Sprott Funds Trust

05/07/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/07/2024 11:58

Summary Prospectus by Investment Company - Form 497K

Summary Prospectus

April 29, 2024

Sprott Gold Equity Fund Investor Class (Nasdaq: SGDLX)

Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund's prospectus (including amendments and supplements) and other information about the Fund, including the Fund's statement of additional information and shareholder reports, online at https://www.sprott.com. You can also get this information at no cost by calling (844) 940-4653, or from your financial professional. The Fund's prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated April 29, 2024, as amended and supplemented from time to time, are incorporated by reference into (legally made a part of) this Summary Prospectus.

This Summary Prospectus contains information you should know before investing, including information about risks. Please read it before you invest and keep it for future reference.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.



Summary Prospectus - Sprott Gold Equity Fund

Investment Objective

The Sprott Gold Equity Fund's (the "Fund") investment objective is long-term capital appreciation.

Fund Fees and Expenses

This table 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 and example below.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) Investor
Class
Redemption Fee (as a % of amount redeemed within 90 days of purchase) 2.00%
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fee 0.90%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fee 0.25%
Other Expenses 0.34%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 1.49%

Example

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% annual return and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
$152 $471 $813 $1,779

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may result in higher transaction costs and higher taxes when shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, may affect the Fund's performance. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the Fund had a portfolio turnover rate equal to 12% of the average value of its portfolio.

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Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in securities of companies located throughout the world, in both developed and emerging markets, that are primarily engaged in mining or processing gold ("Gold Related Securities"). A company is primarily engaged if it earns over 50% of its revenue or profit; or has over 50% of its assets related to the mining or processing gold. The Fund may also invest in gold bullion and other precious metals, i.e., silver and platinum ("Other Precious Metals"). However, no more than 20% of the Fund's total assets may be invested directly in gold bullion and other precious metals.

The investment strategy of the Fund is value oriented and contrarian. The Fund seeks to invest in companies that have good long-term business fundamentals but are temporarily out of favor with investors, and hence have a market value lower than their intrinsic value. The fundamental research-based value orientation of the adviser helps the portfolio managers find companies which have good businesses; the adviser's contrarian orientation enables the portfolio managers to buy them at what the portfolio managers believe to be attractive prices.

Value oriented means that the portfolio managers seek to invest in companies that are selling at a discount to their intrinsic value, and where business fundamentals are improving or expected to improve. In assessing intrinsic value, the portfolio managers' judgments will be based on a comparison of a company's stock market value with various financial parameters, including historical and projected cash flow, book earnings, and net asset value ("NAV"). In general, the portfolio managers seek companies that are characterized by strong management, business franchise, competitive position and financial structure, a clear strategy, free cash flow, large insider ownership, and shareholder-oriented policies, among other things.

Contrarian means that the portfolio managers seek investment opportunities in stocks and sectors that are out of favor with investors. The portfolio managers consider a stock to be out of favor when its price has declined significantly or has lagged the relevant market index for an extended period of time and the consensus among investors does not expect improvement.

In general, the portfolio managers acquire their investment ideas by identifying companies whose stock prices are down or have lagged the market. The portfolio managers then analyze the quality of their business franchise and long-term fundamentals and make a judgment regarding their intrinsic value. Alternatively, the portfolio managers may identify companies with strong long-term business fundamentals and then wait for them to fall out of favor with investors in order to buy them at a discount to intrinsic value.

The portfolio managers will purchase stocks for the Fund's portfolio when they meet the above criteria and when the portfolio managers believe that they have a limited risk of further decline. The portfolio managers will sell stocks when they are no longer considered to be good values.

The Fund may engage in securities lending.

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

There is no assurance that the Fund will meet its investment objective. The value of your investment in the Fund, as well as the amount of return you receive on your investment in the Fund, may fluctuate significantly. You may lose part or all of your investment in the Fund or your investment may not perform as well as other similar investments. Therefore, you should consider carefully the following risks before investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any government agency.

Investors in the Fund should be willing to accept a high degree of volatility in the price of the Fund's Shares and the possibility of significant losses. An investment in the Fund involves a substantial degree of risk. Therefore, you should consider carefully the following risks before investing in the Fund.

Gold Risk. Gold is subject to the special risks associated with investing in gold and other precious metals, including: (1) the price of gold or other precious metals may be subject to wide fluctuation; (2) the market for gold or other precious metals is relatively limited; (3) the sources of gold or other precious metals are concentrated in countries that have the potential for instability; and (4) the market for gold and other precious metals is unregulated.

Gold Mining Industry Risk. The Fund is sensitive to changes in, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the gold mining industry. In times of stable economic growth, traditional equity and debt investments could offer greater appreciation potential and the value of gold, silver and other precious metals may be adversely affected, which could in turn affect the Fund's returns. The gold and precious metals industry can be significantly affected by competitive pressures, central bank operations, events relating to international political developments, the success of exploration projects, commodity prices, adverse environmental developments and tax and government regulations.

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Commodity Risk. The Fund invests in companies that are susceptible to fluctuations in certain commodity markets and to price changes due to trade relations. Any negative changes in commodity markets that may be due to changes in supply and demand for commodities, market events, regulatory developments, other catastrophic events, or other factors that the Fund cannot control could have an adverse impact on those companies.

Credit (or default) Risk. The issuer of a debt security may be unable to make timely payments of principal or interest or may default on the debt. Prices of the Fund's investments may be adversely affected if any of the issuers or counterparties it is invested in are subject to an actual or perceived deterioration in their credit quality. Credit spreads may increase, which may reduce the market values of the Fund's securities. Credit spread risk is the risk that economic and market conditions or any actual or perceived credit deterioration may lead to an increase in the credit spreads (i.e., the difference in yield between two securities of similar maturity but different credit quality) and a decline in price of the issuer's securities.

Currency Risk. Currencies and securities denominated in foreign currencies may be affected by changes in exchange rates between those currencies and the U.S. dollar. Currency exchange rates may be volatile and may fluctuate in response to interest rate changes, the general economic conditions of a country, the actions of the U.S. and foreign governments, central banks, or supranational entities such as the International Monetary Fund, the imposition of currency controls, other political or regulatory conditions in the U.S. or abroad, speculation, or other factors. A decline in the value of a foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar reduces the value in U.S. dollars of the Fund's investments in that foreign currency and investments denominated in that foreign currency.

Equity Securities Risk. The price of equity securities may rise or fall because of changes in the broad market or changes in a company's financial condition, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. A stock or stocks selected for the Fund's portfolio may fail to perform as expected. A value stock may decrease in price or may not increase in price as anticipated by the portfolio managers if other investors fail to recognize the company's value or the factors that the portfolio managers believe will cause the stock price to increase do not occur.

Expropriation Risk. Foreign governments may expropriate the Fund's investments either directly by restricting the Fund's ability to sell a security or imposing exchange controls that restrict the sale of a currency, or indirectly by taxing the Fund's investments at such high levels as to constitute confiscation of the security. There may be limitations on the ability of the Fund to pursue and collect a legal judgment against a foreign government.

Foreign Securities Risk. The value of foreign currencies may decline relative to the U.S. dollar. A foreign government may expropriate the Fund's assets. Political, social or economic instability in a foreign country in which the Fund invests may cause the value of the Fund's investments to decline. These risks associated with non-U.S. securities are more likely in the securities of companies located in emerging markets. The laws and regulations of foreign countries may provide investors with less protection or may be less favorable to investors than the U.S. legal system. For example, there may be less publicly available information about a foreign company than there would be about a U.S. company. The auditing and reporting requirements that apply to foreign companies may be less stringent than U.S. requirements. Additionally, government oversight of foreign stock exchanges and brokerage industries may be less stringent than in the U.S.

Australia. Investments in Australian issuers may subject the Fund to regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risk specific to Australia. The Australian economy is heavily dependent on exports from the agricultural and mining sectors. This makes the Australian economy susceptible to fluctuations in the commodity markets. Australia is also dependent on trading with key trading partners.

Canada. Investments in Canadian issuers may subject the Fund to economic risk specific to Canada. Among other things, the Canadian economy is heavily dependent on relationships with certain key trading partners, including the United States and China. The Canadian economy is sensitive to fluctuations in certain commodity markets.

Inflation Risk. Inflation will erode the purchasing power of the cash flows generated by debt securities held by the Fund. Fixed-rate debt securities are more susceptible to this risk than floating rate debt securities.

Information Risk. Key information about an issuer, security or market may be inaccurate or unavailable. Securities issued in initial public offerings, or IPOs, involve greater information risk than other equity securities due to the lack of public information.

Interest Rate Risk. This risk refers to the decline in the prices of fixed-income securities that may accompany a rise in the overall level of interest rates. A sharp and unexpected rise in interest rates could cause a money market fund's share price to drop below a dollar. A low interest rate environment may prevent the Fund from providing a positive yield or paying fund expenses out of fund assets and could impair the Fund's ability to maintain a stable net asset value.

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Liquidity Risk. Foreign stock exchanges generally have less volume than U.S. stock exchanges. Therefore, it may be more difficult to buy or sell shares of foreign securities, which increases the volatility of share prices on such markets. Additionally, trading on foreign stock markets may involve longer settlement periods and higher transaction costs.

Manager Risk. The Fund's portfolio managers may use an investment strategy that does not achieve the Fund's objective or may fail to execute the Fund's investment strategy effectively. In addition, a portfolio manager's strategy may produce returns that are different from other mutual funds that invest in similar securities.

Market and Geopolitical Risk. The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Securities in the Fund may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics, terrorism, international conflicts, regulatory events and governmental or quasi-governmental actions. The occurrence of global events similar to those in recent years, such as terrorist attacks around the world, natural disasters, social and political discord or debt crises and downgrades, among others, may result in market volatility and may have long term effects on both the U.S. and global financial markets. It is difficult to predict when similar events affecting the U.S. or global financial markets may occur, the effects that such events may have and the duration of those effects. Any such event(s) could have a significant adverse impact on the value and risk profile of the Fund. The COVID-19 global pandemic and the aggressive responses taken by many governments had negative impacts, and in many cases severe negative impacts, on markets worldwide.

Non-Diversification Risk. A non-diversified mutual fund and therefore, compared to a diversified mutual fund, the Gold Fund is able to invest a greater portion of its assets in any one particular issuer. The risk of investing in a non-diversified mutual fund is that the fund may be more sensitive to changes in the market value of a single issuer. The impact of a simple economic, political or regulatory occurrence may have a greater adverse impact on the Gold Fund's net asset value. Investors should consider this greater risk versus the safety that comes with a more diversified portfolio.

Opportunity Risk. The risk of missing out on an investment opportunity because the assets necessary to take advantage of it are invested in less profitable investments.

Political Risk. Political or social instability or revolution in certain countries in which the Fund invests, in particular, emerging market countries, may result in the loss of some or all of the Fund's investment in these countries.

Reinvestment Risk. When interest income is reinvested, interest rates will have declined so that income must be reinvested at a lower interest rate. Generally, interest rate risk and reinvestment risk have offsetting effects.

Restricted Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in restricted securities. Restricted securities have contractual or legal restrictions on their resale. They may include private placement securities that the Fund buys directly from the issuer. Private placement and other restricted securities may not be listed on an exchange and may have no active trading market. Restricted securities may be illiquid. The Fund may be unable to sell them on short notice or may be able to sell them only at a price below current value. The Fund may get only limited information about the issuer, so it may be less able to predict a loss.

Securities Lending Risk. Although the Fund will receive collateral in connection with all loans of its securities holdings, the Fund would be exposed to a risk of loss should a borrower default on its obligation to return the borrowed securities (e.g., the loaned securities may have appreciated beyond the value of the collateral held by the Fund). In addition, the Fund will bear the risk of loss of any cash collateral that it invests.

Small- and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk. Smaller and mid-size companies often have a more limited track record, narrower markets, less liquidity, more limited managerial and financial resources and a less diversified product offering than larger, more established companies. As a result, their performance can be more volatile, which may increase the volatility of the Fund's portfolio.

Tax Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk that it could fail to qualify as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code, as amended (the "Code") if it derives more than 10% its gross income from investment in gold bullion or other precious metals. Failure to qualify as a regulated investment company would result in consequences to the Fund and its shareholders. In order to ensure that it qualifies as a regulated investment company, the Fund may be required to make investment decisions that are less than optimal or forego the opportunity to realize gains.

Valuation Risk. The risk that the Fund has valued certain securities at a higher price than the price at which they can be sold. This risk may be especially pronounced for investments, such as derivatives, which may be illiquid, or which may become illiquid.

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Value Stock Risk. Value stocks involve the risk that they may never reach their expected full market value, either because the market fails to recognize the stock's intrinsic worth, or the expected value was misgauged. They also may decline in price even though they are already undervalued.

Who may want to invest in the Sprott Gold Equity Fund?

investors who want a diversified portfolio; however diversified is not intended to indicate that the Gold Fund is a diversified fund under the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act")
long-term investors with a particular goal, such as saving for retirement
investors who want potential growth over time
investors who can tolerate short-term fluctuations in net asset value ("NAV") per share; and
investors seeking long-term preservation of capital (sufficient growth to outpace inflation over an extended period of time) and growth of capital.

Keep in mind that mutual fund shares:

are not deposits of any bank;
are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") or any other government agency; and
are subject to investment risks, including the possibility that you could lose money.
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Performance

The Tocqueville Gold Fund (the "Predecessor Fund") was reorganized on January 17, 2020, then a series of The Tocqueville Trust, into a series of Sprott Funds Trust. The Fund is a continuation of the Predecessor Fund and, therefore, the performance information prior to January 17, 2020 is that of the Predecessor Fund. The following chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance from year to year (on a calendar year basis), and the table shows how the Fund's average annual returns for the 1 year, 5 years and 10 years ended December 31, 2023 compare with those of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Gold and Silver Sector Total Return Index and the S&P 500® Index. Please note that the Fund's performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. In particular, in 2016, the performance of the Fund was achieved during a period of unusually favorable market conditions. Such performance may not be sustainable. Updated performance information will be available at no cost by visiting www.sprott.com or by calling 1-844-940-4653.

Annual Total Returns (calendar year ended 12/31)

Highest Quarterly Return 59.10% (June 30, 2020)
Lowest Quarterly Return -26.89% (June 30, 2022)

The after-tax returns presented in the table below are calculated using highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from those shown below. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Shares of the Fund through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

Average Annual Total Returns

For periods ended December 31, 2023

Sprott Gold Equity Fund 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years
Investor Class - Return Before Taxes 1.91% 6.81% 2.66%
Investor Class - Return After Taxes on Distributions 1.91% 6.83% 2.66%
Investor Class - Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares 1.13% 5.37% 2.09%
Philadelphia Stock Exchange Gold and Silver Sector Total Return Index1
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
6.02% 13.90% 5.33%
S&P 500® Index1(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 26.29% 15.69% 12.03%
1. Index performance shown in the table is the total return, which assumes reinvestment of any dividends and distributions during the time periods shown.

Management

Adviser

Sprott Asset Management USA Inc. is the investment adviser to the Fund (the "Adviser").

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Portfolio Managers

John Hathaway, Senior Portfolio Manager of Sprott Asset Management USA Inc., was a portfolio manager or a co-portfolio manager of the Predecessor Fund since its inception in 1997 and has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in January 2020. Douglas Groh, Senior Portfolio Manager of Sprott Asset Management USA Inc., was a co-portfolio manager of the Predecessor Fund since 2012 and has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in January 2020. Maria Smirnova, Senior Portfolio Manager of Sprott Asset Management LP and an associated person of Sprott Asset Management USA Inc., has served as a portfolio manager of the Fund since December 2020. Shree Kargutkar, Portfolio Manager of Sprott Asset Management LP and an associated person of Sprott Asset Management USA Inc., has served as portfolio manager of the Fund since December 2020. Justin Tolman, Portfolio Manager of Sprott Asset Management USA Inc has served as portfolio manager of the Fund since March 2024.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

You may purchase, redeem or exchange Fund shares by mail to Sprott Funds Trust (name of Fund and share class, c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, P.O. Box 701 (for regular mail) or 615 East Michigan Street, 3rd Floor (for overnight or express mail), Milwaukee, WI 53201-0701), or by telephone at 1-844-940-4653, on any day the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open for trading. Investors who wish to purchase, redeem or exchange Fund shares through a financial intermediary should contact the financial intermediary directly.

Tax Information

Fund distributions are taxable, and will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, that does not employ borrowed funds in which case you may be taxed upon withdrawal of monies from the tax-deferred arrangement.

Payments to Broker-Dealer and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary, the Adviser or other related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Shares or related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

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