Investment Objective and Strategies - Anthony Norman

Investment Objective

The investment objective of the Marathon Value Portfolio (the “Fund”) is to provide shareholders with long-term capital appreciation in a well-diversified portfolio.

Principal Strategies

The Fund primarily will provide the investor broad exposure to what the Fund’s advisor, Kovitz Investment Group Partners, LLC, believes are the best opportunities or values in common stocks of U.S. companies. These opportunities or values typically will be stocks of companies that, in the advisor’s opinion, do not reflect the intrinsic value of the companies.

The advisor intends that the Fund will invest primarily in common stocks of U.S. companies that have potential “value” in the advisor’s judgment. The advisor believes that determining value involves an effort to understand a company’s assets and business strengths and to compare those to the current price of the company’s stock. It is worth noting that in today’s economy, assets are often intangible. A value investor does not place great emphasis on precise projections of future earnings or on the current momentum of the company’s business. The advisor will not exclude great companies that sell at reasonable prices relative to their value. The advisor intends for the Fund to provide investors with exposure to a wide number of industries.

In valuing a company, the advisor takes a long-term approach, with an emphasis on management strength and the fundamental profitability of the company’s business. To assess management strength, the advisor looks for characteristics such as a long-term record of success or positive opinions from industry observers. The advisor seeks companies whose businesses possess, in the advisor’s opinion, inherent strength based on factors such as superior production or distribution processes, unique products or quality franchises. The Fund may also purchase a company’s stock if the advisor’s assessment of the private market value of the company (i.e., the price at which knowledgeable buyers and sellers would exchange a comparable business) exceeds, by a material amount, the price of the security. The advisor’s assessment of private market value is based on reported similar transactions, information in industry publications or from individuals within the industry, or other sources of information.

The Fund may invest in short-term and long-term debt securities, preferred stocks, convertible debt securities and convertible preferred stocks. The Fund may invest in lower-rated debt securities of a company if the advisor believes that the company’s junk bonds offer more potential for participating in the company’s long-term prospects than could be achieved by investing in the company’s other available securities. The Fund also may invest up to 10% of its assets in junk bonds rated at the time of purchase BB/Ba or lower by S&P or Moody’s or, unrated, but determined to be of comparable quality by the advisor. The Fund also may invest up to 10% of its assets in equity securities of foreign issuers, including American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”). ADRs are certificates held in trust by a U.S. bank or trust company evidencing ownership of shares of foreign-based issuers, and are an alternative to purchasing foreign securities in their national market and currency.

The Fund intends to remain substantially invested in value securities. If, however, the advisor believes that sufficient investment opportunities that meet the Fund’s investment criteria are not available, the Fund may invest up to 20% of its total assets in money market funds, investment grade short-term money market instruments including U.S. Government and agency securities, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, repurchase agreements and other cash equivalents. The Fund will incur duplicate management and other fees when investing in money market funds. By keeping cash on hand, the Fund may be able to meet shareholder redemptions without selling stocks and realizing gains and losses. However, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective when holding a substantial cash position.

The advisor believes its price-driven, value-oriented approach may provide investors with the opportunity for growth, while providing some protection against permanent impairment of capital. The advisor seeks to reduce risk by buying stocks the advisor believes are reasonably priced relative to the company’s earnings and sales, by diversifying broadly and by avoiding current market favorites. The advisor’s decision to purchase a stock is made without regard to the market capitalization of the company or its weighting in any market index. The Fund may invest in companies of all sizes, which includes large, mid-cap, and small-cap securities.

The fund may sell a security when the advisor believes the price is no longer undervalued relative to the company’s earnings and sales, the company’s prospects have deteriorated, there has been a change in management, or better investment opportunities are available.

Mutual Funds involve risk including possible loss of principal.

Value investing involves buying stocks that are out of favor and/or undervalued in comparison to their peers or their prospects for growth. Typically, their valuation levels are lower than those of growth stocks. Growth-oriented securities purchased by the Fund may involve large price swings and potential for loss.

Investments in small and mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable than larger, more established organizations. Investments in foreign securities could subject the Fund to greater risks including, currency fluctuation, economic conditions, and different governmental and accounting standards. In general, the price of a fixed income security falls when interest rates rise. To the extent the Fund invests in high yield securities (junk bonds), it will be subject to greater levels of interest rate, liquidity and credit risks than funds that do not invest in such securities.

When the Fund invests in other investment companies, such as other mutual funds, ETFs or closed-end funds, it indirectly bears its proportionate share of any fees and expenses payable directly by the other investment company. Therefore, the Fund will incur higher expenses, many of which may be duplicative. In addition, the Fund may be affected by losses of the underlying funds and the level of risk arising from the investment practices of the underlying funds. There are risks associated with REITs including declines from deteriorating economic conditions, changes in the value of the underlying property, and defaults by borrowers.

The U.S. Government’s guarantee of ultimate payment of principal and timely payment of interest on certain U.S. Government securities owned by the Fund does not imply that the Fund’s shares are guaranteed or that the price of the Funds’ shares will not fluctuate. The net asset value and market price of leveraged or inverse ETFs is generally more volatile than the value of the tracked index, or of other ETFs that do not use leverage