Harbor Capital Advisors Broadens Strategic Partnership with IR+M, Lowers Fees

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Harbor Capital Advisors, Inc. (“Harbor”), a premier multi-manager investment firm offering access to specialized expertise across a range of investment strategies and vehicles, today announced the expansion of its strategic partnership with institutional fixed income specialist Income Research + Management (IR+M) through a subadvisory change and reduced fee structure for the Harbor Bond Fund and reduced fee structure for the Harbor Core Bond Fund.

Effective on or about February 2, 2022, the Harbor Bond Fund will change its subadviser to IR+M, replacing Pacific Investment Management Company, LLC (PIMCO). Accompanying the manager change will be a change in strategy and renaming of the fund to the Harbor Core Plus Fund.

The new strategy will also reflect a reduction in fees as of the effective date. In connection with the appointment of IR+M as the Fund’s subadviser, Harbor has contractually agreed to limit the Fund’s operating expenses, excluding interest expense (if any), to 0.30%, 0.38%, and 0.63% for the Retirement Class (HBFRX), Institutional Class (HABDX), and Administrative Class (HRBDX), respectively, through February 28, 2023.

“We are delighted to announce our expanded partnership with IR+M, whom we regard as a world-class, highly skilled and deeply experienced active fixed income manager. We are excited to expand our investment offerings with them at a reduced cost to our clients. In today’s lower yield environment, we believe that a very competitive fee structure will be even more important to delivering value to our fixed income investors over time. This fee reduction puts our core and core plus bond offerings among the most competitively priced actively managed funds available, representing what we believe is excellent value for our clients,” said Charles McCain, Chief Executive Officer.

“I would especially like to thank PIMCO for serving the Harbor Bond Fund and our shareholders so well for over 30 years,” added Mr. McCain.

“We are thrilled to expand our exceptional partnership with Harbor and look forward to working together to deliver strong investment results for investors.” Bill O’Malley, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chief Investment Officer of IR+M.

In addition to the forthcoming fee reduction on the newly named, Harbor Core Plus Fund, Harbor has reduced expenses on the Harbor Core Bond Fund, also managed by IR+M.

Effective December 1, 2021, the Harbor Core Bond Fund has contractually agreed to limit the Fund's operating expenses, excluding interest expense (if any), to 0.26% and 0.34% for the Retirement Class (HCBRX) and Institutional Class (HACBX), respectively, through February 28, 2023.

About Harbor

Harbor offers a diverse family of cost-aware investment solutions managed by institutional-caliber firms. We source talented investment teams to manage portfolios and apply a rigorous fiduciary oversight program to monitor their performance and investment decisions. Harbor had combined assets under management of approximately $63 billion as of September 30, 2021. For more information, visit harborcapital.com.

About IR+M

IR+M is a privately-owned, independent, fixed income investment management firm that serves institutional and private clients. Our investment philosophy and process are based on our belief that careful security selection and active risk management provide superior results over the long-term. IR+M had $96.5 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2021. For more information, visit incomeresearch.com.

Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of a Harbor fund before investing. To obtain a summary prospectus or prospectus for this and other information, visit harborcapital.com or call 800-422-1050. Read it carefully before investing.

All investments involve risk including the possible loss of principal. There is no guarantee that the investment objective of the Fund will be achieved. Fixed income investments are affected by interest rate changes and the creditworthiness of the issues held by the Fund. As interest rates rise, the values of fixed income securities held by the Fund are likely to decrease and reduce the value of the Fund's portfolio. The use of derivative instruments may add additional risk. There may be a greater risk that the Fund could lose money due to prepayment and extension risks because the Fund invests heavily at times in mortgage-related and/or asset backed securities. The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading to achieve its principal investment strategies. Investing in international and emerging markets poses special risks, including potentially greater price volatility due to social, political and economic factors, as well as currency exchange rate fluctuations. These risks are more severe for securities of issuers in emerging market regions.

Distributed by Harbor Funds Distributors, Inc.