Sustainable Equity Fund
Relative value approach to socially responsible investing
- Actively managed core-equity strategy with a focus on fundamentals-based bottom up research with ESG integration
- The team invests in high quality companies with a long term time horizon
- Incorporate ESG criteria as part of the fundamentals-based due diligence process
- Active shareholder engagement and proxy voting
Average Annual Total Returns
- Daily (as of )
- Monthly (as of )
- Quarterly (as of )
Performance data quoted represent past performance, which is no guarantee of future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original costs. Results are shown on a “total return” basis and include reinvestment of all dividends and capital gain distributions. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted.
Annualized Total Returns with sales charge reflect deduction of current maximum initial sales charge of 5.75% for Class A shares of equity funds and alternative funds (except alternatives funds that invest primarily in fixed income instruments), and 4.25% for Class A shares of fixed income funds and alternative funds that primarily invest in fixed income instruments, and 2.50% for Class A shares of short-term fixed income funds and applicable contingent deferred sales charges (CDSC) for Class C shares. The maximum CDSC for Class C shares is 1%, which is reduced to 0% after 1 year. Please see each fund’s prospectus for the applicable sales charge. For funds with less than one year of performance, returns shown are cumulative rather than annualized.
$10,000 Hypothetical Investment

This chart shows the value of a hypothetical $10,000 investment in the Fund since inception. All results include the reinvestment of income dividends and distributions. Returns do not reflect the effect of taxes an investor would pay on Fund distributions or on the redemption of Fund shares. Results represent past performance and do not indicate future results. Performance figures would be reduced if sales charges were applied.
Calendar Year Returns
Performance figures would be reduced if sales charges were applied.
- 3-Year Risk Return Profile
- 3-Year Upside / Downside Capture
3-Year Risk Return Profile

Standard Deviation is a statistical measure of portfolio risk. The Standard Deviation describes the average deviation of the portfolio returns from the mean portfolio return over a certain period of time. Standard Deviation measures how wide this range of returns typically is. The wider the typical range of returns, the higher the Standard Deviation of returns, and the higher the portfolio risk.
3-Year Upside / Downside Capture
As of

Up Capture Ratio is a measure of the manager’s performance in up markets relative to the market itself. A value of 110 suggests the manager performs ten percent better than the market when the market is up. The Upside Capture Ratio is calculated by dividing the return of the manager during the up market periods by the return of the market during the same periods.
Down Capture Ratio is a measure of the manager’s performance in down markets relative to the market itself. A value of 90 suggests the manager’s loss is only nine tenths of the market’s loss. The Downside Capture Ratio is calculated by dividing the return of the manager during the down periods by the return of the market during the same periods.
Product Characteristics
Gross expense ratio represents the total annual operating expenses that shareholders pay. The Fund’s investment manager (the “Manager”) has contractually undertaken to waive and/or reimburse certain fees and expenses of the Fund so that the total annual operating expenses are capped (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, dividend and interest expenses relating to short sales, and extraordinary expenses, if any;) through 08/31/2025 for Institutional Class at 0.75%, 1.11% for Class A, 1.86% for Class C, 1.36% for Class R3, 0.65% for Class R6 and 1.50% for Trust Class (each as a % of average net assets). As of the Fund’s most recent prospectuses, the Manager was not required to waive or reimburse any expenses pursuant to this arrangement. Absent such arrangements, which cannot be changed without Board approval, the returns may have been lower. Information as of the most recent prospectuses dated December 17, 2021, as amended and supplemented.
Figures are derived from FactSet as of the date indicated. The Fund’s Investor Class was used to calculate beta, a measure of the magnitude of a fund’s past share price fluctuations in relation to the fluctuations in the stock market (as represented by the fund’s benchmark). While not predictive of the future, funds with a beta greater than 1 have in the past been more volatile than the benchmark, and those with a beta less than 1 have in the past been less volatile than the benchmark. Forward P/E ratio is the weighted harmonic aggregate of the Forward P/E ratios of all the stocks currently held in the Portfolio. The Forward P/E ratio of a stock is calculated by dividing the current ending price of the stock by its forecasted calendar year Earnings Per Share (EPS). The forecasted EPS of a company is based on consensus estimates, not Neuberger Berman’s own projections, and it may or may not be realized. In addition, any revision to a forecast could affect the market price of a security. By quoting them herein, Neuberger Berman does not offer an opinion as to the accuracy of, and does not guarantee, these forecasted numbers. Additionally, these fund statistics are not a forecast of the Fund’s performance. Adjusting for an accounting change at Intuit and the EBITDA based valuation of Level 3, the team estimates that the Forward PE for the Portfolio is lower and the Forward growth rate higher resulting in a lower PEG ratio. Standard Deviation is a statistical measure of portfolio risk. The Standard Deviation describes the average deviation of the portfolio returns from the mean portfolio return over a certain period of time. Standard Deviation measures how wide this range of returns typically is. The wider the typical range of returns, the higher the Standard Deviation of returns, and the higher the portfolio risk. Up Capture Ratio is a measure of the manager’s performance in up markets relative to the market itself. A value of 110 suggests the manager performs ten percent better than the market when the market is up. During the selected time period, the return for the market for each period is considered an up market period if it is greater than zero. The returns for the manager and the market for all up periods are calculated. The Upside Capture Ratio is calculated by dividing the return of the manager during the up market periods by the return of the market during the same periods. Down Capture Ratio is a measure of the manager’s performance in down markets relative to the market itself. A value of 90 suggests the manager’s loss is only nine tenths of the market’s loss. During the selected time period the return for the market for each period is considered a down market period if it is less than zero. The returns for the manager and the market for all down periods are calculated. The Downside Capture Ratio is calculated by dividing the return of the manager during the down periods by the return of the market during the same periods. Active Share measures the percentage of mutual fund assets that are invested differently from the benchmark, and will range between 0% and 100%, Funds with an active share below 20% are likely to be pure index funds, while those with an active share between 20% and 60% are considered to be closet index funds.
Morningstar Rating
For each retail mutual fund with at least a three-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a fund’s monthly performance (including the effects of sales charges, loads, and redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of funds in each category receive five stars, the next 22.5% receive four stars, the next 35% receive three stars, the next 22.5% receive two stars and the bottom 10% receive one star. (Each share class is counted as a fraction of one fund within this scale and rated separately, which may cause slight variations in the distribution percentages.) The Overall Morningstar Rating for a retail mutual fund is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five- and ten-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. Ratings are ©2022 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information.
Top 10 Holdings
Microsoft Corp. | 6.80% |
Cigna Corp | 6.30% |
Alphabet Inc | 5.30% |
Berkshire Hathaway | 4.80% |
Amazon.Com | 4.50% |
Mastercard, Inc. | 4.40% |
Progressive Corp. | 4.10% |
Texas Instruments | 4.10% |
Compass Group Plc | 3.80% |
Amerisourcebergen Corp. | 3.80% |
Top 10 Industries
IT Services | 11.10% |
Health Care Providers & Services | 10.00% |
Software | 8.70% |
Health Care Equipment & Supplies | 6.00% |
Diversified Financial Services | 6.00% |
Banks | 5.40% |
Interactive Media & Services | 5.30% |
Internet & Direct Marketing Retail | 4.50% |
Insurance | 4.10% |
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment | 4.10% |