What are Class A and B and C Shares?

  • A Shares - A front end sales charge and usually a comparatively lower annual operating expense.  No CDSC.
  • B Shares - No front end sales charge and usually a comparatively higher annual operating expense.  A CDSC is usually charged for some period of time (i.e. 5, 6, 7 years), however, after some period of time after the CDSC has expired, most B Shares will convert to A Shares and charge the lower annual operating expense.
  • C Shares - No front end sales charge and usually a comparatively higher annual operating expense.  A CDSC, usually 1%, will be charged for 1 year only.  C shares do not convert to another class, so the operating expenses will remain the same.  C Shares are often used for shorter investment time frames.