share of the Fund’s assets. Vermeulen has served as a portfolio manager for LSV since 1995 and a partner since 1998. Prior to joining LSV, he worked at ABP where he was responsible for the development and implementation of quantitative active investment strategies.

Puneet Mansharamani, CFA - Partner, Portfolio Manager

Start date on the Fund: January 2016

Puneet Mansharamani shares primary responsibility for the day-to-day management of LSV’s share of the Fund’s assets. He has served as a partner and portfolio manager for LSV since 2006. Prior to joining LSV, Mansharamani was an analyst at Institutional Trust National City Corporation. Prior to this experience, he was a systems consultant for Maximations, Inc.

Greg Sleight - Partner, Portfolio Manager

Start date on the Fund: January 2016

Greg Sleight shares primary responsibility for the day-to-day management of LSV’s share of the Fund’s assets. He has served as a quantitative analyst of LSV since 2006, a partner since 2012 and portfolio manager since 2014 and is part of LSV's quantitative and implementation team, which is responsible for the day-to-day data management, portfolio implementation and ongoing enhancement of LSV's models and systems.

Guy Lakonishok, CFA - Partner, Portfolio Manager

Start date on the Fund: January 2016

Guy Lakonishok shares primary responsibility for the day-to-day management of LSV’s share of the Fund’s assets. Lakonishok has served as a quantitative analyst of LSV since 2009, a partner since 2013 and a portfolio manager since 2014. Prior to joining LSV, he was a vice president in the quantitative equity group at BlackRock.

Wellington Management Company LLP (Wellington)

Gregory J Garabedian - Partner, Equity Portfolio Manager

Start date on the Fund: June 2024

Mr. Garabedian is a Partner of Wellington and is an equity portfolio manager on the Opportunistic Value team. Prior to joining Wellington in 2006, Greg worked as an equity research analyst at Gabelli and Company. Before that, he worked as a forensic accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Fees and expenses

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table below. You may qualify for sales-charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $75,000 in Optimum Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial intermediary, in the Fund’s Prospectus under the section entitled “About your account,” and in the Fund’s statement of additional information (SAI) under the section entitled “Purchasing Shares.

 

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table below.

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table below.

1Other expenses contain a 0.11% acquired fund fees and expenses. Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Fund's pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the registered investment companies (RICs) in which the Fund invested during the last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Fund's assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of the RICs for the RICs' most recent fiscal period. These expenses are not direct costs paid by Fund shareholders, and are not used to calculate the Fund's NAV.

2The Fund’s investment manager, Delaware Management Company (Manager), has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its investment advisory fees and/or pay/reimburse expenses (excluding any 12b-1 fees, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, interest, short sale dividend and interest expenses, brokerage fees, certain insurance costs, and nonroutine expenses or costs, including, but not limited to, those relating to reorganizations, litigation, conducting shareholder meetings, and liquidations) in order to prevent total annual fund operating expenses from exceeding 1.14% of the Fund’s average daily net assets from July 31, 2024 through July 30, 2025. These waivers and reimbursements may only be terminated by agreement of the Manager and the Fund.

1Class C shares redeemed within one year of purchase are subject to a 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC).

2Other expenses contain a 0.11% acquired fund fees and expenses. Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Fund's pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the registered investment companies (RICs) in which the Fund invested during the last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Fund's assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of the RICs for the RICs' most recent fiscal period. These expenses are not direct costs paid by Fund shareholders, and are not used to calculate the Fund's NAV.

3The Fund’s investment manager, Delaware Management Company (Manager), has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its investment advisory fees and/or pay/reimburse expenses (excluding any 12b-1 fees, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, interest, short sale and dividend interest expenses, brokerage fees, certain insurance costs, and nonroutine expenses or costs, including, but not limited to, those relating to reorganizations, litigation, conducting shareholder meetings, and liquidations) in order to prevent total annual fund operating expenses from exceeding 1.14% of the Fund’s average daily net assets from July 31, 2024 through July 30, 2025. These waivers and reimbursements may only be terminated by agreement of the Manager and the Fund.

Institutional Class shares are available only to certain investors. See the prospectus for more information.

1Other expenses contain a 0.11% acquired fund fees and expenses. Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Fund's pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the registered investment companies (RICs) in which the Fund invested during the last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Fund's assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of the RICs for the RICs' most recent fiscal period. These expenses are not direct costs paid by Fund shareholders, and are not used to calculate the Fund's NAV.

2The Fund’s investment manager, Delaware Management Company (Manager), has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its investment advisory fees and/or pay/reimburse expenses (excluding any 12b-1 fees, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, interest, short sale and dividend interest expenses, brokerage fees, certain insurance costs, and nonroutine expenses or costs, including, but not limited to, those relating to reorganizations, litigation, conducting shareholder meetings, and liquidations) in order to prevent total annual fund operating expenses from exceeding 1.14% of the Fund’s average daily net assets from July 31, 2024 through July 30, 2025. These waivers and reimbursements may only be terminated by agreement of the Manager and the Fund.

Allocations

The chart below lists the percentage of the Fund's total assets under management that each sub-advisor manages on behalf of the Fund. The percentages include securities, cash, and any other assets managed by each sub-advisor in its sleeve of the Fund. These percentage allocations should be updated some time after 30 days following a given month end.

 

Total may not equal 100% due to rounding.

Resources 

Fact sheets & commentaries

Prospectuses and reports

Shareholder report - Annual
Institutional Class Class A Class C

 

Shareholder report - Semi-annual
Institutional Class Class A Class C

 

Additional Information 

Nominating and governance committee charter

Audit committee charter

Proxy voting information

 
Significant Fund Event
Effective June 12, 2024, Wellington Management Company LLP (Wellington) replaced Cardinal Capital Management as one of the Fund’s sub-advisors. Wellington will manage the Fund along with LSV Asset Management, the Fund’s other sub-advisor. Each sub-advisor is responsible for the day-to-day investment management of the portion of the Fund’s assets that Delaware Management Company (Manager) allocates to such sub-advisor. The Manager may change the allocation at any time. The relative values of each sub-advisor’s share of the Fund’s assets also may change over time. Each sub-advisor selects investments for its portion of the Fund
Carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risk factors, charges, and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Fund’s prospectus, which may be obtained by visiting optimummutualfunds.com/literature or calling 800 914-0278. Investors should read the prospectus and, if available, the summary prospectus carefully before investing.
Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal.
Investments in small and/or medium-sized companies typically exhibit greater risk and higher volatility than larger, more established companies.
The disruptions caused by natural disasters, pandemics, or similar events could prevent the Fund from executing advantageous investment decisions in a timely manner and could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective and the value of the Fund’s investments.
All third-party marks cited are the property of their respective owners.
Frank Russell Company is the source and owner of the trademarks, service marks and copyrights related to the Russell Indexes. Russell® is a trademark of Frank Russell Company. 
Not FDIC Insured | No Bank Guarantee | May Lose Value
 
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