# EDGAR Filing Document

**Accession Number:** 0001105076
**File Stem:** 0001104659-25-093819
**Filing Date:** 2025-9
**Character Count:** 47232
**Document Hash:** 81d51c1877d00f49937f895fc8e33669
**Contains OCR:** False
**Source Format:** 

## Filing Content

## Filing Summary
**0001104659-25-093819.hdr.sgml**: 20250926

**ACCESSION NUMBER**: 0001104659-25-093819

**CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE**: 497K

**PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT**: 12

**FILED AS OF DATE**: 20250926

**DATE AS OF CHANGE**: 20250926

**EFFECTIVENESS DATE**: 20250926

**FILER**: 

**COMPANY DATA:**
- **COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:** ARBITRAGE FUNDS
- **CENTRAL INDEX KEY:** 0001105076

**ORGANIZATION NAME:**
- **EIN:** 000000000
- **STATE OF INCORPORATION:** DE
- **FISCAL YEAR END:** 0531

**FILING VALUES:**
- **FORM TYPE:** 497K
- **SEC ACT:** 1933 Act
- **SEC FILE NUMBER:** 333-30470
- **FILM NUMBER:** 251350083

**BUSINESS ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** C/O WATER ISLAND CAPITAL, LLC
- **STREET 2:** 104 FIFTH AVENUE, 9TH FLOOR
- **CITY:** NEW YORK
- **STATE:** NY
- **ZIP:** 10011
- **BUSINESS PHONE:** 800-560-8210

**MAIL ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** C/O WATER ISLAND CAPITAL, LLC
- **STREET 2:** 104 FIFTH AVENUE, 9TH FLOOR
- **CITY:** NEW YORK
- **STATE:** NY
- **ZIP:** 10011

## Series and Classes Contracts Data

### WATER ISLAND EVENT-DRIVEN FUND (Series ID: S000030113)

| Class ID   | Class Name   | Ticker Symbol   |
|:---|:---|:---|
| C000092484 | Class R      | AEDFX           |
| C000092485 | Class I      | AEDNX           |
| C000127229 | Class A      | AGEAX           |

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SEPTEMBER 26 • 2025 \| THE ARBITRAGE FUNDS SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

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**WATER ISLAND EVENT-DRIVEN FUND**

Class R (Nasdaq Symbol: AEDFX)

Class I (Nasdaq Symbol: AEDNX)

Class A (Nasdaq Symbol: AGEAX)

*Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund's prospectus, statement of additional information and other information about the Fund online at arbitragefunds.com/resources. You can also get this information at no cost by calling the Fund at (800) 295-4485 or by sending an e-mail request to the SEC at publicinfo@sec.gov. The Fund's prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated September 26, 2025, as supplemented from time to time, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.*

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**WATER ISLAND EVENT-DRIVEN FUND**

**Investment Objective**

The Fund seeks to achieve capital growth.

**Fund Fees and Expenses**

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may also pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts on Class A Shares if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in the Fund. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in "How to Purchase Shares" beginning on page 42 of the statutory prospectus and in Appendix A to the prospectus, titled "Intermediary-Specific Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers."

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

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| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
| | **Class R**<br> **Shares** | **Class I**<br> **Shares** | **Class A** <br> **Shares** |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases<br>(as a percentage of offering price) |  |  | 3.25% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load)<br>(as a percentage of original purchase price) |  |  | 1.00%<sup>(1)</sup> |

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Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

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| | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
| | **Class R**<br> **Shares** | **Class I**<br> **Shares** | **Class A**<br> **Shares** |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Management Fees | 1.10% | 1.10% | 1.10% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees | 0.25% |  | 0.25% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Other Expenses: | 0.52% | 0.51% | 0.52% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dividends on Short Positions and Interest<br>Expense on Short Positions and/or Borrowings | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.01% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; All Remaining Other Expenses | 0.51% | 0.50% | 0.51% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses<sup>(2)</sup> | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.01% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 1.88% | 1.62% | 1.88% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Fee Waiver<sup>(3)</sup> | -0.17% | -0.16% | -0.17% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver | 1.71% | 1.46% | 1.71% |

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*<sup>(1)</sup> A deferred sales charge of up to 1.00% may be imposed on purchases of $250,000 or more of Class A shares purchased without a front-end sales charge that are redeemed within 18 months of purchase.*

*<sup>(2)</sup> Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are expenses incurred indirectly by the Fund through its ownership of shares in other investment companies.*

*<sup>(3)</sup> The Fund has entered into an Amended and Restated Expense Waiver and Reimbursement Agreement with the Fund's Adviser pursuant to which the Adviser has contractually agreed to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse the Funds' other expenses to the extent that total operating expenses (exclusive of taxes, interest, dividends on short positions, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and other costs incurred in connection with the purchase or sale of portfolio securities) so that they do not exceed 1.69% of the Fund's average daily net assets allocable to the Class R shares, 1.44% of the Fund's average daily net assets allocable to the Class I shares, and 1.69% of the Fund's average daily net assets allocable to the Class A shares. The agreement remains in effect until September 30, 2026 unless terminated at an earlier time by the Fund's Board of Trustees. The Adviser may recoup any waived amount from the Fund pursuant to the agreement, if such recoupment does not cause the Fund to exceed expense limitations in effect at the time the amounts were waived, the recoupment does not cause the Fund to exceed the current expense limitation and the recoupment is done within three years after the date of the expense waiver.*

Example

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem or hold 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 expenses are equal to the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver for the first year and equal to Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses for the remaining years. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

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| | | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|
| | **1 Year** | **3 Years** | **5 Years** | **10 Years** |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Class R Shares | $174 | $574 | $1000 | $2187 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Class I Shares | $149 | $495 | $866 | $1908 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Class A Shares | $493 | $881 | $1293 | $2441 |

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2 SUMMARY PROSPECTUS \| SEPTEMBER 26 • 2025

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**Portfolio Turnover**

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. During its most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 195% of the average value of its portfolio.

**Principal Investment Strategies**

The Fund invests in equity and debt and debt-like instruments (including high yield bonds commonly known as "junk bonds") of companies whose prices the Fund's investment adviser (the "Adviser") believes are or will be impacted by a corporate event. Specifically, the Fund employs investment strategies designed to capture price movements generated by corporate events such as mergers, acquisitions, asset sales, restructurings, refinancings, recapitalizations, reorganizations, or other special situations (referred to as "event-driven opportunities"). The Fund may invest in both U.S. and foreign securities and may invest in securities of companies of any market capitalization and in debt securities of any maturity. The Fund may also invest in derivatives, such as options and swaps. Furthermore, the Fund may invest in exchange traded funds ("ETFs"). The Adviser expects the Fund's assets to be invested in various industries; however, if, for example, a large percentage (namely, at least 50%) of corporate events taking place within the U.S. are within one industry over a given period of time, a large portion of the Fund's assets could be concentrated in that industry for that period of time.

The Fund may utilize investment strategies such as merger arbitrage, convertible arbitrage, capital structure arbitrage, and special situations in order to profit from event-driven opportunities. These investment strategies are described more fully below.

*Merger Arbitrage:* Merger arbitrage is a highly specialized investment approach designed to profit from the successful completion of mergers, takeovers, tender offers, leveraged buyouts, spin-offs, liquidations, and other corporate reorganizations. The most common merger arbitrage activity, and the approach the Fund generally uses, involves purchasing the shares of an announced acquisition target company at a discount to their expected value upon completion of the acquisition. The Fund may engage in selling securities short when the terms of a proposed acquisition call for the exchange of common stock and/or other securities. In such a case, the securities of the company to be acquired may be purchased and, at approximately the same time, an amount of the acquiring company's common stock and/or other securities as per the terms of the transaction may be sold short.

*Convertible Arbitrage:* Convertible arbitrage is a specialized strategy that seeks to profit from pricing inefficiencies between a firm's convertible securities and its underlying equity. The most common convertible arbitrage approach, and the strategy the Fund generally uses, matches a long position in the convertible security with a short position in the underlying common stock. The Fund seeks to purchase convertible securities at discounts to their expected future values and sell short shares of the underlying common stock in order to mitigate equity market movements. As stock prices rise and the convertible security becomes more equity sensitive, the Fund may sell short additional common shares in order to maintain the relationship between the convertible and the underlying common stock. As stock prices fall, the Fund will typically buy back a portion of shares which it had sold short. Positions are typically designed to earn income from coupon or dividend payments and net gains from the purchase and sale of the convertible securities' positions and the underlying common stocks.

*Capital Structure Arbitrage:* Capital structure arbitrage seeks to profit from relative pricing discrepancies between related debt and/or equity securities. For example, when the Fund believes that unsecured securities are overvalued in relation to senior secured securities, the Fund may purchase a senior secured security of an issuer and sell short an unsecured security of the same issuer. In this example the trade would be profitable if credit quality spreads widened or if the issuer went bankrupt and the recovery rate for the senior debt was higher than anticipated. Another example might involve the Fund purchasing one class of common stock while selling short a different class of common stock of the same issuer. It is expected that, over time, the relative mispricing of the securities may decline, at which point the position will be liquidated.

*Special Situations:* The special situations strategy seeks to profit by investing in securities of companies whose stock price trades significantly higher or lower from where the Adviser believes they should trade, as the result of an ongoing or anticipated corporate catalyst. Corporate catalysts may include spin-offs, split-offs, asset sales, speculative mergers and acquisitions, transformational mergers and acquisitions, Dutch tenders (whereby an offer is made to purchase securities within a given price range through an auction structure, wherein shareholders are invited to sell shares over a specific time period by specifying the lowest price within the range that they will accept), regulatory changes, recapitalizations, refinancings, corporate levering/de-levering, un-solicited hostile offers, litigation, bankruptcy processes, distressed credit, and other catalysts. The strategy invests primarily in equity securities, but may also invest in debt, warrants, debentures, convertible securities, and preferred securities. The strategy may engage in short sales and derivatives to implement trading strategies and to mitigate volatility and market risk.

The Fund generally engages in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities to achieve its principal investment objective. The Fund may sell or close out a security when the securities of the companies involved in the transaction no longer meet the Fund's expected return criteria when gauged by prevailing market prices and the relative risks of the situation. The Fund may hold a significant portion of its assets in cash, money market or similar cash management funds, or short-term investments for defensive purposes, to preserve the Fund's ability to capitalize quickly on new market opportunities, or for other reasons, such as because the Adviser has determined to obtain investment exposure through derivative instruments instead of direct cash investments. The Fund may also hold a significant amount of cash or short-term investments immediately after a period in which several transactions in which the Fund has invested close in a similar timeframe, yet before capital is redeployed to other opportunities. The Fund may, but is not required to, seek to reduce currency risk by hedging part or all of its exposure to various foreign currencies.

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**WATER ISLAND EVENT-DRIVEN FUND**

The Fund is non-diversified, which means that it may invest a greater portion of its assets in one or a limited number of issuers and may invest overall in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.

**Principal Risks**

As with all mutual funds, investing in the Fund entails risks that could cause the Fund and you to lose money. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are as follows:

*Merger Arbitrage Risk:* The principal risk associated with the Fund's merger arbitrage investment strategy is that the proposed corporate reorganizations in which the Fund invests may not be completed or may be completed on less favorable terms than originally anticipated, in which case the Fund may realize losses.

*Short Sale Risk:* The Fund will suffer a loss if it sells a security short and the value of the security rises rather than falls. It is possible that the Fund's long positions will decline in value at the same time that the value of its short positions increases, thereby increasing potential losses to the Fund. Short sales expose the Fund to the risk that it will be required to buy the security sold short (also known as "covering" the short position) at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the Fund. The Fund's investment performance may also suffer if it is required to close out a short position earlier than it had intended. In addition, the Fund may be subject to expenses related to short sales that are not typically associated with investing in securities directly, such as costs of borrowing. These expenses may negatively impact the Fund's performance. When the Fund sells a security short, it must maintain cash or high-grade securities equal to the margin requirement. As a result, the Fund may maintain high levels of cash or other liquid assets (such as U.S. Treasury bills, money market instruments, certificates of deposit, high quality commercial paper, and long equity positions). The need to maintain cash or other liquid assets could limit the Fund's ability to pursue other opportunities as they arise. Short positions introduce more risk to the Fund than long positions (purchases) because the maximum sustainable loss on a security purchased (held long) is limited to the amount paid for the security plus the transaction costs, whereas there is no maximum attainable price of the shorted security. Therefore, in theory, securities sold short have unlimited risk.

*Event-Driven Risk:* Event-driven investments involve the risk that certain of the events driving the investment may not happen or the market may react differently than expected to the anticipated transaction. In addition, although an event may occur or is announced, it may be renegotiated, terminated, or involve a longer time frame than originally contemplated. Event-driven investment transactions are also subject to the risk of overall market movements. Any one of these risks could cause the Fund to experience investment losses, impacting its shares negatively.

*Special Situations Risk:* The Fund may seek to benefit from "special situations," such as mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, bankruptcies, liquidations, reorganizations, restructurings, tender or exchange offers, or other unusual events expected to affect a particular issuer. Investing in special situations carries the risk that certain of such situations may not happen as anticipated or the market may react differently than expected to such situations. The securities of companies involved in special situations may be more volatile than other securities, may at times be illiquid, or may be difficult to value. Certain special situations carry the additional risks inherent in difficult corporate transitions and the securities of such companies may be more likely to lose value than the securities of more stable companies.

*Active Management Risk:* The Fund is an actively managed investment portfolio and is therefore subject to management risk. The Adviser will apply its investment and risk analysis in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there is no guarantee that these decisions will produce the intended results.

*Market Risk:* Market risk is the possibility that securities prices will fluctuate over time, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. Market risk may affect a single issuer, an entire industry, or the market as a whole. Securities markets may experience short-term or even extended periods of heightened volatility and turmoil. These events could have an adverse effect on the value of the Fund's investments, and investors could lose money due to this price fluctuation. The value of a security may decline due to factors that are specifically related to a particular company, as well as general market conditions, such as real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions, inflation rates, changes in interest rates, or adverse investor sentiment. Geopolitical and other risks, including terrorism, war and sanctions, and environmental and public health risks (such as natural disasters, epidemics, and pandemics), may add to instability in world economies and markets generally. This uncertainty could lead to corporate events such as mergers, acquisitions, and restructurings breaking or forcing the Fund to allocate assets to other strategies. The extent and duration of such market disruptions cannot be predicted but could magnify the impact of other risks to the Fund, could adversely affect the Fund's investments, and could result in increased volatility of the Fund's net asset value.

*Sector Risk:* The securities of companies in the same or related businesses ("sectors"), if comprising a significant portion of the Fund's portfolio, may in some circumstances react negatively to market conditions, interest rates and economic, regulatory or financial developments, and may adversely affect the value of the Fund's portfolio, to a greater extent than if such securities comprised a lesser portion of the Fund's portfolio or if the Fund's portfolio was diversified across a greater number of sectors. Some sectors have particular risks that may not affect other sectors.

*Hedging Transaction Risk:* The success of the Fund's hedging strategies will be subject to the Adviser's ability to assess correctly the degree of correlation between the performance of the instruments used in the hedging strategies and the performance of the investments in the Fund's portfolio being hedged. Hedging transactions involve the risk of imperfect correlation. Imperfect correlation may prevent the Fund from achieving the intended hedge or expose the Fund to risk of loss. Hedging transactions also limit the opportunity for gain if the value of a hedged portfolio position should increase.

4 SUMMARY PROSPECTUS \| SEPTEMBER 26 • 2025

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*Derivatives Risk:* In general, a derivative instrument typically involves leverage and provides exposure to potential gain or loss from a change in the market price of the underlying asset (or a basket of assets or an index) in a notional amount that exceeds the amount of cash or assets required to establish or maintain the derivative instrument. Adverse changes in the value or price of the underlying asset (or basket of assets or index), which the Fund may not directly own, can result in a loss to the Fund substantially greater than the amount invested in the derivative itself. The use of derivative instruments also exposes the Fund to additional risks and transaction costs. Derivative instruments come in many varieties and may include forward contracts, options (both written and purchased), and swap contracts.

*Credit Risk:* Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of the security will not be able to make interest or principal payments when due. The Fund may invest in convertible and non-convertible debt securities, including high yield debt securities, also known as "junk bonds." Investments in junk bonds are subject to greater credit risks than securities with credit ratings above investment grade and have a greater risk of default than investment grade debt securities. Junk bonds are less sensitive to interest rate changes than higher credit quality instruments and generally are more sensitive to adverse economic changes or individual corporate developments.

*Convertible Security Risk:* Convertible securities generally offer lower interest or dividend yields than non-convertible securities of similar quality. Because convertible securities are higher in the firm's capital structure than equity, convertible securities are generally not as risky as the equity securities of the same issuer. However, convertible securities may gain or lose value due to changes in interest rates and other general economic conditions, industry fundamentals, market sentiment, and changes in the issuer's operating results and credit ratings.

*Concentration Risk:* If a large percentage of mergers or other corporate events taking place within the U.S. are within one industry over a given period of time, the Fund may invest a large portion of its assets in securities of issuers in a single industry for that period of time. During such a period of concentration, the Fund may be subject to greater volatility with respect to its portfolio securities than a fund that is more broadly diversified.

*Non-Diversification Risk:* The Fund is non-diversified, which means that it may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. As a result, the Fund's performance may be more vulnerable to changes in market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and more susceptible to risks associated with the occurrence of adverse events affecting a particular issuer than a diversified fund.

*Counterparty Risk:* The Fund may enter into various types of derivative contracts with a counterparty that may be privately negotiated in the over-the-counter market. These contracts involve exposure to credit risk because contract performance depends, in part, on the financial condition of the counterparty. If a privately negotiated over-the-counter contract calls for payments by the Fund, the Fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. In addition, if the creditworthiness of the counterparty declines, the Fund may not receive payments owed under the contract, or such payments may be delayed and the value of agreements with the counterparty can be expected to decline, potentially resulting in losses to the Fund.

*Temporary Investment/Cash Management Risk:* The Fund may hold a significant portion of its assets in cash, money market or similar cash management funds, or short-term investments for temporary defensive purposes in response to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, to preserve the Fund's ability to capitalize quickly on new market opportunities or for other reasons, such as because the Adviser has determined to obtain investment exposure through derivative instruments instead of direct cash investments. These investments may include money market funds, money market instruments such as Treasury bills, securities issued by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, bankers' acceptances, commercial paper, and repurchase agreements for the above securities, and investment companies that invest primarily in such instruments. To the extent the Fund maintains cash or holds short-term investments, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective and may also be subject to additional risks, including market, interest rate, and credit risk.

*High Portfolio Turnover Risk:* The Fund normally expects to engage in active and frequent trading and expects to have a high portfolio turnover rate (over 100%). This may increase the Fund's brokerage commission costs, which would reduce performance. Rapid portfolio turnover also exposes shareholders to a higher current realization of short-term gains which could cause you to pay higher taxes.

*Interest Rate Risk:* Prices of debt securities and preferred stocks tend to move inversely with changes in interest rates. When interest rates fall, the market value of the respective debt securities and preferred securities usually increases. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the market value of the respective debt securities and preferred securities usually declines. As such, a change in interest rates may affect prices of the Fund's debt securities and preferred securities and, accordingly, the Fund's share price.

*Liquidity Risk:* Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. Liquidity risk may be the result of, among other things, market turmoil, the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities, or the lack of an active trading market. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, new legislation, or regulatory changes inside or outside the U.S. Liquid investments may become less liquid after being purchased by the Fund, particularly during periods of market stress. To enhance investment value and/or protect shareholder rights, from time to time, the Fund may participate in various types of litigation, including but not limited to shareholder appraisal rights petitions and class action lawsuits. If the Fund exercises its appraisal rights, it may experience limited liquidity on its investment while the subject securities are being appraised. Illiquid and relatively less liquid investments may be harder to value, especially in turbulent markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss.

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**WATER ISLAND EVENT-DRIVEN FUND**

*Options Risk:* Options transactions involve special risks that may make it difficult or impossible to close a position when the Fund desires. These risks include possible imperfect correlation between the price movements of the option and the underlying security; the potential lack of a liquid secondary market at any particular time; and possible price fluctuation limits. In addition, the option activities of the Fund may affect its portfolio turnover rate and the amount of brokerage commissions paid by the Fund.

*Swap Risk:* The Fund may enter into swaps to gain investment exposure to the underlying security or securities in a more efficient or economically attractive manner than direct ownership. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments. The Fund may also enter into credit default or credit default index swaps with qualified broker-dealer counterparties. In a credit default swap, one party typically makes an upfront payment and a stream of payments to another party in exchange for the right to receive a specified return in the event of a default by a referenced entity on its obligation or other credit-related event. The Fund may use swaps for any investment purpose, including as part of a merger arbitrage or event-driven strategy involving pending corporate reorganizations. Certain categories of swap agreements often have terms of greater than seven days and may be considered illiquid. Moreover, the Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. The swaps market is subject to extensive regulation under the Dodd-Frank Act and certain Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission rules promulgated thereunder. It is possible that developments in the swaps market, including new and additional government regulation, could result in higher Fund costs and expenses and could adversely affect the Fund's ability, among other things, to terminate existing swap agreements or to realize amounts to be received under such agreements.

*Small and Medium Capitalization Securities Risk:* Securities issued by small and medium capitalization companies tend to be less liquid and more volatile than stocks of companies with relatively large market capitalizations. These securities may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies. In particular, these small and medium sized companies may have limited product lines, markets, and financial resources, and may depend upon a relatively small management group.

*Investment Company and ETF Risk:* Investing in securities issued by other investment companies, including ETFs, involves risks similar to those of investing directly in the securities and other assets held by the investment company or ETF. The Fund will indirectly bear its pro rata share of the fees and expenses incurred by a fund it invests in, including advisory fees. These expenses are in addition to the advisory and other expenses that the Fund bears directly in connection with its own operations. Unlike shares of typical mutual funds, shares of ETFs are traded on an exchange through a trading day and bought and sold based on market values and not at net asset value. For this reason, shares could trade either at a premium or a discount to net asset value. The trading price of an ETF is expected to closely track the actual net asset value of an ETF, and the Fund will generally gain or lose value consistent with the performance of the ETF's portfolio securities. The Fund will pay brokerage commissions in connection with the purchase and sale of shares of ETFs. An index-based ETF may not replicate exactly the performance of the benchmark index it seeks to track for a number of reasons, including transaction costs incurred by the ETF, the temporary unavailability of certain index securities in the secondary market or discrepancies between the ETF and the index with respect to the weighting of securities or the number of securities held.

*Large Shareholder Transaction Risk:* A significant percentage of the Fund's shares are owned or controlled by certain large shareholders, including another Fund advised by the Adviser. The Fund may experience adverse effects when certain large shareholders purchase or redeem large amounts of shares of the Fund. Such large shareholder redemptions may cause the Fund to sell its securities at times when it would not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund's NAV and liquidity. In addition, a large redemption could result in the Fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the Fund's expense ratio. Similarly, large share purchases may adversely affect the Fund's performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash and is required to maintain a larger cash position than it ordinarily would.

*Foreign Securities Risk:* The securities of foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. The costs associated with securities transactions may be higher in foreign countries than in the U.S. The U.S. dollar value of foreign securities traded in foreign currencies held by the Fund or by funds in which the Fund invests (and any dividends and interest earned) may be affected favorably or unfavorably by changes in foreign currency exchange rates. An increase in the U.S. dollar relative to these other currencies may adversely affect the Fund. Additionally, investments in foreign securities, even those publicly traded in the U.S., may involve risks which are in addition to those inherent in U.S. investments. Foreign companies may not be subject to the same regulatory requirements of U.S. companies, and as a consequence, there may be less publicly available information about such companies. Also, foreign companies may not be subject to uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards and requirements comparable to those applicable to U.S. companies. Foreign governments and foreign economies often are less stable than the U.S. Government and the U.S. economy.

*Leverage Risk:* If the Fund uses leverage through activities such as borrowing, entering into short sales, purchasing securities on margin or on a "when-issued" basis or purchasing derivative instruments in an effort to increase its returns, the Fund has the risk of magnified capital losses that occur when losses affect an asset base, enlarged by borrowings or the creation of liabilities, that exceeds the net assets of the Fund. Should the Fund employ leverage, the Fund's net asset value may be more volatile and sensitive to market movements. Leverage may involve the creation of a liability that requires the Fund to pay interest.

*Currency Risk:* Fluctuations in exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies may negatively affect an investment. Adverse changes in exchange rates may erode or reverse any gains produced by foreign currency denominated investments and may widen any losses. The Fund may, but is not required to, seek to reduce currency risk by hedging part or all of its exposure to various foreign currencies. The return of currency forward and

6 SUMMARY PROSPECTUS \| SEPTEMBER 26 • 2025

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futures contracts utilized for currency hedging may not perfectly offset the actual fluctuations of the foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar and may prevent the Fund from realizing gains from an increase in the value of the currency. In addition to currency risk, currency forward/futures contracts, like other derivatives, may be susceptible to credit risk and other risks.

**Performance Information**

The following information provides some indication of the risks and variability of investing in the Fund by showing how the Fund's performance has varied from year to year and by showing how the Fund's average annual returns for the past one-, five-, ten-year and since inception periods compare with those of the Standard & Poor's 500® Index, ICE BofA U.S. 3-Month Treasury Bill Index and the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.

The bar chart presents the calendar year total returns of the Fund's Class R Shares before taxes. Returns shown in the bar chart do not reflect sales charges applicable to other share classes, which would reduce performance results. The performance table reflects the performance of the Fund's Class R shares before and after taxes and the Fund's Class I and Class A shares before taxes. How the Fund has performed in the past (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Fund's performance would be reduced. Updated information on the Fund's performance can be obtained by visiting www.arbitragefunds.com.

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|:---|:---|
| ![](j25226098_ba008.jpg)  | Year-by-Year Annual Total Returns through December 31, 2024 – Class R Shares<br>During the period shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a quarter was 6.38% during the quarter ended June 30, 2020 and the lowest return for a quarter was -5.89% during the quarter ended September 30, 2015.<br>The year-to-date return of the Fund's Class R shares through June 30, 2025 is 4.18%.<br>While the Class I shares and Class A shares would have substantially similar annual returns to the Class R shares because the shares are invested in the same portfolio of securities, the performance of Class I and Class A shares will differ from that shown since the Classes do not have the same expenses or inception dates. |

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**Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2024**

The table below shows the Fund's average annual total returns for Class R shares, Class I shares, and Class A shares compared with those of the Standard & Poor's 500® Index, ICE BofA U.S. 3-Month Treasury Bill Index and the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The returns in the table below reflect the maximum applicable sales charges for the relevant share class. The table also presents the impact of taxes on the returns of the Fund's Class R shares. After-tax returns are shown for Class R shares only, and after-tax returns for Class I and Class A shares will vary. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. 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 Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. Return after taxes on distributions measures the effect of taxable distributions, but assumes the underlying shares are held for the entire period. Return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares shows the effect of both taxable distributions and any taxable gain or loss that would be realized if the underlying shares were purchased at the beginning and sold at the end of the period (for purposes of the calculation, it is assumed that income dividends and capital gain distributions are reinvested at net asset value and that the entire account is redeemed at the end of the period, including reinvested amounts).

Average Annual Total Returns

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| | | | | |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|
| **WATER ISLAND EVENT-DRIVEN FUND** | **One Year** | **Five Years** | **Ten Years** | **Since**<br> **Inception\*** |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Class R Return Before Taxes | 1.91% | 4.02% | 2.39% | 2.40% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Class R Return After Taxes on Distributions | 1.91% | 3.98% | 2.20% | 1.93% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Class R Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | 1.13% | 3.10% | 1.77% | 1.67% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Class I Return Before Taxes | 2.27% | 4.31% | 2.66% | 2.66% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Class A Return Before Taxes | -1.35% | 3.37% | 2.07% | 1.98% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Standard & Poor's 500® Index\*\* | 25.02% | 14.53% | 13.10% | 14.35% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; ICE BofA U.S. 3-Month Treasury Bill Index\*\*\* | 5.25% | 2.46% | 1.77% | 1.26% |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index\*\*\*\* | 1.25% | -0.33% | 1.35% | 1.95% |

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**WATER ISLAND EVENT-DRIVEN FUND**

*\* The inception date for Class R shares and Class I shares is October 1, 2010 and the inception date for the Class A shares is June 1, 2013. The "Since Inception" returns reflected for the Standard & Poor's 500<sup>®</sup> Index, the ICE BofA U.S. 3-Month Treasury Bill Index and the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index are based on the inception date for Class R shares.*

*\*\* Due to new regulatory requirements, effective May 31, 2024, the Standard & Poor's 500<sup>®</sup> Index became the Fund's broad-based securities market index. The Standard & Poor's 500<sup>®</sup> Index serves as the Fund's regulatory index and provides a broad measure of market performance. The Standard and Poor's 500<sup>®</sup> Index, or simply the S&P 500, is a stock market index tracking the performance of 500 large companies listed on stock exchanges in the U.S.*

*\*\*\* The ICE BofA U.S. 3-Month Treasury Bill Index tracks the performance of the U.S. Treasury Bills publicly issued in the U.S. domestic market with a remaining term to final maturity of less than 3 months.*

*\*\*\*\* The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is a market value-weighted index of investment grade fixed-rated debt issues, including government, corporate, asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities with a maturity of one year or more.*

*The indexes are calculated on a total-return basis, are unmanaged and are not available for direct investment. The indexes reflect no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes. The indexes are not intended to, and do not, parallel the risk or investment style of the Fund's investment strategy.*

*In calculating the federal income taxes due on redemptions, capital gains taxes resulting from redemptions are subtracted from the redemption proceeds and the tax benefits from capital losses resulting from the redemptions are added to the redemption proceeds. Under certain circumstances, the addition of the tax benefits from capital losses resulting from redemptions may cause the Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares to be greater than the Return After Taxes on Distributions or even the Return Before Taxes.*

**Investment Adviser**

Water Island Capital, LLC is the investment adviser ("Adviser") of the Fund.

The Fund is team-managed, with multiple named portfolio managers working in cooperation with the additional members of the Adviser's investment team to make investment decisions for the Fund. While named portfolio managers are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund, the Fund has also designated a lead portfolio manager who is ultimately responsible for managing the Fund in accordance with its investment objective(s) and strategies.

**Portfolio Managers**

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| | **Portfolio Manager Since** |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Matthew Osowiecki (Lead Portfolio Manager) | September 2023 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Roger Foltynowicz, CFA, CAIA | October 2010 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; Gregory Loprete | October 2010 |
| &nbsp;&nbsp; John S. Orrico, CFA | March 2018 |

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**Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares**

*Minimum Investment Amounts Class R Shares* – The minimum initial investment for all types of accounts is $2,000. There is no minimum for subsequent investments other than investments through the Fund's Automatic Investment Plan, which has a $100 minimum for investments.

*Minimum Investment Amounts Class I Shares* – The minimum initial investment for all types of accounts is $100,000. There is no minimum for subsequent investments other than investments through the Fund's Automatic Investment Plan, which has a $100 minimum for investments.

You may conduct transactions by mail (Regular Mail to The Arbitrage Funds, c/o SS&C GIDS, P.O. Box 219842, Kansas City, Missouri 64121-9842, or Express/Overnight Mail to The Arbitrage Funds, c/o SS&C GIDS, 801 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 219842, Kansas City, Missouri 64105), or by telephone at (800) 295-4485. Transactions will only occur on days the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open. Investors who wish to purchase, exchange, or redeem Class R or Class I shares through a broker-dealer should contact the broker-dealer regarding the hours during which orders to purchase, exchange, or sell shares of the Fund may be placed. The Fund's transfer agent is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time for purchase, exchange, or redemption orders.

*Minimum Investment Amounts Class A Shares* – The minimum initial investment for all types of accounts is $2,000. There is no minimum for subsequent investments.

Purchases, exchanges, and redemptions of Class A shares can be made only through institutional channels, such as financial intermediaries and retirement platforms, which have established an agreement with the Fund's distributor. Financial intermediaries may charge additional fees for their services, including ticket and/or transaction fees for processing trades. You should contact your financial intermediary or refer to your plan documents for information on how to invest in the Fund. Requests must be received in good order by the Fund or its agent (financial intermediary or plan sponsor, if applicable) prior to the close of the regular trading session of the NYSE in order to receive that day's net asset value.

8 SUMMARY PROSPECTUS \| SEPTEMBER 26 • 2025

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**Tax Information**

The Fund's distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-exempt or tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case such distributions may be taxable when withdrawn from such account.

**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 website for more information.

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