03/05/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/05/2026 11:36
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Frontier Emerging Markets Portfolio Portfolio Summary | February 28, 2026 | Investor Class HLMOX |
Before you invest, you may want to review the Portfolio's prospectus, which contains more information about the Portfolio and its risks. You can find the Portfolio's prospectus and other information about the Portfolio online at www.hardingloevnerfunds.com. You can also get this information at no cost by calling (877) 435-8105 or by sending an e-mail request to [email protected]. If you purchase shares of the Portfolio through a financial intermediary, the prospectus and other information will also be available from your financial intermediary. The current prospectus and statement of additional information, dated February 28, 2026, and as each may be supplemented thereafter, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus and may be obtained, free of charge, at the website, phone number or e-mail address noted above.
Investment Objective
The Frontier Emerging Markets Portfolio (the "Portfolio") seeks long-term capital appreciation through investments in equity securities of companies based in frontier and smaller emerging markets.
Portfolio Fees and Expenses
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Investor Class of the Portfolio. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
| Shareholder Fees | ||||
| (Fees Paid Directly from Your Investment) | ||||
| Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (As a Percentage of Offering Price) | None | |||
| Redemption Fee (As a Percentage of Amount Redeemed within 90 days or Less from the Date of Purchase) | None | |||
| Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses | ||||
| (Expenses that You Pay Each Year as a Percentage of the Value of Your Investment) | ||||
| Management Fees | 1.10% | |||
| Distribution (Rule 12b-1) Fees | 0.25% | |||
| Other Expenses | 0.83% | |||
| Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses1 | 2.18% | |||
| Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement1,2 | -0.43% | |||
| Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement1,2 | 1.75% | |||
1Expense information in this table has been restated to reflect current fees. Therefore, the expenses in this table will not correlate to the expenses shown in the Financial Highlights of the Portfolio.
2Harding Loevner LP has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its management fee and/or reimburse the Portfolio's Investor Class shares for its other operating expenses to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (excluding taxes, interest, borrowing costs, overdraft charges, litigation and indemnification, consultant fees, extraordinary expenses, brokerage and other transaction expenses relating to the purchase or sale of portfolio investments and acquired fund fees and expenses), as a percentage of average daily net assets, exceed 1.75% through February 28, 2027. This fee waiver and expense reimbursement agreement may be terminated by the Board at any time and will automatically terminate upon the termination of the Portfolio's investment advisory agreement.
Example:
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Investor Class of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Investor Class of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Investor Class's operating expenses remain the same, except that the example assumes the fee waiver and expense reimbursement agreement pertains only through February 28, 2027. The example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Investor Class shares of the Portfolio. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |||||||||||
| $ | 178 | $ | 641 | $ | 1,130 | $ | 2,480 | |||||||
Portfolio Turnover
The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio's portfolio turnover rate was 29% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Portfolio invests primarily in companies that are based in frontier emerging markets, including the smaller traditionally-recognized emerging markets. Frontier emerging markets, with the exception of the oil-producing Gulf States and certain of the smaller traditionally-recognized emerging markets, tend to have relatively low gross national product per capita compared to the larger traditionally-recognized emerging markets and the world's major developed economies. The frontier emerging markets include the least developed markets even by emerging markets standards. Frontier emerging markets offer investment opportunities that arise from long-term trends in demographics, deregulation, offshore outsourcing, and improving corporate governance in developing countries. Harding Loevner LP ("Harding Loevner"), the Portfolio's investment adviser, undertakes fundamental research in an effort to identify companies that are well managed, financially sound, fast growing, and strongly competitive, and whose shares are reasonably priced relative to estimates of their value. To reduce its volatility, the Portfolio is diversified across dimensions of geography, industry, and currency. The Portfolio normally holds investments across at least 15 countries.
As used herein, frontier emerging markets include countries that are represented in the MSCI Frontier Markets Index or the S&P Frontier Markets BMI, or similar market indices, and the smaller of the traditionally-recognized emerging markets, such as those
individually constituting less than 5% of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index or the S&P Emerging Markets BMI. Factors bearing on whether a company is considered to be "based" in a frontier emerging market may include: (1) it is legally domiciled in a frontier emerging market; (2) it conducts at least 50% of its business, as measured by the location of its sales, earnings, assets, or production, in frontier emerging markets; or (3) it has the principal exchange listing for its securities in a frontier emerging market. Frontier emerging markets generally include all countries except Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States and the larger traditionally-recognized emerging markets of Taiwan, South Korea, South Africa, Brazil, India and China. At least 65% of the Portfolio's total assets will be denominated in at least three currencies other than the U.S. dollar.
For purposes of compliance with this restriction, American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"), Global Depositary Receipts ("GDRs"), and European Depositary Receipts ( "EDRs") will be considered to be denominated in the currency of the country where the securities underlying the depositary receipts are principally traded.
The Portfolio invests at least 65% of its total assets in common stocks, preferred stocks, rights, and warrants issued by companies that are based in the frontier emerging markets, securities convertible into such securities (including depositary receipts), and investment companies that invest in the types of securities in which the Portfolio would normally invest. The Portfolio also may invest in securities of U.S. companies that derive, or are expected to derive, a significant portion of their revenues from their foreign operations, although under normal circumstances, not more than 15% of the Portfolio's total assets will be invested in securities of U.S. companies.
The Portfolio invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in frontier emerging market securities, and investment companies that invest in the types of securities in which the Portfolio would normally invest.
The Portfolio may invest up to 35% of its total assets in securities of companies in any one industry if, at the time of investment, that industry represents 20% or more of the Portfolio's benchmark index, currently the MSCI Frontier Emerging Markets Index.
Because some frontier emerging market countries may present difficulties for efficient foreign investment, the Portfolio may use equity derivative securities to gain exposure to issuers in those countries.
Principal Risks
The Portfolio is subject to numerous risks, any of which could cause an investor to lose money. The principal risks of the Portfolio are as follows:
Market Risk. The value of investments in the Portfolio may fluctuate suddenly and unexpectedly as a result of various market and economic factors, including those affecting individual companies, issuers or particular industries.
Currency Risk. Foreign currencies may experience steady or sudden devaluation relative to the U.S. dollar, adversely affecting the value of the Portfolio's investments. Because the Portfolio's net asset value is determined on the basis of U.S. dollars, if the local currency of a foreign market depreciates against the U.S. dollar, you may lose money even if the foreign market prices of the Portfolio's holdings rise.
Foreign Investment Risk. Securities issued by foreign entities involve risks not associated with U.S. investments. These risks include additional taxation, political, economic, social, geopolitical or diplomatic instability, and the above-mentioned possibility of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. There may also be less publicly-available information about a foreign issuer. Such risks may be magnified with respect to securities of issuers in frontier emerging markets.
Frontier Emerging Market Risk. Frontier emerging market securities involve certain risks, such as exposure to economies less diverse and mature than that of the United States or more established foreign markets. Economic or political instability may cause larger price changes in frontier emerging market securities than in securities of issuers based in more developed foreign countries, including securities of issuers based in larger emerging markets. Frontier emerging markets generally receive less investor attention than developed markets and larger emerging markets.
Concentration Risk. The Portfolio may invest up to 35% of its total assets in securities of companies in any one industry if, at the time of investment, that industry represents 20% or more of the Portfolio's benchmark index, currently the MSCI Frontier Emerging Markets Index. Accordingly, at any time the Portfolio has such a concentration of investments in a single industry group, it will be particularly vulnerable to factors that adversely affect that industry group.
Large Shareholder Transactions Risk. A Portfolio may experience adverse effects when certain large shareholders, such as other funds, institutional investors (including those trading by use of non-discretionary mathematical formulas), financial intermediaries (who may make investment decisions on behalf of underlying clients and/or include the Portfolio in their investment model), individuals, accounts and affiliates of Harding Loevner, purchase or redeem large amounts of shares of the Portfolio. Such large shareholder redemptions, which may occur rapidly or unexpectedly, may cause a Portfolio to sell portfolio securities at times when it would not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Portfolio's NAV and liquidity. Similarly, large Portfolio share purchases may adversely affect a Portfolio's performance to the extent that the Portfolio is delayed in investing new cash or otherwise maintains a larger cash position than it ordinarily would. These transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable income to shareholders if such sales of investments resulted in gains, and may also increase transaction costs. In addition, a large redemption could result in a Portfolio's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the Portfolio's expense ratio.
NAV Risk. The net asset value of the Portfolio and the value of your investment will fluctuate.
Financials Sector Risk. The Portfolio is vulnerable to events affecting companies in the financials sector. Examples of risks affecting the financials sector include changes in governmental regulation, issues relating to the availability and cost of capital, changes in interest rates and/or monetary policy, bank failures and price competition. In addition, financials companies are often more highly leveraged than other companies, making them inherently riskier. As of October 31, 2025, the Portfolio had 36.1% of net assets invested in the financials sector.
Depositary Receipts Risk. ADRs as well as other forms of depositary receipts, including EDRs and GDRs, are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. ADRs, EDRs and GDRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets. However, ADRs, EDRs, and GDRs are subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities, including currency risk and the political, economic, and social risks of the underlying issuer's country.
Portfolio Performance
The following bar chart shows how the investment results of the Portfolio's Investor Class shares have varied from year to year. The table that follows shows how the average annual total returns of the Portfolio's Investor Class shares compare with a broad measure of market performance. Together, these provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. How the Investor Class shares of the Portfolio have performed in the past (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how they will perform in the future.
Updated Portfolio performance information is available at www.hardingloevnerfunds.com or by calling (877) 435-8105.
Frontier Emerging Markets Portfolio - Investor Class
The best calendar quarter return during the period shown above was 20.48% in the second quarter of 2020; the worst was -32.08% in the first quarter of 2020.
| Average Annual Total Returns | ||||||||||||
| (for the Periods Ended December 31, 2025) | ||||||||||||
| 1-Year | 5-Year | 10-Year | ||||||||||
| Frontier Emerging Markets Portfolio - Investor Class | ||||||||||||
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Return Before Taxes |
16.63% | 4.30% | 3.80% | |||||||||
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Return After Taxes on Distributions1 |
15.78% | 4.03% | 3.60% | |||||||||
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Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares1 |
10.50% | 3.44% | 3.11% | |||||||||
| MSCI Frontier Emerging Markets (Net) Index (Reflects No Deduction for Fees, Expenses, or U.S. Taxes) | 42.94% | 7.71% | 6.23% | |||||||||
1After-tax returns in the table above are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. The return after taxes on distributions and sale of Portfolio shares may exceed the Portfolio's other returns due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Portfolio shares at the end of the measurement period. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Portfolio shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or Individual Retirement Accounts.
Management
Investment Adviser
Harding Loevner serves as investment adviser to the Portfolio.
Portfolio Managers
Sergey Dubin and Babatunde Ojo serve as the portfolio managers of the Frontier Emerging Markets Portfolio. Mr. Dubin has held his position since January 2022, and Mr. Ojo has held his position since June 2014. Messrs. Dubin and Ojo are co-lead portfolio managers.
Purchase and Sale of Portfolio Shares
The minimum initial investment in the Investor Class of the Portfolio is $5,000. Additional purchases may be for any amount. You may purchase, redeem (sell) or exchange shares of the Portfolio on any business day through certain authorized brokers and other financial intermediaries or directly from the Portfolio by mail, telephone, or wire.
Tax Considerations
The Portfolio's distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or a combination of the two, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account. Upon withdrawal, your investment through a tax-deferred arrangement may become taxable.
Payments to Brokers-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase Portfolio shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
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Harding, Loevner Funds, Inc. c/o Northern Trust, Attn: Funds Center, Floor 38, 333 South Wabash Avenue Chicago, IL 60604 (877) 435-8105 www.hardingloevnerfunds.com |