Sales Charges & Breakpoints
We offer Class A Shares for Domini Social Equity Fund and Domini International Social Equity Fundthrough broker-dealers and financial intermediaries (each called a Service Organization). These Service Organizations are compensated for their financial advice through a front-end sales charge and annual distribution fees.
For more information about sales charges, please consult your Service Organization or refer to the Fund’s prospectus.
Information on this page only pertains to Class A Shares. No-load “investor shares” are also available for all Domini Funds. Although Investor shares are no-load, certain fees and expenses apply to a continued investment and are described in the prospectus.
There are two ways that sales charges are calculated. You may buy Class A shares of the Domini Social Equity Fund and Domini International Social Equity Fund at the offering price, which is the net asset value per share plus a front-end sales charge of up to 4.75%. Or, you pay a lower sales charge as the size of your investment increases to certain levels (called breakpoints).
You do not pay a sales charge on the Fund’s dividends or distributions that you reinvest in Fund shares. Also, the Fund’s shares are subject to an annual distribution (12b-1) fee up to 0.25% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.
The table below shows the rate of sales charge you pay, depending on the amount of shares you purchase. Note that the percentage of sales charge declines based upon the dollar value of shares you purchase. The Fund offers additional options to reduce your sales charges as provided below.
Your Service Organization receives a percentage of these sales charges as compensation for the services it provides to you. Your Service Organization may also receive an annual distribution fee payable on Fund shares at a rate of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Fund shares it services.
Below are the ways you can combine multiple purchases of Fund shares to take advantage of the breakpoints in the sales charge schedule:
Right of Accumulation
The right of accumulation allows you to add the value of any Fund shares you already own and for which a sales charge was paid to the amount of your next purchase for purposes of calculating the initial sales charge.
Letter of Intent
A letter of intent allows you to purchase Fund shares over a 13-month period and receive the same sales charge as if all shares had been purchased at once. You can use a letter of intent to qualify for reduced sales charges if you plan to invest at least $50,000 in the Fund’s shares during the next 13 months. The calculation of this amount would include your current holdings of all Fund shares, as well as any reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions. When you sign this letter, the Fund agrees to charge you the reduced sales charges listed above. Completing a letter of intent does not obligate you to purchase additional shares. However, if you do not achieve the stated investment goal within the 13-month period, you are required to pay the difference between sales charges otherwise applicable and sales charges actually paid, which may be deducted from your investment.
Group Investment Program
Family groups may be treated as a single purchaser under the right of accumulation privilege. Each investor has an individual account, but the group’s investments are lumped together for sales charge purposes, making the investors potentially eligible for reduced sales charges. A family group includes a spouse, parent, stepparent, grandparent, child, stepchild, grandchild, sibling, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law, including trusts created by these family members.
To take advantage of any reduction in sales charges, you must inform your Service Organization. To obtain sales charge reductions, you may be required to provide information and records, such as account statements, to your Service Organization. Please retain all account statements, since the records required to take advantage of a reduction in sales charges may not be maintained by the Fund, its transfer agent, or your Service Organization.
The deferred sales charge on investments in excess of $1 million that are sold within one year of the last day of the month of purchase will be waived in the case of:
- Sales of shares held at the time you die or become disabled (within the definition in Section 72(m)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code, which relates to the ability to engage in gainful employment), if the shares are: (1) registered either in your name (not a trust) or in the names of you and your spouse as joint tenants with rights of survivorship; or (2) held in qualified corporate or self-employed retirement plan, IRA, or 403(b) Custodial Account, provided, in any case, that the sale is requested within one year of your death or initial determination of disability.
- Sales in connection with the following retirement plan “distributions”: (1) lump-sum or other distributions from a qualified corporate or self-employed retirement plan following retirement (or, in the case of a “key employee” of a “top heavy” plan, following attainment of age 59½); (2) distributions from an IRA or 403(b) Custodial Account following attainment of age 59½; or (3) a tax-free return of an excess IRA contribution (a “distribution” does not include a direct transfer of IRA, 403(b) Custodial Account, or retirement plan assets to a successor custodian or trustee). The charge also may be waived upon the tax-free rollover or transfer of assets to another retirement plan invested in the Fund. In such event, as described below, the Fund will “tack” the period for which the original shares were held on to the holding period of the shares acquired in the transfer or rollover for purposes of determining what, if any, deferred sales charge is applicable in the event that such acquired shares are redeemed following the transfer or rollover. The charge also may be waived on any redemption that results from the return of an excess contribution pursuant to Section 408(d)(4) or (5) of the Code or the return of excess deferral amounts pursuant to Code Section 401(k)(8) or 402(g)(2). In addition, the charge may be waived on any minimum distribution required to be distributed in accordance with Code Section 401(a)(9).
- Sales of shares in connection with the Systematic Withdrawal Plan are subject to certain conditions described in the prospectus.
- All waivers will be granted only following the Fund’s distributor receiving confirmation of your entitlement. If you believe you are eligible for a deferred sales charge waiver, please contact your Service Organization. In order to obtain a waiver, you may be required to provide information and records, such as account statements, to your Service Organization. Please retain all account statements, since the records required for a deferred sales charge waiver may not be maintained by the Fund, its transfer agent, or your Service Organization.
Please note that you do not pay a deferred sales charge on:
- Shares representing reinvested distributions and dividends
- Shares held longer than one year from the last day of the month of purchase
Each time you have a request to redeem shares, the Fund will first redeem any shares in your account that have been held the longest. The Fund’s distributor receives deferred sales charges as partial compensation for its expenses in selling shares, including the payment of compensation to your Service Organization.
he Fund within 120 days of such sale, the amount of the deferred sales charge you paid will be deducted from the amount of sales charge due on the purchase of Fund shares, if you notify your Service Organization. All accounts involved must have the same registration.