skills. Nominees will also be considered based on their independence from T. Rowe Price and other principal service providers. Other than executive sessions in connection with Board meetings, the Committee of Independent Directors formally met one time in 2017.

The Joint Audit Committee consists of only independent directors. The current members of the committee are Bruce W. Duncan, Paul F. McBride, Cecilia E. Rouse, and Mark R. Tercek. Mr. Duncan serves as chairman of the committee and is considered an “audit committee financial expert,” as defineddistribution model authorized by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”(“SEC”). The Joint Audit Committee holds three regular in 2007. This model, known as Notice and Access, allows mutual funds and public companies to send you a Notice instead of a full set of printed proxy materials. As a shareholder, you can select the means by which you access those proxy materials. You can view the materials online, or request a full set of printed materials for this Shareholder Meeting and all future shareholder meetings, during each fiscal year. Twoor you can make that choice on a case-by-case basis.

How do I access the materials, set my preference for future shareholder meeting materials, and record my vote?

On the front side of the meetings include the attendancethis Notice are easy-to-follow instructions on how to access proxy materials electronically or request a full set of the independent registered public accounting firm of the T. Rowe Price Funds as the Joint Audit Committee reviews: (1) the services provided; (2) the findings of the most recent audits; (3) management’s response to the findings of the most recent audits; (4) the scope of the audits to be performed; (5) the accountants’ fees; (6) the qualifications, independence, and performance of the independent registered public accounting firm; and (7) any accounting questions relating to particular areas of the T. Rowe Price Funds’ operations or the operations of parties dealing with the T. Rowe Price Funds, as circumstances indicate. A third meeting is devoted primarily to a review of the risk management program of the Funds’ investment adviser. The Joint Audit Committee met three times in 2017.

The Executive Committee, which consists of each Fund’s interested directors, has been authorized by the Boards to exercise all powers of the Boards of the Funds in the intervals between regular meetings of the Boards, except for those powers prohibited by statute from being delegated. All actions of the Executive Committee must be approved in advance by one independent director and reviewed after the fact by the full Board. The Executive Committee for each Fund does not hold regularly scheduled meetings. The Executive Committee was not called upon to take any action on behalf of any Funds during 2017.

From time to time, the independent directors may create a special committee (“Special Committee”) comprised of independent directors, whose purpose is to review certain limited topics that require in-depth consideration outside of the Boards’ regular review. The Bank of New York Mellon (“BNY Mellon”) Special Committee was established in December 2014 to review matters relating to the transition of fund accounting services from T. Rowe Price to BNY Mellon and the proposed Fund Accounting Agreement between the T. Rowe Price Funds and BNY Mellon. The members of the BNY Mellon Special Committee are Robert J. Gerrard, Paul F. McBride (chair), and Cecilia E. Rouse. The BNY Mellon Special Committee met once during 2017. The Section 15(c) Special Committee was established in August 2015 to review

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