Notes to Financial Statements December 31, 2019 (continued)
investment and management fees or reimburse the Global Opportunities Fund and Micro-Cap Fund Institutional Class Shares to the extent that total ordinary operating expenses, as defined, exceed in any one year the following amounts expressed as a percentage of each Fund’s average daily net assets: 1.55% of the first $50 million; plus 1.35% of average daily net assets in excess of $50 million. OAM is also contractually obligated to reduce its management fees or reimburse the Small-Cap Value Fund (Institutional class) to the extent that total ordinary operating expenses, as defined, exceed 1.30% expressed as a percentage of the Funds’ average daily assets. OAM is contractually obligated to reduce its investment and management fees or reimburse the Small-Cap Opportunities Fund, China Opportunities Fund and Emerging Markets Fund Institutional Class Shares to the extent that total ordinary operating expenses, as defined, exceed in any one year 1.30%, 1.99% and 1.50% expressed as a percentage of the Funds’ average daily net assets, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2019 OAM reimbursed the Small-Cap Opportunities Fund, the Small-Cap Value Fund, the Emerging Markets Fund, and the International Opportunities Fund in the amount of $71,415, $48,784, $154,924, and $753,411, respectively.
Officers and trustees. Certain officers and trustees of the Trust are also officers and/or directors of OAM and OSI. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Trust made no direct payments to its officers and paid $125,000 to its unaffiliated trustees.
Distribution and shareholder service agreement. The Funds have a distribution and shareholder services agreement with OSI. For services under the distribution and shareholder services agreement, the Funds pay OSI a fee at the annual rate of .25% of the average daily net assets of Investor Class Shares as compensation for services. For the year ended December 31, 2019, the Micro-Cap Fund, Small-Cap Opportunities Fund, Global Opportunities Fund, China Opportunities Fund, Emerging Markets Fund, Small Cap Value Fund and International Opportunities Fund incurred distribution fees totaling $138,415, $14,965, $79,694, $178,960, $1,263, $441, and $1,080,723 respectively.
Affiliated Commissions. For the year ended December 31, 2019, the Micro-Cap Fund, Global Opportunities Fund, Small-Cap Opportunities Fund, Small-Cap Value Fund, China Opportunities Fund, Emerging Markets Fund and International Opportunities Fund did not execute any security transactions through OSI and therefore did not pay commissions to OSI.
4. Investment transactions
The cost of securities purchased and proceeds from securities sold during the year ended December 31, 2019, other than options written and money market investments, aggregated $84,790,111, and $93,424,904, respectively, for the Micro-Cap Fund, $48,303,932 and $52,913,519, respectively, for the Global Opportunities Fund, $15,450,096 and $16,605,072, respectively, for the Small-Cap Opportunities Fund, $18,403,526 and $24,236,262, respectively, for the Small-Cap Value Fund, $143,621,568 and $142,172,416, respectively, for the China Opportunities Fund, $582,789,171, and $860,800,655, respectively, for the International Opportunities Fund, $10,796,383 and $11,053,277, respectively, for the Emerging Markets Fund. The Funds did not hold government securities during the year ended December 31, 2019.
The Funds may write covered call options. The premiums received provide a partial hedge (protection) against declining prices and enables each Fund to generate a higher return during years when OAM does not expect the underlying security to make any major price