Oakmark International Fund Reopens

CHICAGO, Dec. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Harris Associates, adviser to the Oakmark Funds and an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, announced that the Oakmark International Fund will reopen to all investors, effective immediately.  

The Fund had been closed to new investors at certain third-party intermediaries since January 2018. The Fund had remained open to all retirement plans and specific intermediary sponsored fee-based programs. Investors were also able to register new accounts by purchasing shares directly from Oakmark.

"We are pleased to reopen Oakmark International given the attractive investment opportunities we see in global equity markets," said David Herro, portfolio manager of the Oakmark International Fund. "We remain focused on generating positive medium- and long-term investment returns."

The $43.2 billion Oakmark International Fund invests in a diversified portfolio of common stocks of non-U.S. companies. The Fund generally focuses on mid- and large-cap companies. Since inception in 1992, the Oakmark International Fund has returned 9.71% versus the MSCI World ex U.S. index return of 6.10%.

The Fund is managed by David Herro, chief investment officer of international equities, and Mike Manelli. Herro has been a manager of the Fund since inception and is also a manager of the Oakmark International Small Cap Fund, the Oakmark Global Fund and the Oakmark Global Select Fund. His career honors include being named Morningstar's International Stock Fund Manager of the Year in 2006, International Stock Fund Manager of the Decade for 2000-2009 and International Stock Fund Manager of the Year in 2016. Manelli has been a manager of the Oakmark International Fund since 2016. In addition, he is a manager of the Oakmark International Small Cap Fund.

ABOUT OAKMARK AND HARRIS ASSOCIATES

The Oakmark Funds are a $93 billion mutual fund family that utilizes a long-term value investment approach. Oakmark's investment philosophy centers on the belief that superior long-term results are achieved through investing in companies priced at a significant discount to their true economic value, with strong growth prospects and owner-oriented management teams. More information about the Oakmark International Fund and other funds in the Oakmark family is available at oakmark.com.

Harris Associates L.P., a Chicago-based investment management firm founded in 1976, serves as the Adviser to the Oakmark Funds. Harris Associates also manages U.S., international and global portfolios for institutional and high-net-worth investors worldwide. Including Oakmark, assets under management at Harris Associates totaled approximately $139 billion as of September 30, 2018. More information about Harris Associates is available at harrisassoc.com.

Average Annual Total Returns (as of 09/30/2018)

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The performance data quoted represents past performance. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Total return includes change in share prices and, in each case, includes reinvestment of dividends and capital gain distributions. The investment return and principal value vary so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost.

Investing in value stocks presents the risk that value stocks may fall out of favor with investors and underperform growth stocks during given periods.

The Fund's portfolio tends to be invested in a relatively small number of stocks. As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Fund will have a greater impact on the Fund's net asset value than it would if the Fund invested in a larger number of securities. Although that strategy has the potential to generate attractive returns over time, it also increases the Fund's volatility.

Investing in foreign securities presents risks that in some ways may be greater than U.S. investments. Those risks include: currency fluctuation; different regulation, accounting standards, trading practices and levels of available information; generally higher transaction costs; and political risks.

The MSCI World ex U.S. Index (Net) is a free float-adjusted, market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure international developed market equity performance, excluding the U.S. The index covers approximately 85% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in each country. This benchmark calculates reinvested dividends net of withholding taxes. This index is unmanaged and investors cannot invest directly in this index.

According to Morningstar, the Morningstar Manager of the Year award is presented to portfolio managers based on the managers' (i) "ability to generate exceptional returns;" (ii) "willingness to align their interests with shareholders;" and (iii) "courage to stay with their strategies in order to produce superior risk-adjusted returns in the end."

According to Morningstar, the Fund Manager of the Decade award, which is a new award from Morningstar, recognizes fund managers who have achieved superior risk-adjusted results over the past 10 years and have an established record of serving shareholders well. While the awards focus on performance over the past decade, Morningstar takes into consideration other factors, including the fund manager's strategy, approach to risk, size of the fund, and stewardship. Both individual fund managers and management teams are eligible, and being a previous winner of the Morningstar Fund Manager of the Year award isn't a prerequisite. Morningstar's fund analysts select the Fund Manager of the Decade award winners based on Morningstar's proprietary research and in-depth evaluation.

Before investing in any Oakmark Fund, you should carefully consider the Fund's investment objectives, risks, management fees and other expenses. This and other important information is contained in a Fund's prospectus and summary prospectus. Please read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before investing. For more information, please call 1-800-OAKMARK (625-6275).

ABOUT NATIXIS INVESTMENT MANAGERS
Natixis Investment Managers serves financial professionals with more insightful ways to construct portfolios. Powered by the expertise of 27 specialized investment managers globally, we apply Active Thinking℠ to deliver proactive solutions that help clients pursue better outcomes in all markets. Natixis ranks among the world's largest asset management firms¹ with nearly $1 trillion assets under management² ($999.5 billion/€860.6 billion AUM).

Natixis Investment Managers includes all of the investment management and distribution entities affiliated with Natixis Distribution, L.P. and Natixis Investment Managers S.A.

¹Cerulli Quantitative Update: Global Markets 2018 ranked Natixis Investment Managers as the 16th largest asset manager in the world based on assets under management as of December 31, 2017.
²Net asset value as of September 30, 2018. Assets under management ("AUM"), as reported, may include notional assets, assets serviced, gross assets and other types of non-regulatory AUM.

SOURCE Harris Associates L.P.

Related Links

http://www.harrisassoc.com