Merk Hard Currency Fund: Adviser's Process

Merk Investments (the "Adviser") will determine currency allocations based on an analysis of monetary policies pursued by central banks and economic environments. The Adviser searches for currencies that, in the Adviser's opinion, are backed by countries pursuing sound monetary policies, or are backed by gold. Once this determination has been made, money market instruments will be selected to create a liquid portfolio of short duration and high credit quality. The currency allocations may be adapted the as the Manager's analysis of monetary policies and economic environments evolve.

The Adviser may sacrifice yield in currencies in return for high credit quality of debt securities and exclude currencies if the potential for appreciation is not backed by sound monetary policy.

The Fund will specifically seek the currency risk of select countries pursuing what the Adviser believes are sound monetary policies. As long-term price stability is unlikely to be achieved by most currencies, if any, the Adviser focuses on a country's monetary policy that fosters such stability. The Adviser will invest in a basket of currencies that may include gold to reduce the exposure to the risks of any one currency. If the Adviser deems a currency crisis likely, it is possible that the Fund will concentrate its investment in a few currencies that meet the Manager's investment criteria for stringent monetary policies and practices.

Money market instruments are issued by domestic and foreign governments, financial institutions, corporations and other entities to borrow money. The issuer pays a fixed, floating or variable rate of interest and must repay the amount borrowed at maturity. To try to reduce the interest rate and credit risk to its portfolio, the Fund typically maintains a weighted average portfolio maturity of less than eighteen months and only buys money market instruments that are issued by companies with an outstanding unsecured debt issue rated in the top three ratings by U.S. nationally recognized ratings services, or that the Adviser considers comparable in quality to instruments rated in the top three ratings.