# EDGAR Filing Document

**Accession Number:** 0000889284
**File Stem:** 0001398344-25-022760
**Filing Date:** 2025-12
**Character Count:** 24812
**Document Hash:** 261fa982ffad3f06f6d61c95886a5d53
**Contains OCR:** False
**Source Format:** 

## Filing Content

## Filing Summary
**0001398344-25-022760.hdr.sgml**: 20251219

**ACCESSION NUMBER**: 0001398344-25-022760

**CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE**: 497K

**PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT**: 2

**FILED AS OF DATE**: 20251219

**DATE AS OF CHANGE**: 20251219

**EFFECTIVENESS DATE**: 20251219

**FILER**: 

**COMPANY DATA:**
- **COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:** STERLING CAPITAL FUNDS
- **CENTRAL INDEX KEY:** 0000889284

**ORGANIZATION NAME:**
- **EIN:** 043331055
- **STATE OF INCORPORATION:** MA
- **FISCAL YEAR END:** 0930

**FILING VALUES:**
- **FORM TYPE:** 497K
- **SEC ACT:** 1933 Act
- **SEC FILE NUMBER:** 033-49098
- **FILM NUMBER:** 251588593

**BUSINESS ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** 434 FAYETTEVILLE ST
- **STREET 2:** SUITE 500
- **CITY:** RALEIGH
- **STATE:** NC
- **ZIP:** 27601
- **BUSINESS PHONE:** 8002281872

**MAIL ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** 434 FAYETTEVILLE ST
- **STREET 2:** SUITE 500
- **CITY:** RALEIGH
- **STATE:** NC
- **ZIP:** 27601

**FORMER COMPANY:**
- **FORMER CONFORMED NAME:** BB&T FUNDS /
- **DATE OF NAME CHANGE:** 20010419

**FORMER COMPANY:**
- **FORMER CONFORMED NAME:** BB&T MUTUAL FUNDS GROUP
- **DATE OF NAME CHANGE:** 19920929

## Series and Classes Contracts Data

### STERLING CAPITAL EQUITY PREMIUM INCOME ETF (Series ID: S000097702)

| Class ID   | Class Name                                 | Ticker Symbol   |
|:---|:---|:---|
| C000267176 | STERLING CAPITAL EQUITY PREMIUM INCOME ETF |  |

---

| |
|:---|
| **Summary Prospectus** December 19, 2025 |
| Sterling Capital Hedged Equity Premium Income ETF <br>**Sterling Capital Hedged Equity Premium Income ETF Shares SCEP** |
| Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's Prospectus, which contains information about the Fund and its risks. The Fund's Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated December 8, 2025 are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus. You can find the Fund's Prospectus and other information about the Fund online at www.sterlingcapitalfunds.com/funds. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-228-1872 or by sending an e-mail request to fundinfo@sterling-capital.com. |

---

**Investment Objective** 

The Fund seeks to provide long-term capital growth, income and preservation of capital.

**Fee Table** 

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between Sterling Capital Funds (the "Trust") and Sterling Capital Management LLC ("Sterling Capital" or the "Adviser") (the "Investment Advisory Agreement") provides that the Adviser will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except any Management Fees set forth in the table below, (ii) Distribution and Service (Rule 12b-1) Fees, distribution expenses, investment-related expenses of any kind, borrowing and other investment-related costs and fees, acquired fund fees and expenses, interest expenses, taxes and governmental fees, litigation and indemnification fees and expenses of any kind, custody or other expenses attributable to negative interest rates on investments or cash, short dividend expense, salaries and other compensation or expenses, including travel expenses, of any of the Trust's executive officers and employees, if any, who are not officers, directors, shareholders, members, partners or employees of the Adviser or its subsidiaries or affiliates, organizational and offering expenses of the Trust and the Fund, costs related to any meetings of shareholders, fees or expenses incurred in connection with securities lending, any other expenses which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, extraordinary expenses, and such other expenses as may be approved by the Fund's Board. 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.

&nbsp;&nbsp;**Annual Fund Operating Expenses** (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)<br>

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Management Fee | 0.65% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees<sup>(1)</sup> |  |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Other Expenses<sup>(2)</sup> | 0.00% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses  | 0.65% |

---

<sup>(1)</sup> The Fund has adopted a Rule 12b-1 Distribution Plan, and the Board of Trustees (the "Board") has authorized a 12b-1 fee not to exceed 0.25% of the average daily net assets of Fund shares. No Distribution and Service (12b-1) fee is currently paid by the Fund or will be made during the first twelve (12) month period from the date of this prospectus. Thereafter, 12b-1 fees may only be imposed after approval by the Fund's Board.

<sup>(2)</sup> Amounts have been estimated for the current fiscal year.

&nbsp;&nbsp;**Example**<br>

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund 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 Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **1 <br> Year**  | **3 <br> Years**  |
| $69 | $218 |

---

&nbsp;&nbsp;**Portfolio Turnover**<br>

The Fund 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 Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund's performance. Because the Fund has not yet commenced operations as of the date of this prospectus, no portfolio turnover information is available.

**Strategy, Risks and Performance** 

**Principal Strategy** 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange traded fund ("ETF"). The Fund will pursue its investment objective by investing primarily in U.S. large- and mid-cap equity and equity-related securities. The Fund will also employ a dynamic option overlay strategy by writing covered call options and buying protective put and put spreads options on up to 100% of the Fund's portfolio in order to generate income and mitigate (or hedge against) downside risk.

Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes in equity and equity-related securities. This investment policy is not fundamental, and if the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. For purposes of the Fund's 80% investment policy, eligible equity and equity-related securities include, but are not limited to common stock, preferred stock and derivatives relating to, or that provide investment exposure to, equity securities.

Equity Selection: Guardian Capital LP, the Fund's sub-adviser (the "Sub-Adviser"), will employ a system driven bottom-up research approach to assess relative value and capital growth potential within a

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Summary Prospectus** | 1 of 4 | **Sterling Capital Hedged Equity Premium Income ETF** |

---

broad stock selection universe. The Fund maintains a mid- to large-capitalization bias and typically invests in a range of sectors. The Sub-Adviser seeks to isolate stock selection as the primary source of capital appreciation.

The Sub-Adviser will use a quantitative approach, including the use of artificial intelligence ("AI") technology such as machine learning, deep learning and large language models, to analyze multiple fundamental and alternative factors and incorporate financial data and other information relevant to the issuer. Such factors considered by the Sub-Adviser include quantitative measures, such as AI driven predicted earnings growth, predicted dividend growth, predicted volatility, and valuation, as well as traditional factors such as historical earnings growth, momentum, relative price strength, value, size, quality, and potential for debt reduction. The Sub-Adviser will seek out companies that it believes have potential for capital growth. The Sub-Adviser may also seek a sustainable dividend yield, placing particular focus on dividend growth and dividend quality in making its assessments. The Sub-Adviser may also consider environmental, social and governance ("ESG") factors as part of the investment process.

Options Overlay: To generate income in addition to the dividends received from the Fund's investment in equities and to mitigate (or hedge against) downside risk, the Sub-Adviser will employ a dynamic option overlay strategy including covered call options and protective put options.

Under the covered call option strategy, the Sub-Adviser will generally write "out-of-the-money" call options on up to approximately 100% of the value of the Fund's portfolio. The Sub-Adviser may write covered call options on a lesser percentage of the portfolio, based on its discretion and market outlook. The amount of cash flow generated by the covered call option writing strategy will be dependent on market prices and the volatility of the underlying common stocks at the time of each sale. In addition, the Sub-Adviser will seek to mitigate (or hedge against) downside risk in the portfolio by employing a protective put option strategy for capital preservation. The Fund employs these strategies to reduce exposure to market declines and to generate additional income, while recognizing that the Fund may not fully benefit from strong equity market growth.

In general, an option contract gives the purchaser of the option contract the right to purchase (for a call option) or sell (for a put option) the underlying asset at a specified price (the "strike price"), or for cash settled options, deliver cash equal to the difference in value of an underlying asset and the strike price. In exchange for selling the right to buy or sell the particular reference asset, the seller of an option contract receives income from the purchaser (i.e., a "premium").

The Fund is non-diversified and, therefore, may invest in a limited number of issuers.

**Principal Risks** 

All investments carry a certain amount of risk and the Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit or obligation of any bank, is not endorsed or guaranteed by any bank and is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") or any other government agency. You may lose money by investing in the Fund. Below are the principal risks of investing in the Fund.

**ETF Structure Risks.** The Fund is structured as an ETF and is subject to risks related to exchange trading, including:

● The Fund's shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange (the "Exchange") and are bought and sold on the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Fund shares will typically approximate the Fund's net asset value ("NAV"), there may be times when the market price reflects a significant premium or discount to NAV, including during periods of high market volatility or other unusual market conditions.

● Although the Fund's shares are listed on the Exchange, it is possible that an active trading market in the Fund's shares may not be maintained.

● The Fund could potentially face trading halts and/or delisting from the Exchange. This risk is heightened in times of market stress, including at both the Fund share level and at the Fund holdings level.

● Only an authorized participant (an "Authorized Participant") may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund, and none of those Authorized Participants is obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units, Fund shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting.

● To the extent that the Fund effects its creation and redemptions in cash, as it intends regularly to do, the Fund may need to sell securities to generate the necessary funds for a redemption. Such sales may result in the Fund realizing capital gains, which under applicable tax regulations must be distributed to all shareholders, leading to potential tax liabilities for shareholders that would not have been incurred had the redemptions been in-kind. Such cash redemptions may also result in the Fund incurring brokerage costs that might not have been incurred if the purchase or redemption of Creation Units were effected in kind, and the imposition of such costs may decrease the Fund's net asset value. The use of cash creations and redemptions may also cause the Fund's shares to trade in the market at wider bid-ask spreads or greater premiums or discounts to the Fund's NAV.

**Market Risk:** The possibility that the Fund's investment holdings will decline in price because of a market decline, or other domestic, regional, or global events. Markets generally move in cycles, with periods of rising prices followed by periods of falling prices. The value of your investment will tend to increase or decrease in response to these movements.

**Investment Style Risk:** The possibility that the market segment on which this Fund focuses — income-producing equities — will underperform other kinds of investments or market averages.

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Summary Prospectus** | 2 of 4 | **Sterling Capital Hedged Equity Premium Income ETF** |

---

**Company-Specific Risk:** The possibility that a particular investment may lose value due to factors specific to the company itself, including deterioration of its fundamental characteristics, an occurrence of adverse events at the company, or a downturn in its business prospects.

**Counterparty Risk:** The possibility that a counterparty to a contract will default or otherwise become unable to honor a financial obligation.

**Non-Diversified Risk:** Because the Fund is non-diversified, it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a particular issuer compared with other funds. Accordingly, the Fund's portfolio may be more sensitive to changes in the market value of a single issuer or industry.

**Dividend Risk:** Companies that issue dividend-yielding securities are not required to continue to pay dividends on such securities. Therefore, there is the possibility that such companies could reduce or eliminate the payment of dividends in the future.

**Mid Capitalization Company Risk:** Investments in middle capitalization companies may be riskier, more volatile and more vulnerable to economic, market and industry changes than investments in larger, more established companies. As a result, share price changes may be more sudden or erratic than the prices of other equity securities, especially over the short term.

**Preferred Stock Risk:** Preferred stock represents an interest in a company that generally entitles the holder to receive, in preference to the holders of common stock, dividends and a fixed share of the proceeds resulting from a liquidation of the company. Preferred stocks are generally subordinated in right of payment to all debt obligations and creditors of the issuer.

**Operational and Technology Risk:** Cyber-attacks, disruptions, or failures that affect the Fund's service providers, counterparties, market participants, or issuers of securities held by the Fund may adversely affect the Fund and its shareholders, including by causing losses for the Fund or impairing Fund operations.

**Management Risk:** The risk that an investment technique used by the Fund's portfolio manager may fail to produce the intended result.

**Liquidity Risk:** The possibility that certain securities may be difficult or impossible to sell at the time and the price that would normally prevail in the market. The seller may have to lower the price, sell other securities instead or forego an investment opportunity, any of which could have a negative effect on Fund management or performance.

**Derivatives Risk:** The possibility that the Fund will suffer a loss from its use of derivatives. The primary risk with many derivatives is that they can amplify a gain or loss, potentially earning or losing substantially more money than the actual cost of the derivative instrument. It is possible that the Fund's liquid assets may be insufficient to support its obligations under its derivatives positions. The Fund's use of derivatives such as futures transactions and swap transactions involves other risks, such as the credit risk relating to the other party to a derivative contract (which is heightened for over-the-counter swaps and other derivatives as compared to centrally cleared derivatives), the risk of difficulties in pricing and valuation, and the risk that changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with relevant assets, rates or indices. There is also the risk that the Fund may be unable to terminate or sell a derivatives position at an advantageous time or price. When the Fund uses credit default swaps to gain indirect long exposure to an issuer or a fixed income security by selling credit protection on such issuer or security, the Fund is exposed to the risk that it will be required to pay the full notional value of the swap contract in the event of a default.

**Options Risk:** There are significant differences between the securities and options markets that could result in an imperfect correlation between these markets, causing an options transaction not to achieve its objectives. A decision as to whether, when and how to use options involves the exercise of skill and judgment, and even a well conceived transaction may be unsuccessful to some degree because of market behavior or unexpected events. There can be no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular option at a particular time; as a result, it may be costly to liquidate options. There is also no assurance that a liquid market will exist for any particular option contract on an exchange.

**Quantitative Model Risk:** The Fund's portfolio managers may use quantitative models as part of their investment process. Securities or other investments selected using quantitative methods may perform differently from the market as a whole or from their expected performance for many reasons, including factors used in building the quantitative analytical framework, the weights placed on each factor, and changing sources of market returns. There can be no assurance that these methodologies will produce the desired results or enable the Fund to achieve its objectives. A given model may be more effective with certain instruments or strategies than others, and there can be no assurance that any model can identify and incorporate all factors that will affect an investment's price or performance. When models prove to be incorrect or incomplete, including because data is stale, missing or unavailable, any decisions made in reliance thereon expose the Fund to potential risks. Models rely on correct data inputs. If incorrect data is entered into even a well-founded model, the resulting information will be incorrect.

**AI Risk:** The Fund's portfolio managers, the Fund and the issuers in which they invest, service providers, and other market participants may utilize AI technologies in investment and business operations. It is possible that the information provided through use of AI could be insufficient, incomplete, inaccurate or biased leading to adverse effects for the Fund, including, potentially, operational errors and investment losses. The legal and regulatory frameworks within which AI technologies operate continue to rapidly evolve, and it is not possible to predict the full extent of current or future risks related thereto.

**ESG Factor Risk.** Considering ESG factors when evaluating an investment may result in the selection or exclusion of certain investments based on the portfolio managers' view of these factors and carries the risk that the Fund may underperform funds that do not take ESG factors into account. In evaluating an issuer, the portfolio managers may be dependent upon information and data obtained through voluntary reporting by issuers or third-party research that may be incomplete, inaccurate or unavailable, which could impact the portfolio managers' assessment of related risks and opportunities.

**New Fund:** Because the Fund is new, it has a relatively small number of shareholders and assets under management. As a result, the portfolio managers may experience difficulties in fully implementing the Fund's investment program and may be less able to respond to increases in shareholder transaction activity. The Fund's limited operating history could make it more difficult to evaluate the performance of the portfolio managers and the Fund's investment strategies. In addition, there can be no assurance that the Fund will ultimately grow to an economically viable size, which could lead to the Fund eventually ceasing its operations.

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Summary Prospectus** | 3 of 4 | **Sterling Capital Hedged Equity Premium Income ETF** |

---

For more information about the Fund's risks, please see the "Additional Investment Strategies and Risks" section in this Prospectus.

**Performance** 

Because the Fund has not yet commenced investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Fund at this time. In the future, performance information will be presented in this section of this prospectus. *Updated performance information is available at no cost by visiting www.sterlingcapital.com/etf or by calling (888) 637-7798.*

**Management** 

**Investment Adviser** 

Sterling Capital Management LLC<br> Sub-Adviser<br> Guardian Capital LP

**Portfolio Managers** 

Srikanth (Sri) Iyer <br> Managing Director and Head of i³ Investments<sup>®</sup> for the Sub-Adviser<br> Co-Portfolio Manager <br> Since inception

Constantinos Bourdos, CIM<sup>®</sup>, CFA<sup>®</sup> <br> Head of Investment Solutions for the Sub-Adviser<br> Co-Portfolio Manager <br> Since inception

**Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares** 

Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market (i.e., on a national securities exchange) through a broker or dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than at NAV, Fund shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). When buying or selling shares in the secondary market, you may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) (the "bid-ask spread"). When available, recent information regarding the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads will be available at www.sterlingcapital.com/etf.

**Tax Information** 

The Fund normally distributes its net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, to shareholders. These distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan (which may be taxable upon withdrawal) or an individual retirement account (which may be taxable upon withdrawal). A sale of shares may result in capital gain or loss.

**Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries** 

If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund 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 Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's Web site for more information

SCEP-SP-12122025

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Summary Prospectus** | 4 of 4 | **Sterling Capital Hedged Equity Premium Income ETF** |

---