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Wells Fargo Funds Trust – ‘N-CSR’ for 7/31/16

As of:  Tuesday, 9/27/16   ·   Effective:  9/27/16   ·   For:  7/31/16   ·   Accession #:  1193125-16-721693   ·   File #:  811-09253

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  As Of                Filer                Filing    For·On·As Docs:Size              Issuer               Agent

 9/27/16  Wells Fargo Funds Trust           N-CSR       7/31/16    4:11M                                    RR Donnelley/FAAllspring Disciplined U.S. Core Fund Administrator Class (EVSYX) — Class A (EVSAX) — Class C (EVSTX) — Class R (EVSHX) — Class R6 (EVSRX) — Institutional Class (EVSIX)Allspring Discovery All Cap Growth Fund Administrator Class (EOMYX) — Class A (EKOAX) — Class B (EKOBX) — Class C (EKOCX) — Class R (EKORX) — Institutional Class (EKONX)Allspring Discovery Large Cap Growth Fund Administrator Class (WECDX) — Class A (STAEX) — Class B (WECBX) — Class C (WECCX) — Institutional Class (WFCIX)Allspring Growth Fund Administrator Class (SGRKX) — Class A (SGRAX) — Class C (WGFCX) — Class R6 (SGRHX) — Institutional Class (SGRNX) — Investor Class (SGROX)Allspring Large Cap Core Fund Administrator Class (WFLLX) — Class A (EGOAX) — Class C (EGOCX) — Class R (EGOHX) — Class R6 (EGORX) — Institutional Class (EGOIX) — Investor Class (WFLNX)Allspring Large Cap Growth Fund Administrator Class (STDFX) — Class A (STAFX) — Class C (STOFX) — Class R (STMFX) — Class R4 (SLGRX) — Class R6 (STFFX) — Institutional Class (STNFX) — Investor Class (STRFX)Allspring Large Co. Value Fund Administrator Class (WWIDX) — Class A (WLCAX) — Class C (WFLVX) — Institutional Class (WLCIX) — Investor Class (SDVIX)Allspring Premier Large Co. Growth Fund 8 Classes/ContractsAllspring Special Large Cap Value Fund Administrator Class (EIVDX) — Class A (EIVAX) — Class B (EIVBX) — Class C (EIVCX) — Class R (EIVTX) — Class R4 (EIVRX) — Class R6 (EIVFX) — Institutional Class (EIVIX)Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund Administrator Class (WFCDX) — Class A (WFCGX) — Class C (WFCCX) — Class Inv (SLGIX) — Class R4 (WCGRX) — Class R6 (WFCRX) — Institutional Class (WWCIX)

Certified Annual Shareholder Report by a Management Investment Company   —   Form N-CSR
Filing Table of Contents

Document/Exhibit                   Description                      Pages   Size 

 1: N-CSR       Certified Annual Shareholder Report by a            HTML   4.46M 
                          Management Investment Company                          
 2: EX-99.(A)(1)  Code of Ethics                                    HTML    167K 
 4: EX-99.906CERT  Section 906 Certifications                       HTML      8K 
 3: EX-99.CERT  Section 302 Certifications                          HTML     14K 


N-CSR   —   Certified Annual Shareholder Report by a Management Investment Company
Document Table of Contents

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11st Page   -   Filing Submission
"Table of Contents
"Letter to shareholders
"Performance highlights
"Fund expenses
"Portfolio of investments
"Statement of assets and liabilities
"Statement of operations
"Statement of changes in net assets
"Financial highlights
"Notes to financial statements
"Report of independent registered public accounting firm
"Other information
"List of abbreviations

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  Form N-CSR  
Table of Contents

LOGO

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM N-CSR

 

 

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED

MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number: 811-09253

 

 

Wells Fargo Funds Trust

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

 

 

525 Market St., San Francisco, CA 94105

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

 

 

C. David Messman

Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC

525 Market St., San Francisco, CA 94105

(Name and address of agent for service)

 

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 800-222-8222

Date of fiscal year end: July 31

 

 

Registrant is making a filing for 10 of its series:

Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund, Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund, Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund, Wells Fargo Growth Fund, Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund, Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund, Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund, Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund, Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund, and Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund.

Date of reporting period: July 31, 2016

 

 

 


Table of Contents

ITEM 1. REPORT TO STOCKHOLDERS


Table of Contents

Annual Report

July 31, 2016

 

LOGO

 

Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund

 

LOGO

 

 

LOGO


Table of Contents

Reduce clutter. Save trees.

Sign up for electronic delivery of prospectuses and shareholder reports at wellsfargo.com/advantagedelivery

Contents

 

 

 

Letter to shareholders

    2   

Performance highlights

    6   

Fund expenses

    10   

Portfolio of investments

    11   
Financial statements  

Statement of assets and liabilities

    14   

Statement of operations

    15   

Statement of changes in net assets

    16   

Financial highlights

    17   

Notes to financial statements

    23   

Report of independent registered public accounting firm

    28   

Other information

    29   

List of abbreviations

    35   

 

The views expressed and any forward-looking statements are as of July 31, 2016, unless otherwise noted, and are those of the Fund managers and/or Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. Discussions of individual securities, or the markets generally, or any Wells Fargo Fund are not intended as individual recommendations. Future events or results may vary significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. The views expressed are subject to change at any time in response to changing circumstances in the market. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC and the Fund disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any views expressed or forward-looking statements.

 

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE



Table of Contents

 

2   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

 

LOGO

Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period

 

 

Dear Valued Shareholder:

We are pleased to offer you this annual report for the Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016. During this period, which began August 1, 2015, U.S. and international stock markets experienced heightened volatility, with intermittent rebounds interspersed with sell-offs. The U.S. economy displayed resilience throughout the period, although growth was somewhat sluggish amid ongoing pressures that included slowing growth in China, a strengthening U.S. dollar, and uncertainty regarding interest-rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed); international economies faced deeper ongoing challenges. During June 2016, global markets became especially volatile as the U.K.’s vote over whether to leave the European Union (E.U.) approached. However, markets began recovering shortly after the U.K. voted to leave and rallied through July. Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period, as measured by the Russell 1000® Index.1 International markets generally declined as measured by the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index.2

In the third quarter of 2015, China’s slowdown took a toll on economies and markets worldwide.

U.S. stocks sagged during the quarter, experiencing the most volatility since 2011. Economic data released during the quarter suggested the U.S. economy remained solid but had lost some steam, burdened by the drag of the U.S. dollar’s strength coupled with global economic turmoil. The fact that the Fed left the federal funds interest rate unchanged at its September 2015 meeting surprised investors and fueled increased uncertainty about the U.S. economy’s stamina to remain healthy while facing the challenges of slowing growth in China and troubles elsewhere in the world. Outside the U.S., markets were even more volatile and delivered generally weaker quarterly results, also largely due to investors’ increasing anxiety over China’s weakened economy.

Despite ongoing concerns, U.S. stocks generally rose in the fourth quarter of 2015; international markets lagged.

While the broad U.S. stock market bounced back in the quarter, stock markets outside the U.S. failed to keep pace as economic concerns, including China’s ongoing slowdown, continued to affect many countries. U.S. economic data released during the quarter indicated the economy remained solid, although the strong U.S. dollar and weakness in international economies remained headwinds. In December, the Fed, as expected, raised its target interest rate by 25 basis points (bps; 100 bps equals 1.00%) after keeping it near zero for seven years. The move reflected confidence in the U.S. economy’s ability to stay healthy with less central-bank support. The Fed also clarified that future interest-rate increases would be gradual.

 

 

 

1  The Russell 1000® Index measures the performance of the 1,000 largest companies in the Russell 3000® Index, which represents approximately 92% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000® Index. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

2  Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index is a free-float-adjusted market-capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the United States and Canada. The MSCI EAFE Index consists of the following 21 developed markets country indexes: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. You cannot invest directly in an index.


Table of Contents

 

Letter to shareholders (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund     3   

In the first quarter of 2016, market volatility increased globally amid ongoing concerns.

Stock markets worldwide fluctuated widely in the first quarter of 2016. Most sold off sharply in the first six weeks of the year on concerns such as weak global growth, falling commodity prices, and uncertainty over the timing and impact of the Fed’s interest-rate increases. As the quarter progressed, fears abated somewhat and global markets generally rallied back. The U.S. economy ended the quarter on a positive note as much of the quarter’s data reflected resiliency. With ongoing uncertainties about global growth and financial markets, however, the Fed held off from raising the target interest rate during the quarter. Outside the U.S., the eurozone fell into deflation in February; in response, the European Central Bank announced an expansion of its stimulus program. In China, the government in March set a growth rate of 6.5% to 7.0% for 2016, an acknowledgment of weakening growth. In emerging markets, although central-bank stimulus and improved prices for oil and other commodities led to stock-market rallies in the quarter, many of these countries’ economies face credit downgrades due to challenges such as the likelihood of a stronger U.S. dollar, which would make dollar-denominated debt more expensive.

Worries over interest rates and the U.K.’s vote largely drove the markets during the second quarter of 2016.

U.S. stocks began the quarter in positive territory but started to lose steam in early May on worries that a possible June interest-rate increase by the Fed could hurt the market. In mid-May, stocks briefly plunged following comments by Fed officials noting that a June interest-rate increase remained on the table. But once investors had processed this information, stocks again rallied, finishing up for the month. The first three weeks of June brought heightened volatility, spurred largely by a disappointing jobs report and uncertainty over whether the U.K. would remain in the E.U. The U.K.’s Brexit vote on June 23 shocked countries in Europe and much of the rest of the world. Stock markets plummeted as investors worried that the U.K.’s departure from the E.U. would slow global growth and prolong the low-interest-rate environment. Following the initial rout, however, U.S. stocks rallied as investors seemed to decide that any negative effects would be more localized and not create a serious risk for global growth. By quarter-end, the broad U.S. stock market had moved back into positive territory.

Stocks generally posted positive results for July 2016.

U.S. stocks displayed the most momentum during the first two weeks of the month, buoyed partly by an unexpectedly favorable June jobs report that helped strengthen confidence in the U.S. economy. Also, investors perhaps felt that global central banks could extend stimulus measures in the wake of the Brexit vote. Although U.S. market momentum slowed during the second half of July, stocks ended in positive territory for the month. International stocks delivered positive monthly results as well.

    

 


Table of Contents

 

4   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

Don’t let short-term uncertainty derail long-term investment goals.

Periods of uncertainty can present challenges, but experience has taught us that maintaining long-term investment goals can be an effective way to plan for the future. To help you create a sound strategy based on your personal goals and risk tolerance, Wells Fargo Funds offers more than 100 mutual funds spanning a wide range of asset classes and investment styles. Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance. We encourage investors to know their investments and to understand that appropriate levels of risk-taking may unlock opportunities.

Thank you for choosing to invest in Wells Fargo Funds. We appreciate your confidence in us and remain committed to helping you meet your financial needs.

Sincerely,

 

LOGO

Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance.

 

 

 

 

For further information about your Fund, contact your investment professional, visit our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or call us directly at 1-800-222-8222. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


Table of Contents

 

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Table of Contents

 

6   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

Investment objective

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Manager

Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC

Subadviser

Wells Capital Management Incorporated

Portfolio managers

Michael T. Smith, CFA®

Chris Warner, CFA®

Average annual total returns (%) as of July 31, 20161

 

        Including sales charge     Excluding sales charge     Expense ratios2 (%)  
    Inception date   1 year     5 year     10 year     1 year     5 year     10 year     Gross     Net3  
Class A (WFCGX)   7-31-2007     (5.04     9.34        6.01        0.75        10.64        6.64        1.22        1.11   
Class C (WFCCX)   7-31-2007     (1.00     9.81        5.87        0.00        9.81        5.87        1.97        1.86   
Class R4 (WCGRX)   11-30-2012                          1.03        11.03        7.10        0.94        0.75   
Class R6 (WFCRX)   11-30-2012                          1.20        11.17        7.17        0.79        0.60   
Administrator Class (WFCDX)   6-30-2003                          0.88        10.86        6.91        1.14        0.94   
Institutional Class (WWCIX)   4-8-2005                          1.09        11.14        7.16        0.89        0.70   
Russell 1000® Growth Index4                            4.35        13.62        9.50                 

Figures quoted represent past performance, which is no guarantee of future results, and do not reflect taxes that a shareholder may pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Performance shown without sales charges would be lower if sales charges were reflected. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted, which assumes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. Current month-end performance is available on the Fund’s website, wellsfargofunds.com.

Index returns do not include transaction costs associated with buying and selling securities, any mutual fund fees or expenses, or any taxes. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

For Class A shares, the maximum front-end sales charge is 5.75%. For Class C shares, the maximum contingent deferred sales charge is 1.00%. Performance including a contingent deferred sales charge assumes the sales charge for the corresponding time period. Class R4, Class R6, Administrator Class, and Institutional Class shares are sold without a front-end sales charge or contingent deferred sales charge.

Stock values fluctuate in response to the activities of individual companies and general market and economic conditions. Certain investment strategies tend to increase the total risk of an investment (relative to the broader market). The Fund is exposed to foreign investment risk. Consult the Fund’s prospectus for additional information on these and other risks.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


Table of Contents

 

Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund     7   
Growth of $10,000 investment as of July 31, 20165
LOGO

 

 

 

 

 

 

1  Historical performance shown for Class A shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of the former Investor Class shares, and includes the higher expenses applicable to the former Investor Class shares. If these expenses had not been included, returns would be higher. Historical performance shown for Class C shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of the former Investor Class shares, adjusted to reflect the higher expenses applicable to Class C shares. Historical performance shown for Class R4 shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of Institutional Class shares, adjusted to reflect the higher expenses applicable to Class R4 shares. Historical performance shown for Class R6 shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of Institutional Class shares, and includes the higher expenses applicable to Institutional Class shares. If these expenses had not been included, returns would be higher.

 

2  Reflects the expense ratios as stated in the most recent prospectuses. The expense ratios shown are subject to change and may differ from the annualized expense ratios shown in the financial highlights of this report.

 

3  The manager has contractually committed through November 30, 2016, to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at the amounts shown. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Brokerage commissions, stamp duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses are excluded from the cap. Without this cap, the Fund’s returns would have been lower.

 

4  The Russell 1000® Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

5  The chart compares the performance of Class A shares for the most recent ten years with the Russell 1000® Growth Index. The chart assumes a hypothetical investment of $10,000 in Class A shares and reflects all operating expenses and assumes the maximum initial sales charge of 5.75%.

 

6  The ten largest holdings, excluding cash and cash equivalents, are calculated based on the value of the investments divided by total net assets of the Fund. Holdings are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.

 

7  Amounts are calculated based on the total long-term investments of the Fund. These amounts are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.


Table of Contents

 

8   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

MANAGER’S DISCUSSION

Fund highlights

n   The Fund underperformed its benchmark, the Russell 1000® Growth Index, for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016.

 

n   Stock selection in the information technology (IT) and telecommunication services sectors detracted from performance.

 

n   Stock selection within the health care and consumer discretionary sectors benefited performance.

Over the 12-month period, an elevated level of uncertainty was visible in the U.S. stock market as global economic data and geopolitical events led many investors to reexamine their tolerance for risk; as a result, U.S. stocks at times traded more on emotion and fear than on company-specific fundamentals. In this environment, investors generally tended to prefer yield and defensive stocks, often referred to as bond proxies. These market dynamics were more pronounced in international markets, where economic activity generally was more tepid and geopolitical events caused greater uncertainty.

 

Ten largest holdings (%) as of July 31, 20166  

Alphabet Incorporated Class A

     6.27   

Amazon.com Incorporated

     4.83   

Facebook Incorporated Class A

     4.50   

Apple Incorporated

     4.05   

Visa Incorporated Class A

     3.66   

The Home Depot Incorporated

     3.62   

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated

     3.14   

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

     2.89   

Constellation Brands Incorporated Class A

     2.59   

Starbucks Corporation

     2.50   

The Fund’s IT and telecommunication services holdings weighed on performance relative to the Russell 1000® Growth Index.

Within the IT sector, stock selection within the semiconductor and semiconductor-equipment industry detracted from returns. Also, a combination of company-specific issues and concerns over corporate IT spending pressured Fund holdings in the software industry. Tableau Software, Incorporated, which develops data-visualization software, reported disappointing results driven by an unexpected decline in licensing revenue. As a result, Tableau’s shares declined sharply. After reevaluating our investment thesis, we exited the position in favor of other opportunities in which we had

 

higher conviction. Enterprise-security company Palo Alto Networks, Incorporated, also detracted from performance. While network security remains a priority for businesses, companies in this industry, including Palo Alto, have fallen victim to difficult earnings comparisons following the elevated level of growth they experienced in the wake of several high-profile cyberattacks. While Palo Alto reported better-than-expected revenue growth during the period, the company stated that earnings growth likely will decelerate in the near term because macroeconomic challenges have become more pronounced. We sold the Fund’s position in Palo Alto during the period given that the company had approached our valuation target, its fundamentals were likely to decelerate, and we saw few near-term catalysts.

Within the telecommunication services sector, the Fund’s position in SBA Communications Corporation, a cell-tower operator in the U.S. and abroad, detracted from performance. SBA’s growth rate declined due to weaker-than-expected capital spending by large wireless carriers and concerns about the company’s use of debt in a volatile credit market. Given the change in SBA’s fundamentals, we exited the Fund’s position in the stock.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


Table of Contents

 

Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund     9   
Sector distribution as of July 31, 20167
LOGO

Stock selection in the health care sector aided Fund performance.

Innovative medical-equipment companies delivered favorable results. The Fund’s position in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, which focuses on technologies to treat heart disease and is a leader in the market for transcatheter heart valves (THV), reported strong results driven by a significant increase in its THV sales. THV, a $3 billion market, is likely to grow as THV is a minimally invasive and effective approach for replacing heart valves. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, the largest managed-care company, also contributed to performance, delivering earnings that beat expectations. Much of UnitedHealth’s revenue growth has been driven

 

by its Optum division, which handles pharmacy benefits and health services and enjoys a leadership position in the important field of health care data analytics. Optum helped drive the strong quarterly results by posting a sharp gain in revenue. The managed-care industry has been in flux as several of UnitedHealth’s competitors have been dealing with issues around proposed mergers. UnitedHealth has remained focused on its core business and avoided merger distractions, enabling the company to build market share in a competitive industry.

Recent market dynamics support our confidence in the Fund’s positioning.

The world presently faces a range of complex and substantial issues. As a result, investors often become preoccupied with worries about the global economic and geopolitical outlooks. Because we share many of these concerns, we have taken a cautious approach within the Fund. We have intentionally shifted toward higher-quality companies with stable cash flows; this positioning reflects the impact that macro factors could have on individual holdings. We acknowledge the importance of risk management in an era of uncertainty.

That being said, however, our process will remain focused on the micro. While valuations of the Fund’s holdings can fluctuate, the fundamentals of these companies, in our view, are underpinned by innovation and strong managements as well as by potentially profitable business models and durable growth. We believe these businesses may be relatively immune to economic uncertainty and therefore could be able to command a scarcity premium. These companies also tend to have visible, durable earnings growth, which indicates their stock prices ultimately could follow the same trajectory. We have been encouraged by recent market activity, which has shown signs of this condition playing out.

Scarcity is a key dimension in our view of the investing landscape. We believe the root cause of many of the world’s problems is a lack of healthy economic growth; however, the scarcity premium for secular earnings growth has yet to meaningfully unfold. We believe this time lag creates an attractive opportunity, as many of the Fund’s positions have underperformed relative to their actual earnings-growth rates; if investors are like thirsty desert travelers, the Fund’s fundamentally strong holdings could be viewed as an oasis on the horizon.

We believe the U.S. economy is on stable footing with attractive growth relative to much of the world. However, we remain mindful of the duration of economic cycles and the ongoing challenge for the U.S. economy to find a higher altitude. Therefore, we maintain a healthy allocation to high-quality core holdings and remain underweight stocks with high economic sensitivity. While consumer spending has not been overly robust, strength has continued in areas such as value retailing, ecommerce, leisure, and housing. These consumer themes, along with innovation in high-growth IT and health care, are well represented in the Fund.

Government spending appears poised to expand in areas such as infrastructure and defense. Although corporations remain cautious on capital spending, the severe headwinds of a strong U.S. dollar and low oil prices appear to be easing and could provide for better-than-expected earnings growth. Overall, we believe the U.S. stock market likely will be supported by a slowly improving economy, giving growth stocks a potential opportunity to stand out from the crowd.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


Table of Contents

 

10   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund   Fund expenses (unaudited)

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments and contingent deferred sales charges (if any) on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees, distribution (12b-1) and/or shareholder servicing fees, and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the six-month period and held for the entire period from February 1, 2016 to July 31, 2016.

Actual expenses

The “Actual” line of the table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the “Actual” line under the heading entitled “Expenses paid during period” for your applicable class of shares to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical example for comparison purposes

The “Hypothetical” line of the table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads) and contingent deferred sales charges. Therefore, the “Hypothetical” line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

     Beginning
account value
2-1-2016
     Ending
account value
7-31-2016
     Expenses
paid during
the period¹
     Annualized net
expense ratio
 

Class A

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,107.69       $ 5.37         1.02

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,019.77       $ 5.14         1.02

Class C

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,103.50       $ 9.18         1.75

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,016.14       $ 8.79         1.75

Class R4

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,108.22       $ 3.93         0.75

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,021.13       $ 3.77         0.75

Class R6

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,108.90       $ 3.15         0.60

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,021.88       $ 3.02         0.60

Administrator Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,108.07       $ 4.93         0.94

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,020.19       $ 4.72         0.94

Institutional Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,109.26       $ 3.67         0.70

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,021.38       $ 3.52         0.70

 

 

1 Expenses paid is equal to the annualized net expense ratio of each class multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the most recent fiscal half-year divided by the number of days in the fiscal year (to reflect the one-half-year period).


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund     11   

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  

Common Stocks: 99.75%

          

Consumer Discretionary: 27.58%

          
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure: 8.92%           

Aramark

          79,000       $ 2,832,146   

McDonald’s Corporation

          48,250         5,676,613   

Starbucks Corporation

          119,241         6,921,940   

Wynn Resorts Limited «

          32,350         3,168,683   

Yum! Brands Incorporated

          67,800         6,062,676   
     24,662,058   
  

 

 

 
Internet & Catalog Retail: 4.83%           

Amazon.com Incorporated †

          17,605         13,358,850   
  

 

 

 
Media: 1.67%           

Charter Communications Incorporated Class A †

          19,600         4,603,452   
  

 

 

 
Multiline Retail: 1.79%           

Dollar General Corporation

          52,200         4,945,428   
  

 

 

 
Specialty Retail: 9.08%           

O’Reilly Automotive Incorporated †

          17,300         5,027,899   

The Home Depot Incorporated

          72,333         9,999,314   

The TJX Companies Incorporated

          74,910         6,121,645   

ULTA Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Incorporated †

          15,150         3,957,332   
     25,106,190   
  

 

 

 
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods: 1.29%           

Coach Incorporated

          82,500         3,556,575   
  

 

 

 

Consumer Staples: 10.21%

          
Beverages: 6.91%           

Constellation Brands Incorporated Class A

          43,484         7,158,771   

Dr Pepper Snapple Group Incorporated

          56,800         5,595,368   

Monster Beverage Corporation †

          39,450         6,336,854   
     19,090,993   
  

 

 

 
Household Products: 0.93%           

The Procter & Gamble Company

          30,100         2,576,259   
  

 

 

 
Tobacco: 2.37%           

Reynolds American Incorporated

          130,750         6,545,345   
  

 

 

 

Financials: 3.53%

          
Diversified Financial Services: 3.53%           

Intercontinental Exchange Incorporated

          19,395         5,124,159   

S&P Global Incorporated

          37,913         4,632,969   
     9,757,128   
  

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

12   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund   Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  

Health Care: 15.34%

          
Biotechnology: 2.52%           

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Incorporated †

          13,750       $ 1,768,250   

Biogen Incorporated †

          10,500         3,044,265   

Celgene Corporation †

          19,300         2,165,267   
     6,977,782   
  

 

 

 
Health Care Equipment & Supplies: 4.44%           

Baxter International Incorporated

          84,450         4,055,289   

Boston Scientific Corporation †

          141,650         3,439,262   

Intuitive Surgical Incorporated †

          6,850         4,765,956   
             12,260,507   
  

 

 

 
Health Care Providers & Services: 3.14%           

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated

          60,600         8,677,920   
  

 

 

 
Pharmaceuticals: 5.24%           

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

          106,688         7,981,329   

Eli Lilly & Company

          26,250         2,175,863   

Novo Nordisk A/S ADR

          75,850         4,321,175   
             14,478,367   
  

 

 

 

Industrials: 6.17%

          
Airlines: 1.02%           

Delta Air Lines Incorporated

          72,975         2,827,781   
  

 

 

 
Electrical Equipment: 1.30%           

Acuity Brands Incorporated

          13,650         3,582,170   
  

 

 

 
Professional Services: 1.15%           

Verisk Analytics Incorporated †

          37,200         3,172,416   
  

 

 

 
Road & Rail: 2.70%           

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Incorporated

          32,800         2,726,664   

Kansas City Southern

          49,350         4,743,029   
             7,469,693   
  

 

 

 

Information Technology: 34.77%

          
Communications Equipment: 1.83%           

Harris Corporation

          58,450         5,062,939   
  

 

 

 
Internet Software & Services: 12.48%           

Alphabet Incorporated Class A †

          21,908         17,336,677   

Facebook Incorporated Class A †

          100,274         12,427,960   

Tencent Holdings Limited ADR

          195,900         4,740,780   
             34,505,417   
  

 

 

 
IT Services: 7.83%           

Fidelity National Information Services Incorporated

          81,300         6,465,789   

PayPal Holdings Incorporated †

          136,200         5,072,088   

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund     13   

      

 

 

Security name                Shares      Value  
IT Services (continued)          

Visa Incorporated Class A

         129,583       $ 10,113,953   
            21,651,830   
  

 

 

 
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment: 1.62%          

Broadcom Limited

         27,600         4,470,648   
  

 

 

 
Software: 6.96%          

Adobe Systems Incorporated †

         54,050         5,289,333   

Electronic Arts Incorporated †

         62,200         4,747,104   

Salesforce.com Incorporated †

         56,630         4,632,334   

ServiceNow Incorporated †

         60,780         4,553,638   
            19,222,409   
  

 

 

 
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals: 4.05%          

Apple Incorporated

         107,326         11,184,442   
  

 

 

 

Materials: 2.15%

         
Chemicals: 2.15%          

The Sherwin-Williams Company

         19,850         5,949,641   
  

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks (Cost $204,082,906)

            275,696,240   
  

 

 

 
    Yield                      
Short-Term Investments: 3.31%          
Investment Companies: 3.31%          

Securities Lending Cash Investments LLC (l)(r)(u)

    0.50        2,439,600         2,439,600   

Wells Fargo Government Money Market Fund Select Class (l)(u)

    0.32           6,708,393         6,708,393   

Total Short-Term Investments (Cost $9,147,993)

            9,147,993        
         

 

 

 

 

Total investments in securities (Cost $213,230,899) *     103.06        284,844,233   

Other assets and liabilities, net

    (3.06        (8,449,782
 

 

 

      

 

 

 
Total net assets     100.00      $ 276,394,451   
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

« All or a portion of this security is on loan.

 

Non-income-earning security

 

(l) The issuer of the security is an affiliated person of the Fund as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

(r) The investment is a non-registered investment vehicle purchased with cash collateral received from securities on loan.

 

(u) The rate represents the 7-day annualized yield at period end.

 

* Cost for federal income tax purposes is $213,936,225 and unrealized gains (losses) consists of:

 

Gross unrealized gains

   $ 72,420,249   

Gross unrealized losses

     (1,512,241
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized gains

   $ 70,908,008   

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

14   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund   Statement of assets and liabilities—July 31, 2016
    

Assets

 

Investments

 

In unaffiliated securities (including $2,233,260 of securities loaned), at value (cost $204,082,906)

  $ 275,696,240   

In affiliated securities, at value (cost $9,147,993)

    9,147,993   
 

 

 

 

Total investments, at value (cost $213,230,899)

    284,844,233   

Receivable for Fund shares sold

    148,539   

Receivable for dividends

    96,835   

Receivable for securities lending income

    1,034   

Prepaid expenses and other assets

    43,866   
 

 

 

 

Total assets

    285,134,507   
 

 

 

 

Liabilities

 

Payable for investments purchased

    5,959,071   

Payable for Fund shares redeemed

    102,153   

Payable upon receipt of securities loaned

    2,439,600   

Management fee payable

    120,700   

Distribution fee payable

    2,133   

Administration fees payable

    23,658   

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

    92,741   
 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

    8,740,056   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 276,394,451   
 

 

 

 

NET ASSETS CONSIST OF

 

Paid-in capital

  $ 206,913,226   

Accumulated net realized losses on investments

    (2,132,109

Net unrealized gains on investments

    71,613,334   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 276,394,451   
 

 

 

 

COMPUTATION OF NET ASSET VALUE AND OFFERING PRICE PER SHARE

 

Net assets – Class A

  $ 77,648,467   

Shares outstanding – Class A1

    5,136,651   

Net asset value per share – Class A

    $15.12   

Maximum offering price per share – Class A2

    $16.04   

Net assets – Class C

  $ 3,415,181   

Shares outstanding – Class C1

    252,254   

Net asset value per share – Class C

    $13.54   

Net assets – Class R4

  $ 15,723   

Share outstanding – Class R41

    948   

Net asset value per share – Class R4

    $16.59   

Net assets – Class R6

  $ 140,581,115   

Shares outstanding – Class R61

    8,416,156   

Net asset value per share – Class R6

    $16.70   

Net assets – Administrator Class

  $ 31,063,665   

Shares outstanding – Administrator Class1

    1,917,879   

Net asset value per share – Administrator Class

    $16.20   

Net assets – Institutional Class

  $ 23,670,300   

Shares outstanding – Institutional Class1

    1,421,568   

Net asset value per share – Institutional Class

    $16.65   

 

 

 

 

1  The Fund has an unlimited number of authorized shares.

 

2  Maximum offering price is computed as 100/94.25 of net asset value. On investments of $50,000 or more, the offering price is reduced.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Statement of operations—year ended July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund     15   
    

Investment income

 

Dividends (net of foreign withholding taxes of $10,409)

  $ 2,325,682   

Securities lending income, net

    22,146   

Income from affiliated securities

    12,094   
 

 

 

 

Total investment income

    2,359,922   
 

 

 

 

Expenses

 

Management fee

    1,984,076   

Administration fees

 

Class A

    140,288   

Class C

    7,550   

Class R4

    11   

Class R6

    42,565   

Administrator Class

    39,813   

Institutional Class

    29,974   

Investor Class

    55,871 1 

Shareholder servicing fees

 

Class A

    166,659   

Class C

    8,987   

Class R4

    15   

Administrator Class

    76,563   

Investor Class

    43,445 1 

Distribution fee

 

Class C

    26,962   

Custody and accounting fees

    25,646   

Professional fees

    42,968   

Registration fees

    98,235   

Shareholder report expenses

    27,963   

Trustees’ fees and expenses

    23,176   

Other fees and expenses

    19,340   
 

 

 

 

Total expenses

    2,860,107   

Less: Fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements

    (589,695
 

 

 

 

Net expenses

    2,270,412   
 

 

 

 

Net investment income

    89,510   
 

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAINS (LOSSES) ON INVESTMENTS

 

Net realized losses on investments

    (424,974

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    701,484   
 

 

 

 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    276,510   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets resulting from operations

  $ 366,020   
 

 

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from August 1, 2015 to October 23, 2015. Effective at the close of business on October 23, 2015, Investor Class shares were converted to Class A shares and are no longer offered by the Fund.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

16   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund   Statement of changes in net assets
     Year ended
July 31, 2016
    Year ended
July 31, 2015
 

Operations

     

Net investment income (loss)

    $ 89,510        $ (385,156

Net realized gains (losses) on investments

      (424,974       55,955,753   

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

      701,484          (17,785,562
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets resulting from operations

      366,020          37,785,035   
 

 

 

 

Distributions to shareholders from

     

Net realized gains

       

Class A

      (12,289,754       (4,805,732

Class C

      (556,329       (1,397,806

Class R4

      (1,876       (3,693

Class R6

      (18,521,143       (36,912,629

Administrator Class

      (4,001,022       (9,378,628

Institutional Class

      (3,150,712       (12,743,781

Investor Class

      0 1        (24,364,369
 

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

      (38,520,836       (89,606,638
 

 

 

 

Capital share transactions

    Shares          Shares     

Proceeds from shares sold

       

Class A

    4,787,904        79,683,106        91,633        1,687,079   

Class C

    37,860        527,959        74,996        1,252,857   

Class R6

    958,376        15,871,334        698,773        13,635,803   

Administrator Class

    179,863        2,841,546        196,115        3,846,348   

Institutional Class

    571,120        9,788,878        569,045        11,364,181   

Investor Class

    45,169 1      724,606 1      429,740        7,934,159   
 

 

 

 
      109,437,429          39,720,427   
 

 

 

 

Reinvestment of distributions

       

Class A

    842,773        12,076,915        283,053        4,667,546   

Class C

    37,294        480,716        78,077        1,185,209   

Class R4

    120        1,876        208        3,693   

Class R6

    1,172,966        18,521,143        2,067,934        36,912,629   

Administrator Class

    259,809        3,985,470        533,599        9,316,635   

Institutional Class

    188,296        2,965,655        349,997        6,236,949   

Investor Class

    0 1      0 1      1,450,130        23,680,615   
 

 

 

 
      38,031,775          82,003,276   
 

 

 

 

Payment for shares redeemed

       

Class A

    (1,479,556     (21,274,728     (259,975     (4,889,075

Class C

    (87,529     (1,218,466     (118,419     (1,921,172

Class R6

    (1,823,127     (29,216,949     (985,710     (19,513,578

Administrator Class

    (415,047     (6,710,672     (1,888,744     (41,533,388

Institutional Class

    (536,405     (8,726,371     (1,930,743     (37,357,917

Investor Class

    (4,836,074 )1      (80,008,660 )1      (1,294,319     (23,062,370
 

 

 

 
      (147,155,846       (128,277,500
 

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from capital share transactions

      313,358          (6,553,797
 

 

 

 

Total decrease in net assets

      (37,841,458       (58,375,400
 

 

 

 

Net assets

   

Beginning of period

      314,235,909          372,611,309   
 

 

 

 

End of period

    $ 276,394,451        $ 314,235,909   
 

 

 

 

Undistributed (accumulated) net investment income (loss)

    $ 0        $ (359,429
 

 

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from August 1, 2015 to October 23, 2015. Effective at the close of business on October 23, 2015, Investor Class shares were converted to Class A shares and are no longer offered by the Fund.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund     17   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS A   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $17.38        $21.31        $19.87        $16.74        $16.25   

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.03 )1      (0.07 )1      (0.10 )1      0.00 1,2      (0.05 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    0.04        2.09        3.79        3.43        0.54   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    0.01        2.02        3.69        3.43        0.49   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    0.00        0.00        (0.02     0.00        0.00   

Net realized gains

    (2.27     (5.95     (2.23     (0.30     0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (2.27     (5.95     (2.25     (0.30     0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $15.12        $17.38        $21.31        $19.87        $16.74   

Total return3

    0.75     11.00     19.09     20.85     3.02

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.24     1.27     1.26     1.26     1.21

Net expenses

    1.06     1.11     1.11     1.14     1.20

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.18 )%      (0.39 )%      (0.46 )%      0.01     (0.30 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    85     114     94     107     116

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $77,648        $17,126        $18,561        $16,390        $17,784   

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Amount is less than $0.005.

 

3 Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

18   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS C   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $15.92        $20.12        $18.98        $16.12        $15.77   

Net investment loss

    (0.13 )1      (0.20 )1      (0.24 )1      (0.13 )1      (0.16 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    0.02        1.95        3.61        3.29        0.51   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.11     1.75        3.37        3.16        0.35   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (2.27     (5.95     (2.23     (0.30     0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $13.54        $15.92        $20.12        $18.98        $16.12   

Total return2

    0.00     10.15     18.21     19.97     2.22

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.99     2.02     2.01     2.01     1.96

Net expenses

    1.81     1.86     1.86     1.89     1.95

Net investment loss

    (0.98 )%      (1.14 )%      (1.20 )%      (0.73 )%      (1.05 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    85     114     94     107     116

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $3,415        $4,212        $4,628        $4,503        $6,042   

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2 Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund     19   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS R4   2016     2015     2014     20131  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $18.79        $22.52        $20.83        $18.22   

Net investment income (loss)

    0.01 2      (0.01 )2      (0.02     0.05   

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    0.06        2.23        3.99        2.95   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    0.07        2.22        3.97        3.00   

Distributions to shareholders from

       

Net investment income

    0.00        0.00        (0.05     (0.09

Net realized gains

    (2.27     (5.95     (2.23     (0.30
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (2.27     (5.95     (2.28     (0.39

Net asset value, end of period

    $16.59        $18.79        $22.52        $20.83   

Total return3

    1.03     11.35     19.56     16.86

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

       

Gross expenses

    0.93     0.91     0.91     0.90

Net expenses

    0.75     0.75     0.75     0.75

Net investment income (loss)

    0.08     (0.04 )%      (0.10 )%      0.37

Supplemental data

       

Portfolio turnover rate

    85     114     94     107

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $16        $16        $14        $12   

 

 

1  For the period from November 30, 2012 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2013

 

2  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

3  Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

20   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS R6   2016     2015     2014     20131  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $18.87        $22.56        $20.85        $18.22   

Net investment income

    0.04 2      0.02        0.00 2,3      0.07   

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    0.06        2.24        4.00        2.95   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    0.10        2.26        4.00        3.02   

Distributions to shareholders from

       

Net investment income

    0.00        0.00        (0.06     (0.09

Net realized gains

    (2.27     (5.95     (2.23     (0.30
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (2.27     (5.95     (2.29     (0.39

Net asset value, end of period

    $16.70        $18.87        $22.56        $20.85   

Total return4

    1.20     11.54     19.71     16.99

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

       

Gross expenses

    0.81     0.79     0.78     0.79

Net expenses

    0.60     0.60     0.60     0.60

Net investment income

    0.23     0.11     0.01     0.52

Supplemental data

       

Portfolio turnover rate

    85     114     94     107

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $140,581        $153,009        $142,754        $58   

 

 

1  For the period from November 30, 2012 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2013

 

2  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

3  Amount is less than $0.005 per share.

 

4  Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund     21   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
ADMINISTRATOR CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $18.43        $22.22        $20.61        $17.32        $16.77   

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.01 )1      (0.03 )1      (0.05 )1      0.04 1      (0.00 )1,2 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    0.05        2.19        3.93        3.55        0.55   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    0.04        2.16        3.88        3.59        0.55   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    0.00        0.00        (0.04     0.00        0.00   

Net realized gains

    (2.27     (5.95     (2.23     (0.30     0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (2.27     (5.95     (2.27     (0.30     0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $16.20        $18.43        $22.22        $20.61        $17.32   

Total return

    0.88     11.22     19.35     21.15     3.22

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.16     1.11     1.09     1.09     1.05

Net expenses

    0.93     0.90     0.90     0.91     0.94

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.09 )%      (0.16 )%      (0.24 )%      0.24     (0.01 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    85     114     94     107     116

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $31,064        $34,886        $67,830        $63,786        $74,529   

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Amount is less than $0.005.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

22   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
INSTITUTIONAL CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $18.84        $22.54        $20.84        $17.56        $16.96   

Net investment income

    0.03 1      0.02 1      0.01 1      0.09 1      0.03 1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    0.05        2.23        4.00        3.58        0.57   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    0.08        2.25        4.01        3.67        0.60   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    0.00        0.00        (0.08     (0.09     0.00   

Net realized gains

    (2.27     (5.95     (2.23     (0.30     0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (2.27     (5.95     (2.31     (0.39     0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $16.65        $18.84        $22.54        $20.84        $17.56   

Total return

    1.09     11.50     19.76     21.42     3.48

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    0.91     0.84     0.82     0.82     0.78

Net expenses

    0.68     0.65     0.65     0.67     0.70

Net investment income

    0.16     0.09     0.05     0.46     0.21

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    85     114     94     107     116

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $23,670        $22,578        $49,816        $331,310        $543,933   

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund     23   

1. ORGANIZATION

Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”), a Delaware statutory trust organized on March 10, 1999, is an open-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). As an investment company, the Trust follows the accounting and reporting guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946, Financial Services – Investment Companies. These financial statements report on the Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund (the “Fund”) which is a diversified series of the Trust.

Effective at the close of business on October 23, 2015, Investor Class shares became Class A shares in a tax-free conversion. Shareholders of Investor Class received Class A shares at a value equal to the value of their Investor Class shares immediately prior to the conversion. Investor Class shares are no longer offered by the Fund.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The following significant accounting policies, which are consistently followed in the preparation of the financial statements of the Fund, are in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles which require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Securities valuation

All investments are valued each business day as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (generally 4 p.m. Eastern Time), although the Fund may deviate from this calculation time under unusual or unexpected circumstances.

Equity securities that are listed on a foreign or domestic exchange or market are valued at the official closing price or, if none, the last sales price. If no sale occurs on the principal exchange or market that day, the prior day’s price will be deemed “stale” and a fair value price will be determined in accordance with the Fund’s Valuation Procedures.

Investments in registered open-end investment companies are valued at net asset value. Interests in non-registered investment vehicles that are redeemable at net asset value are fair valued normally at net asset value.

Investments which are not valued using any of the methods discussed above are valued at their fair value, as determined in good faith by the Board of Trustees of the Fund. The Board of Trustees has established a Valuation Committee comprised of the Trustees and has delegated to it the authority to take any actions regarding the valuation of portfolio securities that the Valuation Committee deems necessary or appropriate, including determining the fair value of portfolio securities, unless the determination has been delegated to the Management Valuation Team of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”). The Board of Trustees retains the authority to make or ratify any valuation decisions or approve any changes to the Valuation Procedures as it deems appropriate. On a quarterly basis, the Board of Trustees receives reports on any valuation actions taken by the Valuation Committee or the Management Valuation Team which may include items for ratification.

Valuations of fair valued securities are compared to the next actual sales price when available, or other appropriate market values, to assess the continued appropriateness of the fair valuation methodologies used. These securities are fair valued on a day-to-day basis, taking into consideration changes to appropriate market information and any significant changes to the inputs considered in the valuation process until there is a readily available price provided on an exchange or by an independent pricing service. Valuations received from an independent pricing service or independent broker-dealer quotes are periodically validated by comparisons to most recent trades and valuations provided by other independent pricing services in addition to the review of prices by the manager and/or subadviser. Unobservable inputs used in determining fair valuations are identified based on the type of security, taking into consideration factors utilized by market participants in valuing the investment, knowledge about the issuer and the current market environment.

Security loans

The Fund may lend its securities from time to time in order to earn additional income in the form of fees or interest on securities received as collateral or the investment of any cash received as collateral. The Fund continues to receive interest or dividends on the securities loaned. The Fund receives collateral in the form of cash or securities with a value at least equal to the value of the securities on loan. The value of the loaned securities is determined at the close of each business day and any additional required collateral is delivered to the Fund on the next business day. In a securities lending transaction, the net asset value of the Fund will be affected by an increase or decrease in the value of the securities loaned and by an increase or decrease in the value of the instrument in which collateral is invested. The amount of securities lending activity undertaken by the Fund fluctuates from time to time. In the event of default or bankruptcy


Table of Contents

 

24   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund   Notes to financial statements

by the borrower, the Fund may be prevented from recovering the loaned securities or gaining access to the collateral or may experience delays or costs in doing so. In addition, the investment of any cash collateral received may lose all or part of its value. The Fund has the right under the lending agreement to recover the securities from the borrower on demand.

The Fund lends its securities through an unaffiliated securities lending agent. Cash collateral received in connection with its securities lending transactions is invested in Securities Lending Cash Investments, LLC (the “Securities Lending Fund”). The Securities Lending Fund is exempt from registration under Section 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act and is managed by Funds Management and is subadvised by Wells Capital Management Incorporated (“WellsCap”), an affiliate of Funds Management and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company (“Wells Fargo”). Funds Management receives an advisory fee starting at 0.05% and declining to 0.01% as the average daily net assets of the Securities Lending Fund increase. All of the fees received by Funds Management are paid to WellsCap for its services as subadviser. The Securities Lending Fund seeks to provide a positive return compared to the daily Fed Funds Open rate by investing in high-quality, U.S. dollar-denominated short-term money market instruments. Securities Lending Fund investments are fair valued based upon the amortized cost valuation technique.

Security transactions and income recognition

Securities transactions are recorded on a trade date basis. Realized gains or losses are recorded on the basis of identified cost.

Dividend income is recognized on the ex-dividend date. Dividend income is recorded net of foreign taxes withheld where recovery of such taxes is not assured.

Distributions to shareholders

Distributions to shareholders from net investment income and net realized gains, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Such distributions are determined in conformity with federal income tax regulations, which may differ in amount or character from net investment income and realized gains recognized for purposes of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Federal and other taxes

The Fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company by distributing substantially all of its investment company taxable income and any net realized capital gains (after reduction for capital loss carryforwards) sufficient to relieve it from all, or substantially all, federal income taxes. Accordingly, no provision for federal income taxes was required.

The Fund’s income and federal excise tax returns and all financial records supporting those returns for the prior three fiscal years are subject to examination by the federal and Delaware revenue authorities. Management has analyzed the Fund’s tax positions taken on federal, state, and foreign tax returns for all open tax years and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability.

Reclassifications are made to the Fund’s capital accounts for permanent tax differences to reflect income and gains available for distribution (or available capital loss carryforwards) under federal income tax regulations. U.S. generally accepted accounting principles require that certain components of net assets be adjusted to reflect permanent differences between financial and tax reporting. These reclassifications have no effect on net assets or net asset values per share. The primary permanent difference causing such reclassification is due to net operating losses. At July 31, 2016, as a result of permanent book-to-tax differences, the following reclassification adjustments were made on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities:

 

Paid-in capital   

Overdistributed net

investment income

  

Accumulated net

realized losses

on investments

$(269,903)    $269,919    $(16)

As of July 31, 2016, the Fund had current year deferred post-October capital losses consisting of $1,426,783 in short-term losses which will be recognized on the first day of the following fiscal year.

Class allocations

The separate classes of shares offered by the Fund differ principally in applicable sales charges, distribution, shareholder servicing, and administration fees. Class specific expenses are charged directly to that share class. Investment income, common expenses, and realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments are allocated daily to each class of shares based on the relative proportion of net assets of each class.


Table of Contents

 

Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund     25   

3. FAIR VALUATION MEASUREMENTS

Fair value measurements of investments are determined within a framework that has established a fair value hierarchy based upon the various data inputs utilized in determining the value of the Fund’s investments. The three-level hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to significant unobservable inputs (Level 3). The Fund’s investments are classified within the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The inputs are summarized into three broad levels as follows:

 

n   Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical securities

 

n   Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, use of amortized cost, etc.)

 

n   Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The inputs or methodologies used for valuing investments in securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

The following is a summary of the inputs used in valuing the Fund’s assets and liabilities as of July 31, 2016:

 

    

Quoted prices

(Level 1)

    

Other significant

observable inputs

(Level 2)

    

Significant

unobservable inputs

(Level 3)

     Total  

Assets

           

Investments in:

           

Common stocks

           

Consumer discretionary

   $ 76,232,553       $ 0       $ 0       $ 76,232,553   

Consumer staples

     28,212,597         0         0         28,212,597   

Financials

     9,757,128         0         0         9,757,128   

Health care

     42,394,576         0         0         42,394,576   

Industrials

     17,052,060         0         0         17,052,060   

Information technology

     96,097,685         0         0         96,097,685   

Materials

     5,949,641         0         0         5,949,641   

Short-term investments

           

Investment companies

     6,708,393         0         0         6,708,393   

Investments measured at net asset value*

                                2,439,600   

Total assets

   $ 282,404,633       $ 0       $ 0       $ 284,844,233   

 

* Investments that are measured at fair value using the net asset value per share (or its equivalent) as a practical expedient have not been categorized in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value amount presented in the table is intended to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the amounts presented in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. The Fund’s investment in Securities Lending Cash Investments, LLC valued at $2,439,600 does not have a redemption period notice, can be redeemed daily and does not have any unfunded commitments.

The Fund recognizes transfers between levels within the fair value hierarchy at the end of the reporting period. At July 31, 2016, the Fund did not have any transfers into/out of Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3.

4. TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES

Management fee

Funds Management, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo, is the manager of the Fund and provides advisory and fund-level administrative services under an investment management agreement. Under the investment management agreement, Funds Management is responsible for, among other services, implementing the investment objectives and strategies of the Fund, supervising the subadviser, providing fund-level administrative services in connection with the Fund’s operations, and providing any other fund-level administrative services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. As compensation for its services under the investment management agreement, Funds Management is entitled to receive an annual management fee starting at 0.70% and declining to 0.505% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase. For the year ended July 31, 2016, the management fee was equivalent to an annual rate of 0.70% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.


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26   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund   Notes to financial statements

Funds Management has retained the services of a subadviser to provide daily portfolio management to the Fund. The fee for subadvisory services is borne by Funds Management. WellsCap is the subadviser to the Fund and is entitled to receive a fee from Funds Management at an annual rate starting at 0.30% and declining to 0.20% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase.

Administration fees

Under a class-level administration agreement, Funds Management provides class-level administrative services to the Fund, which includes paying fees and expenses for services provided by the transfer agent, sub-transfer agents, omnibus account servicers and record-keepers. As compensation for its services under the class-level administration agreement, Funds Management receives an annual fee which is calculated based on the average daily net assets of each class as follows:

 

     Class-level
administration fee
 

Class A, Class C

     0.21

Class R4

     0.08   

Class R6

     0.03   

Administrator Class, Institutional Class

     0.13   

Investor Class

     0.32   

Funds Management has contractually waived and/or reimbursed management and administration fees to the extent necessary to maintain certain net operating expense ratios for the Fund. Waiver of fees and/or reimbursement of expenses by Funds Management were made first from fund level expenses on a proportionate basis and then from class specific expenses. Funds Management has committed through November 30, 2016 to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s expenses at 1.11% for Class A shares, 1.86% for Class C shares, 0.75% for Class R4 shares, 0.60% for R6 shares, 0.94% for Administrator Class shares, and 0.70% for Institutional Class shares. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Prior to December 1, 2015, the Fund’s expenses were capped at 0.90% for Administrator Class shares and 0.65% for Institutional Class shares.

Distribution fee

The Trust has adopted a distribution plan for Class C shares of the Fund pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. A distribution fee is charged to Class C shares and paid to Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC (“Funds Distributor”), the principal underwriter, at an annual rate of 0.75% of the average daily net assets of Class C shares.

In addition, Funds Distributor is entitled to receive the front-end sales charge from the purchase of Class A shares and a contingent deferred sales charge on the redemption of certain Class A shares. Funds Distributor is also entitled to receive the contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of Class C shares. For the year ended July 31, 2016, Funds Distributor received $3,222 from the sale of Class A shares.

Shareholder servicing fees

The Trust has entered into contracts with one or more shareholder servicing agents, whereby Class A, Class C, Administrator Class and Investor Class of the Fund are charged a fee at an annual rate of 0.25% of the average daily net assets of each respective class. Class R4 is charged a fee at an annual rate of 0.10% of its average daily net assets.

A portion of these total shareholder servicing fees were paid to affiliates of Wells Fargo.

5. INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

Purchases and sales of investments, excluding U.S. government obligations (if any) and short-term securities, for the year ended July 31, 2016 were $239,706,418 and $277,600,963, respectively.

The Fund may purchase or sell investment securities to other Wells Fargo funds under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. The procedures have been designed to ensure that these interfund transactions, which generally do not incur broker commissions, are effected at current market prices. Interfund trades are included within the respective purchases and sales amounts shown.


Table of Contents

 

Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund     27   

6. BANK BORROWINGS

The Trust (excluding the money market funds and certain other funds) and Wells Fargo Variable Trust are parties to a $200,000,000 revolving credit agreement whereby the Fund is permitted to use bank borrowings for temporary or emergency purposes, such as to fund shareholder redemption requests. Interest under the credit agreement is charged to the Fund based on a borrowing rate equal to the higher of the Federal Funds rate in effect on that day plus 1.25% or the overnight LIBOR rate in effect on that day plus 1.25%. In addition, an annual commitment fee equal to 0.20% of the unused balance is allocated to each participating fund. Prior to September 1, 2015, the revolving credit agreement amount was $150,000,000 and the annual commitment fee was equal to 0.10% of the unused balance which was allocated to each participating fund.

For the year ended July 31, 2016, there were no borrowings by the Fund under the agreement.

7. DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

The tax character of distributions paid during the years ended July 31, 2016 and July 31, 2015 were as follows:

 

     Year ended July 31  
     2016      2015  

Ordinary income

   $ 0       $ 26,099,552   

Long-term capital gain

     38,520,836         63,507,086   

As of July 31, 2016, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Unrealized

gains

  

Post-October

capital losses

deferred

$70,908,008    $(1,426,783)

8. CONCENTRATION RISK

Concentration risks result from exposure to a limited number of sectors. A fund that invests a substantial portion of its assets in any sector may be more affected by changes in that sector than would be a fund whose investments are not heavily weighted in any sector.

9. INDEMNIFICATION

Under the Trust’s organizational documents, the officers and Trustees have been granted certain indemnification rights against certain liabilities that may arise out of performance of their duties to the Trust. Additionally, in the normal course of business, the Trust may enter into contracts with service providers that contain a variety of indemnification clauses. The Trust’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is dependent on future claims that may be made against the Fund and, therefore, cannot be estimated.


Table of Contents

 

28   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund   Report of independent registered public accounting firm

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND SHAREHOLDERS OF WELLS FARGO FUNDS TRUST:

We have audited the accompanying statements of assets and liabilities, including the portfolio of investments, of the Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund (formerly known as Wells Fargo Advantage Capital Growth Fund) (the “Fund”), one of the funds constituting the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, as of July 31, 2016, and the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years or periods in the five-year period then ended. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of July 31, 2016, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers, or by other appropriate auditing procedures. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund as of July 31, 2016, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years or periods in the five-year period then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

 

LOGO

Boston, Massachusetts

September 23, 2016


Table of Contents

 

Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund     29   

TAX INFORMATION

Pursuant to Section 852 of the Internal Revenue Code, $38,520,836 was designated as a 20% rate gain distributions for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016.

PROXY VOTING INFORMATION

A description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities is available, upon request, by calling 1-800-222-8222, visiting our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available on the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com or by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov.

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION

The complete portfolio holdings for the Fund are publicly available monthly on the Fund’s website (wellsfargofunds.com), on a one-month delayed basis. In addition, top ten holdings information (excluding derivative positions) for the Fund is publicly available on the Fund’s website on a monthly, seven-day or more delayed basis. The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q, which is available by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. In addition, the Fund’s Form N-Q may be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC, and at regional offices in New York City, at 233 Broadway, and in Chicago, at 175 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 900. Information about the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.


Table of Contents

 

30   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund   Other information (unaudited)

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS

Each of the Trustees and Officers1 listed in the table below acts in identical capacities for each fund in the Wells Fargo family of funds, which consists of 139 mutual funds comprising the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, Wells Fargo Variable Trust, Wells Fargo Master Trust and four closed-end funds (collectively the “Fund Complex”). This table should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information2. The mailing address of each Trustee and Officer is 525 Market Street, 12th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105. Each Trustee and Officer serves an indefinite term, however, each Trustee serves such term until reaching the mandatory retirement age established by the Trustees.

Independent Trustees

 

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service*

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer   Current other
public company or
investment company
directorships
William R. Ebsworth (Born 1957)   Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 1984 to 2013, equities analyst, portfolio manager, research director and chief financial officer at Fidelity Management and Research Company in Boston, Tokyo, and Hong Kong and retired in 2013 as Chief Investment Officer of Fidelity Strategic Advisers, Inc. where he lead a team of investment professionals managing client assets. Prior thereto, Board member of Hong Kong Securities Clearing Co., Hong Kong Options Clearing Corp., the Thailand International Fund, Ltd., Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company, and Empire Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company. Mr. Ebsworth is a CFA® charterholder and an Adjunct Lecturer, Finance, at Babson College.   Asset Allocation Trust
Jane A. Freeman (Born 1953)   Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 2012 to 2014 and 1999 to 2008, Chief Financial Officer of Scientific Learning Corporation. From 2008 to 2012, Ms. Freeman provided consulting services related to strategic business projects. Prior to 1999, Portfolio Manager at Rockefeller & Co. and Scudder, Stevens & Clark. Board member of the Harding Loevner Funds from 1996 to 2014, serving as both Lead Independent Director and chair of the Audit Committee. Board member of the Russell Exchange Traded Funds Trust from 2011 to 2012 and the chair of the Audit Committee. Ms. Freeman is Chair of Taproot Foundation (non-profit organization), a Board Member of Ruth Bancroft Garden (non-profit organization) and an inactive chartered financial analyst.   Asset Allocation Trust
Peter G. Gordon (Born 1942)   Trustee, since 1998; Chairman, since 2005   Co-Founder, Retired Chairman, President and CEO of Crystal Geyser Water Company. Trustee Emeritus, Colby College.   Asset Allocation Trust
Isaiah Harris, Jr. (Born 1952)   Trustee, since 2009   Retired. Chairman of the Board of CIGNA Corporation since 2009, and Director since 2005. From 2003 to 2011, Director of Deluxe Corporation. Prior thereto, President and CEO of BellSouth Advertising and Publishing Corp. from 2005 to 2007, President and CEO of BellSouth Enterprises from 2004 to 2005 and President of BellSouth Consumer Services from 2000 to 2003. Emeritus member of the Iowa State University Foundation Board of Governors. Emeritus Member of the Advisory Board of Iowa State University School of Business. Advisory Board Member, Palm Harbor Academy (charter school). Advisory Board Member, Child Evangelism Fellowship (non-profit). Mr. Harris is a certified public accountant (inactive status).   CIGNA Corporation; Asset Allocation Trust
Judith M. Johnson (Born 1949)  

Trustee, since 2008;

Audit Committee Chairman, since 2008

  Retired. Prior thereto, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Minneapolis Employees Retirement Fund from 1996 to 2008. Ms. Johnson is an attorney, certified public accountant and a certified managerial accountant.   Asset Allocation Trust
David F. Larcker (Born 1950)   Trustee, since 2009   James Irvin Miller Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Director of the Corporate Governance Research Initiative and Senior Faculty of The Rock Center for Corporate Governance since 2006. From 2005 to 2008, Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Prior thereto, Ernst & Young Professor of Accounting at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania from 1985 to 2005.   Asset Allocation Trust


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund     31   

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service*

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer   Current other
public company or
investment company
directorships
Olivia S. Mitchell (Born 1953)   Trustee, since 2006   International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Professor, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania since 1993. Director of Wharton’s Pension Research Council and Boettner Center on Pensions & Retirement Research, and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Previously, Cornell University Professor from 1978 to 1993.   Asset Allocation Trust
Timothy J. Penny (Born 1951)   Trustee, since 1996   President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, a non-profit organization, since 2007 and Senior Fellow at the Humphrey Institute Policy Forum at the University of Minnesota since 1995. Member of the Board of Trustees of NorthStar Education Finance, Inc., a non-profit organization, since 2007.   Asset Allocation Trust
Michael S. Scofield (Born 1943)   Trustee, since 2010   Served on the Investment Company Institute’s Board of Governors and Executive Committee from 2008-2011 as well the Governing Council of the Independent Directors Council from 2006-2011 and the Independent Directors Council Executive Committee from 2008-2011. Chairman of the IDC from 2008-2010. Institutional Investor (Fund Directions) Trustee of Year in 2007. Trustee of the Evergreen Funds complex (and its predecessors) from 1984 to 2010. Chairman of the Evergreen Funds from 2000-2010. Former Trustee of the Mentor Funds. Retired Attorney, Law Offices of Michael S. Scofield.   Asset Allocation Trust

 

* Length of service dates reflect the Trustee’s commencement of service with the Trust’s predecessor entities, where applicable.

Officers

 

Name and

year of birth

  Position held and
length of service
  Principal occupations during past five years or longer    
Karla M. Rabusch
(Born 1959)
  President, since 2003   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2003.    
Jeremy DePalma1
(Born 1974)
  Treasurer, since 2012   Senior Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Senior Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010 and head of the Fund Reporting and Control Team within Fund Administration from 2005 to 2010.    
C. David Messman
(Born 1960)
  Secretary, since 2000; Chief Legal Officer, since 2003   Senior Vice President and Secretary of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2001. Assistant General Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. since 2013 and Vice President and Managing Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. from 1996 to 2013.    
Michael Whitaker
(Born 1967)
  Chief Compliance Officer, since 2016*   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2016. Chief Compliance Officer of Fidelity’s Fixed Income Funds and Asset Allocation Funds from 2008 to 2016, Compliance Officer of FMR Co., Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments from 2007 to 2016.    
David Berardi
(Born 1975)
  Assistant Treasurer, since 2009   Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010. Manager of Fund Reporting and Control for Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2004 to 2010.    

 

 

1 Jeremy DePalma acts as Treasurer of 68 funds and Assistant Treasurer of 71 funds in the Fund Complex.

 

2 The Statement of Additional Information includes additional information about the Trustees and is available, without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-222-8222 or by visiting the website at wellsfargofunds.com.

 

* Michael Whitaker became Chief Compliance Officer effective May 16, 2016.


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32   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund   Other information (unaudited)

BOARD CONSIDERATION OF INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENTS:

Under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”) must determine annually whether to approve the continuation of the Trust’s investment management and sub-advisory agreements. In this regard, at an in-person meeting held on May 24-25, 2016 (the “Meeting”), the Board, all the members of which have no direct or indirect interest in the investment management and sub-advisory agreements and are not “interested persons” of the Trust, as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”), reviewed and approved for Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund (the “Fund”): (i) an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”); and (ii) an investment sub-advisory agreement (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”) with Wells Capital Management Incorporated (the “Sub-Adviser”), an affiliate of Funds Management. The Management Agreement and the Sub-Advisory Agreement are collectively referred to as the “Advisory Agreements.”

At the Meeting, the Board considered the factors and reached the conclusions described below relating to the selection of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser and the approval of the Advisory Agreements. Prior to the Meeting, including at an in-person meeting in April 2016, the Trustees conferred extensively among themselves and with representatives of Funds Management about these matters. Also, the Board has adopted a team-based approach, with each team consisting of a sub-set of Trustees, to assist the full Board in the discharge of its duties in reviewing performance and other matters throughout the year. The Independent Trustees were assisted in their evaluation of the Advisory Agreements by independent legal counsel, from whom they received separate legal advice and with whom they met separately.

In providing information to the Board, Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser were guided by a detailed set of requests for information submitted to them by independent legal counsel on behalf of the Independent Trustees at the start of the Board’s annual contract renewal process earlier in 2016. In considering and approving the Advisory Agreements, the Trustees considered the information they believed relevant, including but not limited to the information discussed below. The Board considered not only the specific information presented in connection with the Meeting, but also the knowledge gained over time through interaction with Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser about various topics. In this regard, the Board reviewed reports of Funds Management at each of its quarterly meetings, which included, among other things, portfolio reviews and performance reports. In addition, the Board and the teams mentioned above confer with portfolio managers at various times throughout the year. The Board did not identify any particular information or consideration that was all-important or controlling, and each individual Trustee may have attributed different weights to various factors.

After its deliberations, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable. The Board considered the approval of the Advisory Agreements for the Fund as part of its consideration of agreements for funds across the complex, but its approvals were made on a fund-by-fund basis. The following summarizes a number of important, but not necessarily all, factors considered by the Board in support of its approvals.

Nature, extent and quality of services

The Board received and considered various information regarding the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under the Advisory Agreements. This information included a description of the investment advisory services and Fund-level administrative services covered by the Management Agreement, as well as, among other things, a summary of the background and experience of senior management of Funds Management, and the qualifications, background, tenure and responsibilities of each of the portfolio managers primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the Fund.

The Board evaluated the ability of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to attract and retain qualified investment professionals, including research, advisory and supervisory personnel. The Board further considered the compliance programs and compliance records of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser. In addition, the Board took into account the full range of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and its affiliates.

Fund performance and expenses

The Board considered the performance results for the Fund over various time periods ended December 31, 2015. The Board considered these results in comparison to the performance of funds in a universe that was determined by Broadridge Inc. (“Broadridge”) to be similar to the Fund (the “Universe”), and in comparison to the Fund’s benchmark index and to other comparative data. Broadridge is an independent provider of investment company data. The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the performance Universe.


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund     33   

The Board noted that the performance of the Fund (Administrator Class) was lower than the average performance of the Universe for all periods under review. The Board also noted that the performance of the Fund was lower than its benchmark, the Russell 1000® Growth Index, for all periods under review.

The Board received information concerning, and discussed factors contributing to, the underperformance of the Fund relative to the Universe and benchmark for the periods noted above. The Board took note of the explanations for the relative underperformance in these periods, including with respect to market factors and investment decisions that affected the Fund’s performance.

The Board also received and considered information regarding the Fund’s net operating expense ratios and their various components, including actual management fees, custodian and other non-management fees, and Rule 12b-1 and non-Rule 12b-1 shareholder service fees. The Board considered these ratios in comparison to the median ratios of funds in class-specific expense groups that were determined by Broadridge to be similar to the Fund (the “Groups”). The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the expense Groups and an explanation of how funds comprising expense groups and their expense ratios may vary from year-to-year. Based on the Broadridge reports, the Board noted that the net operating expense ratios of the Fund were lower than the median net operating expense ratios of the expense Groups.

The Board took into account the Fund performance and expense information provided to it among the factors considered in deciding to re-approve the Advisory Agreements.

Investment management and sub-advisory fee rates

The Board reviewed and considered the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management under the Management Agreement, as well as the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management for class-level administrative services under a Class-Level Administration Agreement, which include class-level transfer agency and sub-transfer agency costs (collectively, the “Management Rates”). The Board also reviewed and considered the contractual investment sub-advisory fee rates that are payable by Funds Management to the Sub-Adviser for investment sub-advisory services.

Among other information reviewed by the Board was a comparison of the Fund’s Management Rates with the average contractual investment management fee rates of funds in the expense Groups at a common asset level as well as transfer agency costs of the funds in the expense Groups. The Board noted that the Management Rates of the Fund were lower than or in range of the sum of these average rates for the Fund’s expense Groups for all share classes.

The Board also received and considered information about the portion of the total management fee that was retained by Funds Management after payment of the fee to the Sub-Adviser for sub-advisory services. In assessing the reasonableness of this amount, the Board received and evaluated information about the nature and extent of responsibilities retained and risks assumed by Funds Management and not delegated to or assumed by the Sub-Adviser, and about Funds Management’s on-going oversight services. However, given the affiliation between Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser, the Board ascribed limited relevance to the allocation of fees between them.

The Board also received and considered information about the nature and extent of services offered and fee rates charged by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to other types of clients with investment strategies similar to those of the Fund. In this regard, the Board received information about the significantly greater scope of services, and compliance, reporting and other legal burdens and risks of managing mutual funds compared with those associated with managing assets of non-mutual fund clients such as collective funds or institutional separate accounts.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management under the Management Agreement and to the Sub-Adviser under the Sub-Advisory Agreement was reasonable, in light of the services covered by the Advisory Agreements.

Profitability

The Board received and considered information concerning the profitability of Funds Management, as well as the profitability of Wells Fargo as a whole, from providing services to the Fund and the fund family as a whole. The Board also received and considered information concerning the profitability of the Sub-Adviser from providing services to the fund family as a whole, noting that the Sub-Adviser’s profitability information with respect to providing services to the Fund was subsumed in the Wells Fargo and Funds Management profitability analysis.

Funds Management reported on the methodologies and estimates used in calculating profitability. Among other things, the Board noted that the levels of profitability reported on a fund-by-fund basis varied widely, depending on factors such


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34   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund   Other information (unaudited)

as the size and type of fund. Based on its review, the Board did not deem the profits reported by Funds Management or Wells Fargo from its services to the Fund to be at a level that would prevent it from approving the continuation of the Advisory Agreements.

Economies of scale

With respect to possible economies of scale, the Board noted the existence of breakpoints in the Fund’s management fee structure, which operate generally to reduce the Fund’s expense ratios as the Fund grows in size. It considered that, for a small fund or a fund that shrinks in size, breakpoints conversely can result in higher fee levels. The Board also considered that fee waiver and expense reimbursement arrangements and competitive fee rates at the outset are means of sharing potential economies of scale with shareholders of the Fund and the fund family as a whole. The Board considered Funds Management’s view that any analyses of potential economies of scale in managing a particular fund are inherently limited in light of the joint and common costs and investments that Funds Management incurs across the fund family as a whole.

The Board concluded that the Fund’s fee and expense arrangements, including contractual breakpoints, constituted a reasonable approach to sharing potential economies of scale with the Fund and its shareholders.

Other benefits to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser

The Board received and considered information regarding potential “fall-out” or ancillary benefits received by Funds Management and its affiliates, including the Sub-Adviser, as a result of their relationships with the Fund. Ancillary benefits could include, among others, benefits directly attributable to other relationships with the Fund and benefits potentially derived from an increase in Funds Management’s and the Sub-Adviser’s business as a result of their relationships with the Fund. The Board noted that various affiliates of Funds Management may receive distribution-related fees, shareholder servicing payments and sub-transfer agency fees in respect of shares sold or held through them and services provided.

The Board also reviewed information about soft dollar credits earned and utilized by the Sub-Adviser, fees earned by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser from managing a private investment vehicle for the fund family’s securities lending collateral and commissions earned by an affiliated broker from portfolio transactions.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board did not find that any ancillary benefits received by Funds Management and its affiliates, including the Sub-Adviser, were unreasonable.

Conclusion

At the Meeting, after considering the above-described factors and based on its deliberations and its evaluation of the information described above, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable.


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List of abbreviations   Wells Fargo Capital Growth Fund     35   

The following is a list of common abbreviations for terms and entities that may have appeared in this report.

 

ACA —  ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation
ADR —  American depositary receipt
ADS —  American depositary shares
AGC —  Assured Guaranty Corporation
AGM —  Assured Guaranty Municipal
Ambac —  Ambac Financial Group Incorporated
AMT —  Alternative minimum tax
AUD —  Australian dollar
BAN —  Bond anticipation notes
BHAC —  Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corporation
BRL —  Brazilian real
CAB —  Capital appreciation bond
CAD —  Canadian dollar
CCAB —  Convertible capital appreciation bond
CDA —  Community Development Authority
CDO —  Collateralized debt obligation
CHF —  Swiss franc
COP —  Colombian peso
CLP —  Chilean peso
DKK —  Danish krone
DRIVER —  Derivative inverse tax-exempt receipts
DW&P —  Department of Water & Power
DWR —  Department of Water Resources
ECFA —  Educational & Cultural Facilities Authority
EDA —  Economic Development Authority
EDFA —  Economic Development Finance Authority
ETF —  Exchange-traded fund
EUR —  Euro
FDIC —  Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FFCB —  Federal Farm Credit Banks
FGIC —  Financial Guaranty Insurance Corporation
FHA —  Federal Housing Administration
FHLB —  Federal Home Loan Bank
FHLMC —  Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
FICO —  The Financing Corporation
FNMA —  Federal National Mortgage Association
FSA —  Farm Service Agency
GBP —  Great British pound
GDR —  Global depositary receipt
GNMA —  Government National Mortgage Association
GO —  General obligation
HCFR —  Healthcare facilities revenue
HEFA —  Health & Educational Facilities Authority
HEFAR —  Higher education facilities authority revenue
HFA —  Housing Finance Authority
HFFA —  Health Facilities Financing Authority
HKD —  Hong Kong dollar
HUD —  Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUF —  Hungarian forint
IDA —  Industrial Development Authority
IDAG —  Industrial Development Agency
IDR —  Indonesian rupiah
IEP —  Irish pound
JPY —  Japanese yen
KRW —  Republic of Korea won
LIBOR —  London Interbank Offered Rate
LIFER —  Long Inverse Floating Exempt Receipts
LIQ —  Liquidity agreement
LLC —  Limited liability company
LLLP —  Limited liability limited partnership
LLP —  Limited liability partnership
LOC —  Letter of credit
LP —  Limited partnership
MBIA —  Municipal Bond Insurance Association
MFHR —  Multifamily housing revenue
MSTR —  Municipal securities trust receipts
MTN —  Medium-term note
MUD —  Municipal Utility District
MXN —  Mexican peso
MYR —  Malaysian ringgit
National —  National Public Finance Guarantee Corporation
NGN —  Nigerian naira
NOK —  Norwegian krone
NZD —  New Zealand dollar
PCFA —  Pollution Control Financing Authority
PCL —  Public Company Limited
PCR —  Pollution control revenue
PFA —  Public Finance Authority
PFFA —  Public Facilities Financing Authority
PFOTER —  Puttable floating option tax-exempt receipts
plc —  Public limited company
PLN —  Polish zloty
PUTTER —  Puttable tax-exempt receipts
R&D —  Research & development
Radian —  Radian Asset Assurance
RAN —  Revenue anticipation notes
RDA —  Redevelopment Authority
RDFA —  Redevelopment Finance Authority
REIT —  Real estate investment trust
ROC —  Reset option certificates
RON —  Romanian lei
RUB —  Russian ruble
SAVRS —  Select auction variable rate securities
SBA —  Small Business Authority
SDR —  Swedish depositary receipt
SEK —  Swedish krona
SFHR —  Single-family housing revenue
SFMR —  Single-family mortgage revenue
SGD —  Singapore dollar
SPA —  Standby purchase agreement
SPDR —  Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts
SPEAR —  Short Puttable Exempt Adjustable Receipts
STRIPS —  Separate trading of registered interest and
           principal securities
TAN —  Tax anticipation notes
TBA —  To be announced
THB —  Thai baht
TIPS —  Treasury inflation-protected securities
TRAN —  Tax revenue anticipation notes
TRY —  Turkish lira
TTFA —  Transportation Trust Fund Authority
TVA —  Tennessee Valley Authority
ZAR —  South African rand
 


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LOGO

 

 

LOGO

For more information

More information about Wells Fargo Funds is available free upon request. To obtain literature, please write, email, visit the Fund’s website, or call:

Wells Fargo Funds

P.O. Box 8266

Boston, MA 02266-8266

Email: fundservice@wellsfargo.com

Website: wellsfargofunds.com

Individual investors: 1-800-222-8222

Retail investment professionals: 1-888-877-9275

Institutional investment professionals: 1-866-765-0778

 

This report and the financial statements contained herein are submitted for the general information of the shareholders of the Fund. If this report is used for promotional purposes, distribution of the report must be accompanied or preceded by a current prospectus. Before investing, please consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the investment. For a current prospectus and, if available, a summary prospectus, containing this information, call 1-800-222-8222 or visit the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com. Read the prospectus carefully before you invest or send money.

Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM) is a trade name used by the asset management businesses of Wells Fargo & Company. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, provides investment advisory and administrative services for Wells Fargo Funds. Other affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company provide subadvisory and other services for the funds. The funds are distributed by Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC, Member FINRA, an affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE

© 2016 Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. All rights reserved.

 

LOGO     

245320 09-16

A200/AR200 07-16


Table of Contents

Annual Report

July 31, 2016

 

LOGO

 

Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund

 

LOGO

 

 

LOGO


Table of Contents

Reduce clutter. Save trees.

Sign up for electronic delivery of prospectuses and shareholder reports at wellsfargo.com/advantagedelivery

Contents

 

 

 

Letter to shareholders

    2   

Performance highlights

    6   

Fund expenses

    10   

Portfolio of investments

    11   
Financial statements  

Statement of assets and liabilities

    17   

Statement of operations

    18   

Statement of changes in net assets

    19   

Financial highlights

    20   

Notes to financial statements

    26   

Report of independent registered public accounting firm

    31   

Other information

    32   

List of abbreviations

    38   

 

The views expressed and any forward-looking statements are as of July 31, 2016, unless otherwise noted, and are those of the Fund managers and/or Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. Discussions of individual securities, or the markets generally, or any Wells Fargo Fund are not intended as individual recommendations. Future events or results may vary significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. The views expressed are subject to change at any time in response to changing circumstances in the market. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC and the Fund disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any views expressed or forward-looking statements.

 

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE



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2   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

 

LOGO

Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period

 

 

Dear Valued Shareholder:

We are pleased to offer you this annual report for the Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016. During this period, which began August 1, 2015, U.S. and international stock markets experienced heightened volatility, with intermittent rebounds interspersed with sell-offs. The U.S. economy displayed resilience throughout the period, although growth was somewhat sluggish amid ongoing pressures that included slowing growth in China, a strengthening U.S. dollar, and uncertainty regarding interest-rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed); international economies faced deeper ongoing challenges. During June 2016, global markets became especially volatile as the U.K.’s vote over whether to leave the European Union (E.U.) approached. However, markets began recovering shortly after the U.K. voted to leave and rallied through July. Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period, as measured by the Russell 1000® Index.1 International markets generally declined as measured by the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index.2

In the third quarter of 2015, China’s slowdown took a toll on economies and markets worldwide.

U.S. stocks sagged during the quarter, experiencing the most volatility since 2011. Economic data released during the quarter suggested the U.S. economy remained solid but had lost some steam, burdened by the drag of the U.S. dollar’s strength coupled with global economic turmoil. The fact that the Fed left the federal funds interest rate unchanged at its September 2015 meeting surprised investors and fueled increased uncertainty about the U.S. economy’s stamina to remain healthy while facing the challenges of slowing growth in China and troubles elsewhere in the world. Outside the U.S., markets were even more volatile and delivered generally weaker quarterly results, also largely due to investors’ increasing anxiety over China’s weakened economy.

Despite ongoing concerns, U.S. stocks generally rose in the fourth quarter of 2015; international markets lagged.

While the broad U.S. stock market bounced back in the quarter, stock markets outside the U.S. failed to keep pace as economic concerns, including China’s ongoing slowdown, continued to affect many countries. U.S. economic data released during the quarter indicated the economy remained solid, although the strong U.S. dollar and weakness in international economies remained headwinds. In December, the Fed, as expected, raised its target interest rate by 25 basis points (bps; 100 bps equals 1.00%) after keeping it near zero for seven years. The move reflected confidence in the U.S. economy’s ability to stay healthy with less central-bank support. The Fed also clarified that future interest-rate increases would be gradual.

 

 

 

1  The Russell 1000® Index measures the performance of the 1,000 largest companies in the Russell 3000® Index, which represents approximately 92% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000® Index. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

2  Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index is a free-float-adjusted market-capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the United States and Canada. The MSCI EAFE Index consists of the following 21 developed markets country indexes: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. You cannot invest directly in an index.


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Letter to shareholders (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund     3   

In the first quarter of 2016, market volatility increased globally amid ongoing concerns.

Stock markets worldwide fluctuated widely in the first quarter of 2016. Most sold off sharply in the first six weeks of the year on concerns such as weak global growth, falling commodity prices, and uncertainty over the timing and impact of the Fed’s interest-rate increases. As the quarter progressed, fears abated somewhat and global markets generally rallied back. The U.S. economy ended the quarter on a positive note as much of the quarter’s data reflected resiliency. With ongoing uncertainties about global growth and financial markets, however, the Fed held off from raising the target interest rate during the quarter. Outside the U.S., the eurozone fell into deflation in February; in response, the European Central Bank announced an expansion of its stimulus program. In China, the government in March set a growth rate of 6.5% to 7.0% for 2016, an acknowledgment of weakening growth. In emerging markets, although central-bank stimulus and improved prices for oil and other commodities led to stock-market rallies in the quarter, many of these countries’ economies face credit downgrades due to challenges such as the likelihood of a stronger U.S. dollar, which would make dollar-denominated debt more expensive.

Worries over interest rates and the U.K.’s vote largely drove the markets during the second quarter of 2016.

U.S. stocks began the quarter in positive territory but started to lose steam in early May on worries that a possible June interest-rate increase by the Fed could hurt the market. In mid-May, stocks briefly plunged following comments by Fed officials noting that a June interest-rate increase remained on the table. But once investors had processed this information, stocks again rallied, finishing up for the month. The first three weeks of June brought heightened volatility, spurred largely by a disappointing jobs report and uncertainty over whether the U.K. would remain in the E.U. The U.K.’s Brexit vote on June 23 shocked countries in Europe and much of the rest of the world. Stock markets plummeted as investors worried that the U.K.’s departure from the E.U. would slow global growth and prolong the low-interest-rate environment. Following the initial rout, however, U.S. stocks rallied as investors seemed to decide that any negative effects would be more localized and not create a serious risk for global growth. By quarter-end, the broad U.S. stock market had moved back into positive territory.

Stocks generally posted positive results for July 2016.

U.S. stocks displayed the most momentum during the first two weeks of the month, buoyed partly by an unexpectedly favorable June jobs report that helped strengthen confidence in the U.S. economy. Also, investors perhaps felt that global central banks could extend stimulus measures in the wake of the Brexit vote. Although U.S. market momentum slowed during the second half of July, stocks ended in positive territory for the month. International stocks delivered positive monthly results as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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4   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

Don’t let short-term uncertainty derail long-term investment goals.

Periods of uncertainty can present challenges, but experience has taught us that maintaining long-term investment goals can be an effective way to plan for the future. To help you create a sound strategy based on your personal goals and risk tolerance, Wells Fargo Funds offers more than 100 mutual funds spanning a wide range of asset classes and investment styles. Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance. We encourage investors to know their investments and to understand that appropriate levels of risk-taking may unlock opportunities.

Thank you for choosing to invest in Wells Fargo Funds. We appreciate your confidence in us and remain committed to helping you meet your financial needs.

Sincerely,

 

LOGO

Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance.

 

 

 

 

 

For further information about your Fund, contact your investment professional, visit our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or call us directly at 1-800-222-8222. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


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6   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

Investment objective

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Manager

Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC

Subadviser

Golden Capital Management, LLC

Portfolio manager

Greg Golden, CFA®

Average annual total returns (%) as of July 31, 20161

 

        Including sales charge     Excluding sales charge     Expense ratios2 (%)  
    Inception date   1 year     5 year     10 year     1 year     5 year     10 year     Gross     Net3  
Class A (EVSAX)   2-28-1990     (0.81     12.30        7.17        5.22        13.64        7.81        0.84        0.84   
Class C (EVSTX)   6-30-1999     3.43        12.79        7.00        4.43        12.79        7.00        1.59        1.59   
Class R (EVSHX)   9-30-2015                          5.00        13.34        7.50        1.09        1.09   
Class R6 (EVSRX)   9-30-2015                          5.70        14.14        8.20        0.41        0.41   
Administrator Class (EVSYX)   2-21-1995                          5.36        13.81        8.02        0.76        0.74   
Institutional Class (EVSIX)   7-30-2010                          5.64        14.13        8.20        0.51        0.48   
S&P 500 Index4                            5.61        13.38        7.75                 

Figures quoted represent past performance, which is no guarantee of future results, and do not reflect taxes that a shareholder may pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Performance shown without sales charges would be lower if sales charges were reflected. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted, which assumes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. Current month-end performance is available on the Fund’s website, wellsfargofunds.com.

Index returns do not include transaction costs associated with buying and selling securities, any mutual fund fees or expenses, or any taxes. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

For Class A shares, the maximum front-end sales charge is 5.75%. For Class C shares, the maximum contingent deferred sales charge is 1.00%. Performance including a contingent deferred sales charge assumes the sales charge for the corresponding time period. Class R, Class R6, Administrator Class, and Institutional Class shares are sold without a front-end sales charge or contingent deferred sales charge.

Stock values fluctuate in response to the activities of individual companies and general market and economic conditions. The use of derivatives may reduce returns and/or increase volatility. Consult the Fund’s prospectus for additional information on these and other risks.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


Table of Contents

 

Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund     7   
Growth of $10,000 investment as of July 31, 20165
LOGO

 

 

 

1  Historical performance shown for Class R shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of Administrator Class shares, adjusted to reflect higher expenses applicable to Class R shares. Historical performance shown for Class R6 shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of Institutional Class shares, and includes the higher expenses applicable to Institutional Class shares. If these expenses had not been included, returns would be higher. Historical performance shown for Institutional Class shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of Administrator Class shares, and includes the higher expenses applicable to Administrator Class shares. If these expenses had not been included, returns would be higher. Historical performance shown for all classes of the Fund prior to July 19, 2010, is based on the performance of the Fund’s predecessor, Evergreen Enhanced S&P 500 Fund.

 

2  Reflects the expense ratios as stated in the most recent prospectuses. The expense ratios shown are subject to change and may differ from the annualized expense ratios shown in the financial highlights of this report.

 

3  The manager has contractually committed through November 30, 2016, to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at 0.92% for Class A, 1.67% for Class C, 1.17% for Class R, 0.43% for Class R6, 0.74% for Administrator Class, and 0.48% for Institutional Class. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Brokerage commissions, stamp duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses are excluded from the cap. Without this cap, the Fund’s returns would have been lower.

 

4  The S&P 500 Index consists of 500 stocks chosen for market size, liquidity, and industry group representation. It is a market-value weighted index with each stock’s weight in the index proportionate to its market value. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

5  The chart compares the performance of Class A shares for the most recent ten years with the S&P 500 Index. The chart assumes a hypothetical investment of $10,000 in Class A shares and reflects all operating expenses and assumes the maximum initial sales charge of 5.75%.

 

6  The ten largest holdings, excluding cash and cash equivalents, are calculated based on the value of the investments divided by total net assets of the Fund. Holdings are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.

 

7  Amounts are calculated based on the total long-term investments of the Fund. These amounts are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.


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8   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

MANAGER’S DISCUSSION

Fund highlights

n   The Fund underperformed its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016.

 

n   Weak stock selection in the consumer discretionary, industrials, and financials sectors detracted from the Fund’s relative performance.

 

n   The Fund benefited most significantly from favorable stock selection in the materials, health care, and consumer staples sectors.

 

Ten largest holdings (%) as of July 31, 20166       

Apple Incorporated

     3.57   

Microsoft Corporation

     2.92   

Exxon Mobil Corporation

     2.59   

Johnson & Johnson

     2.55   

Pfizer Incorporated

     1.82   

Chevron Corporation

     1.71   

General Electric Company

     1.65   

Intel Corporation

     1.58   

Cisco Systems Incorporated

     1.58   

AT&T Incorporated

     1.56   

U.S. economic growth slowed during the reporting period. While gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualized 3.9% rate in the second quarter of 2015, its pace had slipped to an annualized 1.2% rate for the second quarter of 2016. Although the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) increased the federal funds target interest rate by 0.25% in December 2015, no further increases occurred during the reporting period, and in June 2016, the Fed lowered its expectations for rate increases in 2017 and 2018. Markets reacted positively to this lower-for-longer stance.

The unexpected Brexit result of the U.K.’s June 2016 referendum on retaining the country’s membership in the European Union injected considerable volatility into

 

global markets, with significant sell-offs in stock markets; dramatic moves in currency markets; and a flight into sovereign-debt markets that many investors perceive as safe havens, driving yields to historically low levels. Somewhat surprisingly, by the end of the second quarter of 2016, stock markets had recovered most of their losses and continued to rally through July.

 

Sector distribution as of July 31, 20167
LOGO

Weak stock selection in several sectors hindered the Fund’s relative results.

Within the Fund’s consumer discretionary holdings, an underweight to Amazon.com, Incorporated, and overweights to The Walt Disney Company; Dollar General Corporation; and Staples, Incorporated, were the largest detractors from performance. Within industrials, the Fund’s weak individual performers included airlines United Continental Holdings, Incorporated, and Delta Air Lines, Incorporated. In financials, overweights to Morgan Stanley; CBRE Group, Incorporated; and The Goldman Sachs Group, Incorporated, detracted from Fund performance.

 

 

The Fund benefited from stock selection in multiple sectors.

Within the materials sector, the Fund’s strongest individual contributors were metals-and-mining company Newmont Mining Corporation and containers-and-packaging company Avery Dennison Corporation. Stock selection in the health care and consumer staples sectors also delivered strong relative results. Within health care, the Fund benefited from overweights to Medtronic plc and Johnson & Johnson and from lack of exposure to three weak-performing pharmaceutical companies: Mallinckrodt plc; Perrigo Company plc; and Allergan, Incorporated. In consumer staples, the Fund enjoyed double-digit returns across several industries; the food-products industry delivered two of the top-performing companies: Keurig Green Mountain, Incorporated, and Tyson Foods, Incorporated.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


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Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund     9   

Despite recent/future risks, we believe our process will continue to uncover attractive opportunities.

Looking ahead, we believe investors may be most concerned about geopolitical risks and potential contagion in the financials markets. The Brexit vote has set off a new round of global market volatility that likely will remain elevated for a while. Only time will tell if current fears will be realized; historically, many geopolitical shocks have been short term in nature, and economies and markets have adjusted to new realities.

While heightened volatility has been affecting all asset classes, we believe the impact on currencies and central banks’ responses to currency moves are likely to be the most significant factors influencing the U.S. economy and markets over the near term. The British pound already has depreciated significantly in response to the Brexit vote and could weaken further, which would make goods from the U.K. cheaper and thus more attractive to global consumers. In turn, global central banks could be compelled to take steps to make their currencies and goods more competitively priced in global markets. The U.S. dollar’s position as the global reserve currency may lead to flows into dollar-denominated assets, strengthening the dollar. As a result, the Fed could delay interest-rate increases due to the heightened risks and uncertainty in global markets. If the Fed does delay rate increases and other major central banks continue to pursue monetary-stimulus measures, we believe that monetary authorities would be doing the best they can to create a supportive environment for risk assets like stocks.

As a result of the increased volatility, risk aversion, and low-interest-rate environment, we believe investors may have been overpaying for lower-volatility and higher-yielding stocks in recent months. Although the market has not been rewarding companies displaying the traditional value metrics on which we focus, we believe companies with attractive valuations that potentially would benefit from positive economic growth remain the most attractive investment opportunities. We will stick to our investment philosophy centered on a disciplined, objective, and repeatable stock-selection process and emphasize firms we view as attractively valued and most likely to exceed earnings expectations.

We strive to deliver for shareholders.

Within the Fund, we strive to add value relative to the benchmark through a full market cycle, independent of overall market direction or movements by style (growth or value) or size (large or small). Our investment process will continue to focus on building a stock portfolio that emphasizes attractive valuations, earnings growth, earnings and sales momentum, earnings quality, and trading momentum. Based on our research and experience, we believe the Fund provides shareholders the opportunity for meaningful capital appreciation over time.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


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10   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund   Fund expenses (unaudited)

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments and contingent deferred sales charges (if any) on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees, distribution (12b-1) and/or shareholder servicing fees, and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the six-month period and held for the entire period from February 1, 2016 to July 31, 2016.

Actual expenses

The “Actual” line of the table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the “Actual” line under the heading entitled “Expenses paid during period” for your applicable class of shares to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical example for comparison purposes

The “Hypothetical” line of the table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads) and contingent deferred sales charges. Therefore, the “Hypothetical” line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

     Beginning
account value
2-1-2016
     Ending
account value
7-31-2016
     Expenses
paid during
the period¹
     Annualized net
expense ratio
 

Class A

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,124.90       $ 4.56         0.86

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,020.57       $ 4.34         0.86

Class C

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,119.90       $ 8.51         1.61

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,016.84       $ 8.10         1.61

Class R

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,123.19       $ 5.92         1.12

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,019.28       $ 5.63         1.12

Class R6

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,127.47       $ 2.25         0.43

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,022.75       $ 2.14         0.43

Administrator Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,125.00       $ 3.91         0.74

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,021.18       $ 3.72         0.74

Institutional Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,127.11       $ 2.54         0.48

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,022.48       $ 2.41         0.48

 

 

 

1 Expenses paid is equal to the annualized net expense ratio of each class multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the most recent fiscal half-year divided by the number of days in the fiscal year (to reflect the one-half-year period).


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund     11   

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  

Common Stocks: 98.49%

          

Consumer Discretionary: 11.50%

          
Auto Components: 0.24%           

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

          61,680       $ 1,768,366   
          

 

 

 
Automobiles: 1.62%           

Ford Motor Company

          486,392         6,157,723   

General Motors Company

          188,400         5,942,136   
             12,099,859   
          

 

 

 
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure: 1.71%           

Darden Restaurants Incorporated

          81,777         5,034,192   

McDonald’s Corporation

          12,000         1,411,800   

Starbucks Corporation

          107,723         6,253,320   
             12,699,312   
          

 

 

 
Household Durables: 0.30%           

D.R. Horton Incorporated

          69,185         2,274,803   
          

 

 

 
Internet & Catalog Retail: 0.99%           

Amazon.com Incorporated †

          9,692         7,354,387   
          

 

 

 
Media: 2.45%           

Comcast Corporation Class A

          153,207         10,303,171   

The Walt Disney Company

          82,525         7,918,274   
             18,221,445   
          

 

 

 
Specialty Retail: 3.90%           

Best Buy Company Incorporated

          188,134         6,321,302   

Lowe’s Companies Incorporated

          96,030         7,901,348   

Staples Incorporated

          397,650         3,694,169   

The Home Depot Incorporated

          80,165         11,082,010   
             28,998,829   
          

 

 

 
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods: 0.29%           

Nike Incorporated Class B

          38,638         2,144,409   
          

 

 

 

Consumer Staples: 9.68%

          
Beverages: 2.32%           

Dr Pepper Snapple Group Incorporated

          60,081         5,918,579   

PepsiCo Incorporated

          68,932         7,508,073   

The Coca-Cola Company

          87,590         3,821,552   
             17,248,204   
          

 

 

 
Food & Staples Retailing: 3.45%           

CVS Health Corporation

          88,140         8,172,341   

Sysco Corporation

          109,876         5,690,478   

The Kroger Company

          52,928         1,809,608   

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

12   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund   Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  
Food & Staples Retailing (continued)           

Wal-Mart Stores Incorporated

          136,853       $ 9,986,163   
             25,658,590   
          

 

 

 
Food Products: 0.98%           

Mondelez International Incorporated Class A

          35,304         1,552,670   

Tyson Foods Incorporated Class A

          78,357         5,767,075   
             7,319,745   
          

 

 

 
Household Products: 1.21%           

The Clorox Company

          41,281         5,410,701   

The Procter & Gamble Company

          42,031         3,597,433   
             9,008,134   
          

 

 

 
Tobacco: 1.72%           

Altria Group Incorporated

          146,644         9,927,799   

Philip Morris International

          28,774         2,884,881   
             12,812,680   
          

 

 

 

Energy: 7.20%

          
Energy Equipment & Services: 1.42%           

Baker Hughes Incorporated

          45,754         2,188,414   

FMC Technologies Incorporated †

          148,156         3,760,199   

Schlumberger Limited

          57,236         4,608,643   
             10,557,256   
          

 

 

 
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels: 5.78%           

Chevron Corporation

          124,180         12,725,966   

Devon Energy Corporation

          29,403         1,125,547   

Exxon Mobil Corporation

          216,763         19,281,069   

Marathon Oil Corporation

          46,500         634,260   

Occidental Petroleum Corporation

          19,000         1,419,870   

Tesoro Corporation

          20,083         1,529,320   

Valero Energy Corporation

          120,291         6,288,813   
             43,004,845   
          

 

 

 

Financials: 15.51%

          
Banks: 4.17%           

Bank of America Corporation

          765,864         11,097,369   

Citigroup Incorporated

          83,458         3,656,295   

Fifth Third Bancorp

          82,127         1,558,770   

JPMorgan Chase & Company

          89,627         5,733,439   

KeyCorp

          117,106         1,370,140   

Regions Financial Corporation

          626,056         5,740,934   

SunTrust Banks Incorporated

          25,348         1,071,967   

Zions Bancorporation

          28,500         794,580   
             31,023,494   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund     13   

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  
Capital Markets: 0.59%           

Bank of New York Mellon Corporation

          111,023       $ 4,374,306   
          

 

 

 
Consumer Finance: 0.27%           

Capital One Financial Corporation

          29,976         2,010,790   
          

 

 

 
Diversified Financial Services: 1.45%           

Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated Class B †

          74,753         10,784,615   
          

 

 

 
Insurance: 3.75%           

AFLAC Incorporated

          64,402         4,654,977   

Cincinnati Financial Corporation

          32,185         2,404,220   

MetLife Incorporated

          167,580         7,162,369   

Principal Financial Group Incorporated

          77,337         3,606,224   

Prudential Financial Incorporated

          89,959         6,773,013   

The Travelers Companies Incorporated

          16,219         1,884,972   

Unum Group

          42,816         1,430,483   
             27,916,258   
          

 

 

 
Real Estate Management & Development: 0.80%           

CBRE Group Incorporated Class A †

          208,549         5,933,219   
          

 

 

 
REITs: 4.48%           

American Tower Corporation

          65,366         7,567,422   

Boston Properties Incorporated

          12,511         1,778,188   

Crown Castle International Corporation

          23,463         2,276,615   

General Growth Properties Incorporated

          137,891         4,405,617   

Host Hotels & Resorts Incorporated

          135,719         2,407,655   

Prologis Incorporated

          94,519         5,150,340   

Simon Property Group Incorporated

          36,118         8,200,231   

Vornado Realty Trust

          14,500         1,557,300   
             33,343,368   
          

 

 

 

Health Care: 15.18%

          
Biotechnology: 3.33%           

AbbVie Incorporated

          88,665         5,872,283   

Amgen Incorporated

          56,802         9,771,648   

Gilead Sciences Incorporated

          114,902         9,131,262   
             24,775,193   
          

 

 

 
Health Care Equipment & Supplies: 1.82%           

Boston Scientific Corporation †

          184,621         4,482,598   

Medtronic plc

          102,876         9,015,024   
             13,497,622   
          

 

 

 
Health Care Providers & Services: 3.68%           

Aetna Incorporated

          38,643         4,452,060   

AmerisourceBergen Corporation

          25,925         2,208,551   

Express Scripts Holding Company †

          24,632         1,873,756   

HCA Holdings Incorporated †

          26,582         2,050,270   

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

14   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund   Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  
Health Care Providers & Services (continued)           

McKesson Corporation

          37,778       $ 7,350,088   

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated

          66,141         9,471,391   
             27,406,116   
          

 

 

 
Pharmaceuticals: 6.35%           

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

          64,519         4,826,666   

Johnson & Johnson

          151,367         18,955,689   

Merck & Company Incorporated

          169,569         9,946,918   

Pfizer Incorporated

          367,156         13,544,385   
             47,273,658   
          

 

 

 

Industrials: 9.18%

          
Aerospace & Defense: 1.87%           

General Dynamics Corporation

          23,873         3,506,705   

Raytheon Company

          5,500         767,415   

The Boeing Company

          55,462         7,413,051   

United Technologies Corporation

          20,785         2,237,505   
             13,924,676   
          

 

 

 
Air Freight & Logistics: 0.94%           

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Incorporated

          19,895         1,385,090   

United Parcel Service Incorporated Class B

          51,860         5,606,066   
             6,991,156   
          

 

 

 
Airlines: 1.64%           

Delta Air Lines Incorporated

          106,526         4,127,883   

Southwest Airlines Company

          137,949         5,105,492   

United Continental Holdings Incorporated †

          63,891         2,995,849   
             12,229,224   
          

 

 

 
Commercial Services & Supplies: 0.71%           

Waste Management Incorporated

          79,725         5,271,417   
          

 

 

 
Construction & Engineering: 0.60%           

Jacobs Engineering Group Incorporated †

          54,986         2,942,851   

Quanta Services Incorporated †

          59,821         1,531,418   
             4,474,269   
          

 

 

 
Industrial Conglomerates: 1.97%           

3M Company

          13,396         2,389,311   

General Electric Company

          394,658         12,289,650   
             14,678,961   
          

 

 

 
Machinery: 1.28%           

Caterpillar Incorporated

          48,571         4,019,736   

Illinois Tool Works Incorporated

          19,195         2,215,103   

Parker-Hannifin Corporation

          18,757         2,141,862   

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund     15   

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  
Machinery (continued)           

Stanley Black & Decker Incorporated

          9,632       $ 1,172,214   
             9,548,915   
          

 

 

 
Professional Services: 0.17%           

Robert Half International Incorporated

          33,442         1,221,971   
          

 

 

 

Information Technology: 20.93%

          
Communications Equipment: 1.58%           

Cisco Systems Incorporated

          384,321         11,733,320   
          

 

 

 
Internet Software & Services: 4.28%           

Alphabet Incorporated Class A †

          13,420         10,619,783   

Alphabet Incorporated Class C †

          14,096         10,836,864   

eBay Incorporated †

          74,834         2,331,827   

Facebook Incorporated Class A †

          64,868         8,039,740   
             31,828,214   
          

 

 

 
IT Services: 3.39%           

Accenture plc Class A

          21,837         2,463,432   

International Business Machines Corporation

          35,155         5,646,596   

Paychex Incorporated

          39,385         2,334,743   

The Western Union Company

          178,248         3,564,960   

Total System Services Incorporated

          98,881         5,035,021   

Xerox Corporation

          601,578         6,196,253   
             25,241,005   
          

 

 

 
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment: 2.89%           

Intel Corporation

          338,159         11,788,223   

Linear Technology Corporation

          45,158         2,709,028   

NVIDIA Corporation

          122,801         7,011,937   
             21,509,188   
          

 

 

 
Software: 4.04%           

Citrix Systems Incorporated †

          28,667         2,555,090   

Microsoft Corporation

          382,935         21,704,756   

Oracle Corporation

          141,000         5,786,640   
             30,046,486   
          

 

 

 
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals: 4.75%           

Apple Incorporated

          255,241         26,598,665   

EMC Corporation

          72,605         2,053,269   

HP Incorporated

          481,014         6,739,006   
             35,390,940   
          

 

 

 

Materials: 3.36%

          
Chemicals: 1.42%           

LyondellBasell Industries NV Class A

          59,381         4,469,014   

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

16   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund   Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016

      

 

 

Security name                Shares      Value  
Chemicals (continued)          

The Dow Chemical Company

         114,385       $ 6,139,043   
            10,608,057   
         

 

 

 
Containers & Packaging: 0.81%          

Avery Dennison Corporation

         77,613         6,045,277   
         

 

 

 
Metals & Mining: 1.13%          

Newmont Mining Corporation

         190,374         8,376,456   
         

 

 

 

Telecommunication Services: 2.81%

         
Diversified Telecommunication Services: 2.81%          

AT&T Incorporated

         268,958         11,643,192   

Verizon Communications Incorporated

         166,669         9,235,129   
            20,878,321   
         

 

 

 

Utilities: 3.14%

         
Electric Utilities: 2.77%          

American Electric Power Company Incorporated

         45,607         3,160,565   

Edison International

         38,258         2,960,404   

Exelon Corporation

         189,161         7,051,922   

FirstEnergy Corporation

         162,883         5,687,874   

Xcel Energy Incorporated

         39,543         1,739,101   
            20,599,866   
         

 

 

 
Multi-Utilities: 0.37%          

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated

         60,965         2,805,000   
         

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks (Cost $560,839,509)

            732,912,222   
         

 

 

 
    Yield                      
Short-Term Investments: 1.21%          
Investment Companies: 1.21%          

Wells Fargo Government Money Market Fund Select Class (l)(u)

    0.32        8,990,434         8,990,434   
         

 

 

 

Total Short-Term Investments (Cost $8,990,434)

            8,990,434   
         

 

 

 

 

Total investments in securities (Cost $569,829,943) *     99.70        741,902,656   

Other assets and liabilities, net

    0.30           2,232,086   
 

 

 

      

 

 

 
Total net assets     100.00      $ 744,134,742   
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-income-earning security

 

(l) The issuer of the security is an affiliated person of the Fund as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

(u) The rate represents the 7-day annualized yield at period end.

 

* Cost for federal income tax purposes is $571,760,319 and unrealized gains (losses) consists of:

 

Gross unrealized gains

   $ 181,153,430   

Gross unrealized losses

     (11,011,093
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized gains

   $ 170,142,337   

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Statement of assets and liabilities—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund     17   
         

Assets

 

Investments

 

In unaffiliated securities, at value (cost $560,839,509)

  $ 732,912,222   

In affiliated securities, at value (cost $8,990,434)

    8,990,434   
 

 

 

 

Total investments, at value (cost $569,829,943)

    741,902,656   

Receivable for Fund shares sold

    2,211,842   

Receivable for dividends

    759,311   

Prepaid expenses and other assets

    75,232   
 

 

 

 

Total assets

    744,949,041   
 

 

 

 

Liabilities

 

Payable for Fund shares redeemed

    235,792   

Management fee payable

    196,939   

Distribution fees payable

    26,248   

Administration fees payable

    110,002   

Trustees’ fees and expenses payable

    48,358   

Shareholder servicing fees payable

    118,168   

Professional fees payable

    42,486   

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

    36,306   
 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

    814,299   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 744,134,742   
 

 

 

 

NET ASSETS CONSIST OF

 

Paid-in capital

  $ 553,268,359   

Undistributed net investment income

    9,238,630   

Accumulated net realized gains on investments

    9,555,040   

Net unrealized gains on investments

    172,072,713   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 744,134,742   
 

 

 

 

COMPUTATION OF NET ASSET VALUE AND OFFERING PRICE PER SHARE

 

Net assets – Class A

  $ 412,628,553   

Shares outstanding – Class A1

    28,454,241   

Net asset value per share – Class A

    $14.50   

Maximum offering price per share – Class A2

    $15.38   

Net assets – Class C

  $ 46,800,830   

Shares outstanding – Class C1

    3,478,356   

Net asset value per share – Class C

    $13.45   

Net assets – Class R

  $ 200,795   

Shares outstanding – Class R1

    13,595   

Net asset value per share – Class R

    $14.77   

Net assets – Class R6

  $ 4,023,725   

Shares outstanding – Class R61

    270,840   

Net asset value per share – Class R6

    $14.86   

Net assets – Administrator Class

  $ 116,807,214   

Shares outstanding – Administrator Class1

    7,863,882   

Net asset value per share – Administrator Class

    $14.85   

Net assets – Institutional Class

  $ 163,673,625   

Shares outstanding – Institutional Class1

    11,122,568   

Net asset value per share – Institutional Class

    $14.72   

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 The Fund has an unlimited number of authorized shares.

 

2  Maximum offering price is computed as 100/94.25 of net asset value. On investments of $50,000 or more, the offering price is reduced.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

18   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund   Statement of operations—year ended July 31, 2016
         

Investment income

 

Dividends

  $ 14,171,113   

Income from affiliated securities

    27,446   

Securities lending income, net

    5,599   
 

 

 

 

Total investment income

    14,204,158   
 

 

 

 

Expenses

 

Management fee

    2,022,382   

Administration fees

 

Class A

    725,700   

Class C

    62,644   

Class R

    55 1 

Class R6

    282 1 

Administrator Class

    111,428   

Institutional Class

    150,463   

Shareholder servicing fees

 

Class A

    863,928   

Class C

    74,576   

Class R

    66 1 

Administrator Class

    209,685   

Distribution fees

 

Class C

    223,727   

Class R

    66 1 

Custody and accounting fees

    47,994   

Professional fees

    62,980   

Registration fees

    75,921   

Shareholder report expenses

    54,244   

Trustees’ fees and expenses

    33,600   

Interest expense

    1,658   

Other fees and expenses

    52,497   
 

 

 

 

Total expenses

    4,773,896   

Less: Fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements

    (101,341
 

 

 

 

Net expenses

    4,672,555   
 

 

 

 

Net investment income

    9,531,603   
 

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAINS (LOSSES) ON INVESTMENTS

 

Net realized gains on investments

    10,319,714   

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    22,567,499   
 

 

 

 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    32,887,213   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets resulting from operations

  $ 42,418,816   
 

 

 

 

 

 

1 For the period from September 30, 2015 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2016

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Statement of changes in net assets   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund     19   
    

Year ended

July 31, 2016

   

Year ended

July 31, 2015

 

Operations

     

Net investment income

    $ 9,531,603        $ 7,538,035   

Net realized gains on investments

      10,319,714          49,570,546   

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

      22,567,499          (1,189,230
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets resulting from operations

      42,418,816          55,919,351   
 

 

 

 

Distributions to shareholders from

     

Net investment income

       

Class A

      (4,528,287       (3,522,119

Class C

      (257,661       (84,291

Class R

      (495 )1        N/A   

Class R6

      (1,177 )1        N/A   

Administrator Class

      (1,187,160       (647,073

Institutional Class

      (1,510,103       (1,537,330

Net realized gains

       

Class A

      (31,556,159       (46,161,619

Class C

      (2,500,322       (2,082,924

Class R

      (2,461 )1        N/A   

Class R6

      (5,847 )1        N/A   

Administrator Class

      (6,952,701       (7,515,200

Institutional Class

      (8,572,495       (15,983,371
 

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

      (57,074,868       (77,533,927
 

 

 

 

Capital share transactions

    Shares          Shares     

Proceeds from shares sold

       

Class A

    9,125,390        126,350,368        2,148,617        33,269,672   

Class C

    2,429,480        31,365,592        823,111        12,057,914   

Class R

    13,383 1      196,826 1      N/A        N/A   

Class R6

    289,003 1      4,094,576 1      N/A        N/A   

Administrator Class

    5,692,270        79,570,117        1,319,355        20,847,005   

Institutional Class

    8,264,426        115,262,034        3,114,670        50,079,007   
 

 

 

 
      356,839,513          116,253,598   
 

 

 

 

Reinvestment of distributions

       

Class A

    2,569,607        34,920,049        3,224,975        47,843,154   

Class C

    155,194        1,959,119        105,097        1,464,972   

Class R

    212 1      2,956 1      N/A        N/A   

Class R6

    504 1      7,024 1      N/A        N/A   

Administrator Class

    553,449        7,715,022        491,872        7,465,466   

Institutional Class

    369,132        5,097,050        561,645        8,449,624   
 

 

 

 
      49,701,220          65,223,216   
 

 

 

 

Payment for shares redeemed

       

Class A

    (4,670,412     (64,993,916     (2,705,765     (42,183,445

Class C

    (532,257     (7,048,689     (207,673     (3,079,680

Class R6

    (18,667 )1      (273,006 )1      N/A        N/A   

Administrator Class

    (2,402,412     (34,276,688     (832,349     (13,437,852

Institutional Class

    (4,530,382     (66,406,281     (2,190,447     (34,044,476
 

 

 

 
      (172,998,580       (92,745,453
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets resulting from capital share transactions

      233,542,153          88,731,361   
 

 

 

 

Total increase in net assets

      218,886,101          67,116,785   
 

 

 

 

Net assets

   

Beginning of period

      525,248,641          458,131,856   
 

 

 

 

End of period

    $ 744,134,742        $ 525,248,641   
 

 

 

 

Undistributed net investment income

    $ 9,238,630        $ 7,431,071   
 

 

 

 

 

 

1 For the period from September 30, 2015 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2016

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

20   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS A   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $15.45        $16.29        $16.27        $14.65        $14.25   

Net investment income

    0.21        0.21        0.19        0.24        0.20   

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    0.47        1.60        2.35        3.25        0.93   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    0.68        1.81        2.54        3.49        1.13   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    (0.19     (0.16     (0.24     (0.24     (0.23

Net realized gains

    (1.44     (2.49     (2.28     (1.63     (0.50
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1.63     (2.65     (2.52     (1.87     (0.73

Net asset value, end of period

    $14.50        $15.45        $16.29        $16.27        $14.65   

Total return1

    5.22     12.01     17.00     26.62     8.54

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    0.87     0.89     0.93     0.94     0.92

Net expenses

    0.87     0.89     0.92     0.92     0.92

Net investment income

    1.60     1.43     1.27     1.66     1.43

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    52     53     71     64     82

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $412,629        $331,123        $305,577        $285,780        $254,272   

 

 

1  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund     21   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS C   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $14.50        $15.47        $15.58        $14.10        $13.69   

Net investment income

    0.14        0.13        0.08        0.12        0.09   

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    0.38        1.48        2.23        3.12        0.90   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    0.52        1.61        2.31        3.24        0.99   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    (0.13     (0.09     (0.14     (0.13     (0.08

Net realized gains

    (1.44     (2.49     (2.28     (1.63     (0.50
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1.57     (2.58     (2.42     (1.76     (0.58

Net asset value, end of period

    $13.45        $14.50        $15.47        $15.58        $14.10   

Total return1

    4.43     11.18     16.10     25.65     7.75

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.62     1.64     1.68     1.69     1.67

Net expenses

    1.62     1.64     1.67     1.67     1.67

Net investment income

    0.82     0.66     0.51     0.92     0.68

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    52     53     71     64     82

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $46,801        $20,680        $10,913        $9,544        $8,590   

 

 

1  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

22   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout the period)

 

CLASS R  

Year ended

July 31, 20161

 

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $14.62   

Net investment income

    0.13 2 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    1.72   
 

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    1.85   

Distributions to shareholders from

 

Net investment income

    (0.26

Net realized gains

    (1.44
 

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1.70

Net asset value, end of period

    $14.77   

Total return3

    13.56

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

 

Gross expenses

    1.12

Net expenses

    1.12

Net investment income

    1.12

Supplemental data

 

Portfolio turnover rate

    52

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $201   

 

 

1  For the period from September 30, 2015 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2016

 

2  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

3  Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund     23   

(For a share outstanding throughout the period)

 

CLASS R6  

Year ended

July 31, 20161

 

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $14.62   

Net investment income

    0.22 2 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    1.72   
 

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    1.94   

Distributions to shareholders from

 

Net investment income

    (0.26

Net realized gains

    (1.44
 

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1.70

Net asset value, end of period

    $14.86   

Total return3

    14.24

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

 

Gross expenses

    0.44

Net expenses

    0.43

Net investment income

    1.88

Supplemental data

 

Portfolio turnover rate

    52

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $4,024   

 

 

1  For the period from September 30, 2015 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2016

 

2  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

3  Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

24   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
ADMINISTRATOR CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $15.80        $16.60        $16.47        $14.79        $14.36   

Net investment income

    0.24 1      0.25 1      0.25 1      0.28 1      0.23 1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    0.48        1.63        2.35        3.27        0.93   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    0.72        1.88        2.60        3.55        1.16   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    (0.23     (0.19     (0.19     (0.24     (0.23

Net realized gains

    (1.44     (2.49     (2.28     (1.63     (0.50
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1.67     (2.68     (2.47     (1.87     (0.73

Net asset value, end of period

    $14.85        $15.80        $16.60        $16.47        $14.79   

Total return

    5.36     12.20     17.12     26.82     8.72

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    0.78     0.74     0.76     0.78     0.75

Net expenses

    0.74     0.73     0.74     0.74     0.74

Net investment income

    1.71     1.58     1.56     1.87     1.63

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    52     53     71     64     82

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $116,807        $63,544        $50,498        $127,384        $150,408   

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


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Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund     25   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
INSTITUTIONAL CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $15.66        $16.47        $16.43        $14.78        $14.39   

Net investment income

    0.28 1      0.30        0.26 1      0.35        0.26 1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    0.47        1.61        2.37        3.23        0.93   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    0.75        1.91        2.63        3.58        1.19   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    (0.25     (0.23     (0.31     (0.30     (0.30

Net realized gains

    (1.44     (2.49     (2.28     (1.63     (0.50
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1.69     (2.72     (2.59     (1.93     (0.80

Net asset value, end of period

    $14.72        $15.66        $16.47        $16.43        $14.78   

Total return

    5.64     12.55     17.48     27.16     9.02

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    0.54     0.47     0.50     0.51     0.49

Net expenses

    0.48     0.47     0.48     0.48     0.48

Net investment income

    1.96     1.86     1.63     2.08     1.80

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    52     53     71     64     82

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $163,674        $109,901        $91,144        $1,875        $1,215   

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


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26   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund   Notes to financial statements

1. ORGANIZATION

Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”), a Delaware statutory trust organized on March 10, 1999, is an open-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). As an investment company, the Trust follows the accounting and reporting guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946, Financial Services – Investment Companies. These financial statements report on the Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund (the “Fund”) which is a diversified series of the Trust.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The following significant accounting policies, which are consistently followed in the preparation of the financial statements of the Fund, are in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles which require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Securities valuation

All investments are valued each business day as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (generally 4 p.m. Eastern Time), although the Fund may deviate from this calculation time under unusual or unexpected circumstances.

Equity securities that are listed on a foreign or domestic exchange or market are valued at the official closing price or, if none, the last sales price. If no sale occurs on the principal exchange or market that day, the prior day’s price will be deemed “stale” and a fair value price will be determined in accordance with the Fund’s Valuation Procedures.

Investments in registered open-end investment companies are valued at net asset value. Interests in non-registered investment vehicles that are redeemable at net asset value are fair valued normally at net asset value.

Investments which are not valued using any of the methods discussed above are valued at their fair value, as determined in good faith by the Board of Trustees of the Fund. The Board of Trustees has established a Valuation Committee comprised of the Trustees and has delegated to it the authority to take any actions regarding the valuation of portfolio securities that the Valuation Committee deems necessary or appropriate, including determining the fair value of portfolio securities, unless the determination has been delegated to the Management Valuation Team of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”). The Board of Trustees retains the authority to make or ratify any valuation decisions or approve any changes to the Valuation Procedures as it deems appropriate. On a quarterly basis, the Board of Trustees receives reports on any valuation actions taken by the Valuation Committee or the Management Valuation Team which may include items for ratification.

Valuations of fair valued securities are compared to the next actual sales price when available, or other appropriate market values, to assess the continued appropriateness of the fair valuation methodologies used. These securities are fair valued on a day-to-day basis, taking into consideration changes to appropriate market information and any significant changes to the inputs considered in the valuation process until there is a readily available price provided on an exchange or by an independent pricing service. Valuations received from an independent pricing service or independent broker-dealer quotes are periodically validated by comparisons to most recent trades and valuations provided by other independent pricing services in addition to the review of prices by the manager and/or subadviser. Unobservable inputs used in determining fair valuations are identified based on the type of security, taking into consideration factors utilized by market participants in valuing the investment, knowledge about the issuer and the current market environment.

Security loans

The Fund may lend its securities from time to time in order to earn additional income in the form of fees or interest on securities received as collateral or the investment of any cash received as collateral. The Fund continues to receive interest or dividends on the securities loaned. The Fund receives collateral in the form of cash or securities with a value at least equal to the value of the securities on loan. The value of the loaned securities is determined at the close of each business day and any additional required collateral is delivered to the Fund on the next business day. In a securities lending transaction, the net asset value of the Fund will be affected by an increase or decrease in the value of the securities loaned and by an increase or decrease in the value of the instrument in which collateral is invested. The amount of securities lending activity undertaken by the Fund fluctuates from time to time. In the event of default or bankruptcy by the borrower, the Fund may be prevented from recovering the loaned securities or gaining access to the collateral or may experience delays or costs in doing so. In addition, the investment of any cash collateral received may lose all or part of its value. The Fund has the right under the lending agreement to recover the securities from the borrower on demand.


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Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund     27   

The Fund lends its securities through an unaffiliated securities lending agent. Cash collateral received in connection with its securities lending transactions is invested in Securities Lending Cash Investments, LLC (the “Securities Lending Fund”). The Securities Lending Fund is exempt from registration under Section 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act and is managed by Funds Management and is subadvised by Wells Capital Management Incorporated (“WellsCap”), an affiliate of Funds Management and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company (“Wells Fargo”). Funds Management receives an advisory fee starting at 0.05% and declining to 0.01% as the average daily net assets of the Securities Lending Fund increase. All of the fees received by Funds Management are paid to WellsCap for its services as subadviser. The Securities Lending Fund seeks to provide a positive return compared to the daily Fed Funds Open rate by investing in high-quality, U.S. dollar-denominated short-term money market instruments. Securities Lending Fund investments are fair valued based upon the amortized cost valuation technique. Income earned from investment in the Securities Lending Fund is included in securities lending income on the Statement of Operations.

Security transactions and income recognition

Securities transactions are recorded on a trade date basis. Realized gains or losses are recorded on the basis of identified cost.

Dividend income is recognized on the ex-dividend date.

Distributions to shareholders

Distributions to shareholders from net investment income and net realized gains, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Such distributions are determined in conformity with federal income tax regulations, which may differ in amount or character from net investment income and realized gains recognized for purposes of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Federal and other taxes

The Fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company by distributing substantially all of its investment company taxable income and any net realized capital gains (after reduction for capital loss carryforwards) sufficient to relieve it from all, or substantially all, federal income taxes. Accordingly, no provision for federal income taxes was required.

The Fund’s income and federal excise tax returns and all financial records supporting those returns for the prior three fiscal years are subject to examination by the federal and Delaware revenue authorities. Management has analyzed the Fund’s tax positions taken on federal, state, and foreign tax returns for all open tax years and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability.

Reclassifications are made to the Fund’s capital accounts for permanent tax differences to reflect income and gains available for distribution (or available capital loss carryforwards) under federal income tax regulations. U.S. generally accepted accounting principles require that certain components of net assets be adjusted to reflect permanent differences between financial and tax reporting. These reclassifications have no effect on net assets or net asset values per share. At July 31, 2016, as a result of permanent book-to-tax differences, the following reclassification adjustments were made on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities:

 

Paid-in capital   

Undistributed net

investment income

   Accumulated net
realized gains
on investments
$1,664    $(239,161)    $237,497

Class allocations

The separate classes of shares offered by the Fund differ principally in applicable sales charges, distribution, shareholder servicing, and administration fees. Class specific expenses are charged directly to that share class. Investment income, common expenses, and realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments are allocated daily to each class of shares based on the relative proportion of net assets of each class.

3. FAIR VALUATION MEASUREMENTS

Fair value measurements of investments are determined within a framework that has established a fair value hierarchy based upon the various data inputs utilized in determining the value of the Fund’s investments. The three-level hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to significant unobservable inputs (Level 3). The Fund’s investments are classified within the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The inputs are summarized into three broad levels as follows:


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28   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund   Notes to financial statements
n   Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical securities

 

n   Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, use of amortized cost, etc.)

 

n   Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The inputs or methodologies used for valuing investments in securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

The following is a summary of the inputs used in valuing the Fund’s assets and liabilities as of July 31, 2016:

 

     Quoted prices
(Level 1)
     Other significant
observable inputs
(Level 2)
     Significant
unobservable inputs
(Level 3)
     Total  

Assets

           

Investments in:

           

Common stocks

           

Consumer discretionary

   $ 85,561,410       $ 0       $ 0       $ 85,561,410   

Consumer staples

     72,047,353         0         0         72,047,353   

Energy

     53,562,101         0         0         53,562,101   

Financials

     115,386,050         0         0         115,386,050   

Health care

     112,952,589         0         0         112,952,589   

Industrials

     68,340,589         0         0         68,340,589   

Information technology

     155,749,153         0         0         155,749,153   

Materials

     25,029,790         0         0         25,029,790   

Telecommunications

     20,878,321         0         0         20,878,321   

Utilities

     23,404,866         0         0         23,404,866   

Short-term investments

           

Investment companies

     8,990,434         0         0         8,990,434   

Total assets

   $ 741,902,656       $ 0       $ 0       $ 741,902,656   

The Fund recognizes transfers between levels within the fair value hierarchy at the end of the reporting period. At July 31, 2016, the Fund did not have any transfers into/out of Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3.

4. TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES

Management fee

Funds Management, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo, is the manager of the Fund and provides advisory and fund-level administrative services under an investment management agreement. Under the investment management agreement, Funds Management is responsible for, among other services, implementing the investment objectives and strategies of the Fund, supervising the subadviser, providing fund-level administrative services in connection with the Fund’s operations, and providing any other fund-level administrative services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. As compensation for its services under the investment management agreement, Funds Management is entitled to receive an annual management fee starting at 0.35% and declining to 0.28% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase. For the year ended July 31, 2016, the management fee was equivalent to an annual rate of 0.35% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.

Funds Management has retained the services of a subadviser to provide daily portfolio management to the Fund. The fee for subadvisory services is borne by Funds Management. Golden Capital Management, LLC, an affiliate of Funds Management and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo, is the subadviser to the Fund and is entitled to receive a fee from Funds Management at an annual rate starting at 0.25% and declining to 0.15% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase.


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Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund     29   

Administration fees

Under a class-level administration agreement, Funds Management provides class-level administrative services to the Fund, which includes paying fees and expenses for services provided by the transfer agent, sub-transfer agents, omnibus account servicers and record-keepers. As compensation for its services under the class-level administration agreement, Funds Management receives an annual fee which is calculated based on the average daily net assets of each class as follows:

 

     Class-level
administration fee
 

Class A, Class C, Class R

     0.21

Class R6

     0.03   

Administrator Class, Institutional Class

     0.13   

Funds Management has contractually waived and/or reimbursed management and administration fees to the extent necessary to maintain certain net operating expense ratios for the Fund. Waiver of fees and/or reimbursement of expenses by Funds Management were made first from fund level expenses on a proportionate basis and then from class specific expenses. Funds Management has committed through November 30, 2016 to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s expenses at 0.92% for Class A shares, 1.67% for Class C shares, 1.17% for Class R shares, 0.43% for Class R6 shares, 0.74% for Administrator Class shares, and 0.48% for Institutional Class shares. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees.

Distribution fees

The Trust has adopted a distribution plan for Class C and Class R shares of the Fund pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Distribution fees are charged to Class C and Class R shares and paid to Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC (“Funds Distributor”), the principal underwriter, at an annual rate of 0.75% of the average daily net assets of Class C shares and 0.25% of the average daily net assets of Class R shares.

In addition, Funds Distributor is entitled to receive the front-end sales charge from the purchase of Class A shares and a contingent deferred sales charge on the redemption of certain Class A shares. Funds Distributor is also entitled to receive the contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of Class C shares. For the year ended July 31, 2016, Funds Distributor received $57,868 from the sale of Class A shares and $434, in contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of Class C shares.

Shareholder servicing fees

The Trust has entered into contracts with one or more shareholder servicing agents, whereby Class A, Class C, Class R, and Administrator Class of the Fund are charged a fee at an annual rate of 0.25% of the average daily net assets of each respective class.

A portion of these total shareholder servicing fees were paid to affiliates of Wells Fargo.

5. INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

Purchases and sales of investments, excluding U.S. government obligations (if any) and short-term securities, for the year ended July 31, 2016 were $478,305,949 and $299,169,103, respectively.

The Fund may purchase or sell investment securities to other Wells Fargo funds under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. The procedures have been designed to ensure that these interfund transactions, which generally do not incur broker commissions, are effected at current market prices. Interfund trades are included within the respective purchases and sales amounts shown.

6. BANK BORROWINGS

The Trust (excluding the money market funds and certain other funds) and Wells Fargo Variable Trust are parties to a $200,000,000 revolving credit agreement whereby the Fund is permitted to use bank borrowings for temporary or emergency purposes, such as to fund shareholder redemption requests. Interest under the credit agreement is charged to the Fund based on a borrowing rate equal to the higher of the Federal Funds rate in effect on that day plus 1.25% or the overnight LIBOR rate in effect on that day plus 1.25%. In addition, an annual commitment fee equal to 0.20% of the unused balance is allocated to each participating fund. Prior to September 1, 2015, the revolving credit agreement amount was $150,000,000 and the annual commitment fee was equal to 0.10% of the unused balance which was allocated to each participating fund.


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30   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund   Notes to financial statements

During the year ended July 31, 2016, the Fund had average borrowings outstanding of $119,281 at an average rate of 1.39% and paid interest in the amount of $1,658.

7. DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

The tax character of distributions paid during the years ended July 31, 2016 and July 31, 2015 were as follows:

 

     Year ended July 31  
     2016      2015  

Ordinary income

   $ 14,963,940       $ 19,437,900   

Long-term capital gain

     42,110,928         58,096,027   

As of July 31, 2016, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed

ordinary

income

  

Undistributed

long-term

gain

  

Unrealized

gains 

$9,286,853    $11,485,416    $170,142,337

8. INDEMNIFICATION

Under the Trust’s organizational documents, the officers and Trustees have been granted certain indemnification rights against certain liabilities that may arise out of performance of their duties to the Trust. Additionally, in the normal course of business, the Trust may enter into contracts with service providers that contain a variety of indemnification clauses. The Trust’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is dependent on future claims that may be made against the Fund and, therefore, cannot be estimated.


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Report of independent registered public accounting firm   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund     31   

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND SHAREHOLDERS OF WELLS FARGO FUNDS TRUST:

We have audited the accompanying statements of assets and liabilities, including the portfolio of investments, of the Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund (formerly known as Wells Fargo Advantage Disciplined U.S. Core Fund) (the “Fund”), one of the funds constituting the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, as of July 31, 2016, and the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years or periods in the five-year period then ended. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of July 31, 2016, by correspondence with the custodian, or by other appropriate auditing procedures. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund as of July 31, 2016, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years or periods in the five-year period then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

 

LOGO

Boston, Massachusetts

September 23, 2016


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32   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund   Other information (unaudited)

TAX INFORMATION

For corporate shareholders, pursuant to Section 854 of the Internal Revenue Code, 66.77% of ordinary income dividends qualify for the corporate dividends-received deduction for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016.

Pursuant to Section 852 of the Internal Revenue Code, $42,110,928 was designated as a 20% rate gain distribution for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016.

Pursuant to Section 854 of the Internal Revenue Code, $10,252,643 of income dividends paid during the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016 has been designated as qualified dividend income (QDI).

For the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016, $7,479,004 has been designated as short-term capital gain dividends for nonresident alien shareholders pursuant to Section 871 of the Internal Revenue Code.

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION

The complete portfolio holdings for the Fund are publicly available monthly on the Fund’s website (wellsfargofunds.com), on a one-month delayed basis. In addition, top ten holdings information (excluding derivative positions) for the Fund is publicly available on the Fund’s website on a monthly, seven-day or more delayed basis. The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q, which is available by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. In addition, the Fund’s Form N-Q may be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC, and at regional offices in New York City, at 233 Broadway, and in Chicago, at 175 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 900. Information about the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.

PROXY VOTING INFORMATION

A description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities is available, upon request, by calling 1-800-222-8222, visiting our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available on the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com or by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov.


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund     33   

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS

Each of the Trustees and Officers1 listed in the table below acts in identical capacities for each fund in the Wells Fargo family of funds, which consists of 139 mutual funds comprising the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, Wells Fargo Variable Trust, Wells Fargo Master Trust and four closed-end funds (collectively the “Fund Complex”). This table should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information2. The mailing address of each Trustee and Officer is 525 Market Street, 12th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105. Each Trustee and Officer serves an indefinite term, however, each Trustee serves such term until reaching the mandatory retirement age established by the Trustees.

Independent Trustees

 

Name and
year of birth
  Position held and
length of service*
  Principal occupations during past five years or longer   Current other
public company or
investment company
directorships
William R. Ebsworth (Born 1957)   Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 1984 to 2013, equities analyst, portfolio manager, research director and chief financial officer at Fidelity Management and Research Company in Boston, Tokyo, and Hong Kong and retired in 2013 as Chief Investment Officer of Fidelity Strategic Advisers, Inc. where he lead a team of investment professionals managing client assets. Prior thereto, Board member of Hong Kong Securities Clearing Co., Hong Kong Options Clearing Corp., the Thailand International Fund, Ltd., Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company, and Empire Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company. Mr. Ebsworth is a CFA® charterholder and an Adjunct Lecturer, Finance, at Babson College.   Asset Allocation Trust
Jane A. Freeman (Born 1953)   Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 2012 to 2014 and 1999 to 2008, Chief Financial Officer of Scientific Learning Corporation. From 2008 to 2012, Ms. Freeman provided consulting services related to strategic business projects. Prior to 1999, Portfolio Manager at Rockefeller & Co. and Scudder, Stevens & Clark. Board member of the Harding Loevner Funds from 1996 to 2014, serving as both Lead Independent Director and chair of the Audit Committee. Board member of the Russell Exchange Traded Funds Trust from 2011 to 2012 and the chair of the Audit Committee. Ms. Freeman is Chair of Taproot Foundation (non-profit organization), a Board Member of Ruth Bancroft Garden (non-profit organization) and an inactive chartered financial analyst.   Asset Allocation Trust
Peter G. Gordon (Born 1942)   Trustee, since 1998; Chairman, since 2005   Co-Founder, Retired Chairman, President and CEO of Crystal Geyser Water Company. Trustee Emeritus, Colby College.   Asset Allocation Trust
Isaiah Harris, Jr. (Born 1952)   Trustee, since 2009   Retired. Chairman of the Board of CIGNA Corporation since 2009, and Director since 2005. From 2003 to 2011, Director of Deluxe Corporation. Prior thereto, President and CEO of BellSouth Advertising and Publishing Corp. from 2005 to 2007, President and CEO of BellSouth Enterprises from 2004 to 2005 and President of BellSouth Consumer Services from 2000 to 2003. Emeritus member of the Iowa State University Foundation Board of Governors. Emeritus Member of the Advisory Board of Iowa State University School of Business. Advisory Board Member, Palm Harbor Academy (charter school). Advisory Board Member, Child Evangelism Fellowship (non-profit). Mr. Harris is a certified public accountant (inactive status).   CIGNA Corporation; Asset Allocation Trust
Judith M. Johnson (Born 1949)   Trustee, since 2008; Audit Committee Chairman, since 2008   Retired. Prior thereto, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Minneapolis Employees Retirement Fund from 1996 to 2008. Ms. Johnson is an attorney, certified public accountant and a certified managerial accountant.   Asset Allocation Trust
David F. Larcker (Born 1950)   Trustee, since 2009   James Irvin Miller Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Director of the Corporate Governance Research Initiative and Senior Faculty of The Rock Center for Corporate Governance since 2006. From 2005 to 2008, Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Prior thereto, Ernst & Young Professor of Accounting at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania from 1985 to 2005.   Asset Allocation Trust


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34   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund   Other information (unaudited)
Name and
year of birth
  Position held and
length of service*
  Principal occupations during past five years or longer   Current other
public company or
investment company
directorships
Olivia S. Mitchell (Born 1953)   Trustee, since 2006   International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Professor, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania since 1993. Director of Wharton’s Pension Research Council and Boettner Center on Pensions & Retirement Research, and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Previously, Cornell University Professor from 1978 to 1993.   Asset Allocation Trust
Timothy J. Penny (Born 1951)   Trustee, since 1996   President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, a non-profit organization, since 2007 and Senior Fellow at the Humphrey Institute Policy Forum at the University of Minnesota since 1995. Member of the Board of Trustees of NorthStar Education Finance, Inc., a non-profit organization, since 2007.   Asset Allocation Trust
Michael S. Scofield (Born 1943)   Trustee, since 2010   Served on the Investment Company Institute’s Board of Governors and Executive Committee from 2008-2011 as well the Governing Council of the Independent Directors Council from 2006-2011 and the Independent Directors Council Executive Committee from 2008-2011. Chairman of the IDC from 2008-2010. Institutional Investor (Fund Directions) Trustee of Year in 2007. Trustee of the Evergreen Funds complex (and its predecessors) from 1984 to 2010. Chairman of the Evergreen Funds from 2000-2010. Former Trustee of the Mentor Funds. Retired Attorney, Law Offices of Michael S. Scofield.   Asset Allocation Trust

 

* Length of service dates reflect the Trustee’s commencement of service with the Trust’s predecessor entities, where applicable.

Officers

 

Name and
year of birth
  Position held and
length of service
  Principal occupations during past five years or longer    
Karla M. Rabusch (Born 1959)   President, since 2003   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2003.    
Jeremy DePalma1 (Born 1974)   Treasurer, since 2012   Senior Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Senior Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010 and head of the Fund Reporting and Control Team within Fund Administration from 2005 to 2010.    
C. David Messman (Born 1960)   Secretary, since 2000; Chief Legal Officer, since 2003   Senior Vice President and Secretary of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2001. Assistant General Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. since 2013 and Vice President and Managing Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. from 1996 to 2013.    
Michael Whitaker (Born 1967)   Chief Compliance Officer, since 2016*   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2016. Chief Compliance Officer of Fidelity’s Fixed Income Funds and Asset Allocation Funds from 2008 to 2016, Compliance Officer of FMR Co., Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments from 2007 to 2016.    
David Berardi (Born 1975)   Assistant Treasurer, since 2009   Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010. Manager of Fund Reporting and Control for Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2004 to 2010.    

 

 

 

1 Jeremy DePalma acts as Treasurer of 68 funds and Assistant Treasurer of 71 funds in the Fund Complex.

 

2 The Statement of Additional Information includes additional information about the Trustees and is available, without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-222-8222 or by visiting the website at wellsfargofunds.com.

 

* Michael Whitaker became Chief Compliance Officer effective May 16, 2016.


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund     35   

BOARD CONSIDERATION OF INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENTS:

Under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”) must determine annually whether to approve the continuation of the Trust’s investment management and sub-advisory agreements. In this regard, at an in-person meeting held on May 24-25, 2016 (the “Meeting”), the Board, all the members of which have no direct or indirect interest in the investment management and sub-advisory agreements and are not “interested persons” of the Trust, as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”), reviewed and approved for Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund (the “Fund”): (i) an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”); and (ii) an investment sub-advisory agreement (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”) with Golden Capital Management, LLC (the “Sub-Adviser”), an affiliate of Funds Management. The Management Agreement and the Sub-Advisory Agreement are collectively referred to as the “Advisory Agreements.”

At the Meeting, the Board considered the factors and reached the conclusions described below relating to the selection of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser and the approval of the Advisory Agreements. Prior to the Meeting, including at an in-person meeting in April 2016, the Trustees conferred extensively among themselves and with representatives of Funds Management about these matters. Also, the Board has adopted a team-based approach, with each team consisting of a sub-set of Trustees, to assist the full Board in the discharge of its duties in reviewing performance and other matters throughout the year. The Independent Trustees were assisted in their evaluation of the Advisory Agreements by independent legal counsel, from whom they received separate legal advice and with whom they met separately.

In providing information to the Board, Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser were guided by a detailed set of requests for information submitted to them by independent legal counsel on behalf of the Independent Trustees at the start of the Board’s annual contract renewal process earlier in 2016. In considering and approving the Advisory Agreements, the Trustees considered the information they believed relevant, including but not limited to the information discussed below. The Board considered not only the specific information presented in connection with the Meeting, but also the knowledge gained over time through interaction with Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser about various topics. In this regard, the Board reviewed reports of Funds Management at each of its quarterly meetings, which included, among other things, portfolio reviews and performance reports. In addition, the Board and the teams mentioned above confer with portfolio managers at various times throughout the year. The Board did not identify any particular information or consideration that was all-important or controlling, and each individual Trustee may have attributed different weights to various factors.

After its deliberations, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable. The Board considered the approval of the Advisory Agreements for the Fund as part of its consideration of agreements for funds across the complex, but its approvals were made on a fund-by-fund basis. The following summarizes a number of important, but not necessarily all, factors considered by the Board in support of its approvals.

Nature, extent and quality of services

The Board received and considered various information regarding the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under the Advisory Agreements. This information included a description of the investment advisory services and Fund-level administrative services covered by the Management Agreement, as well as, among other things, a summary of the background and experience of senior management of Funds Management, and the qualifications, background, tenure and responsibilities of each of the portfolio managers primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the Fund.

The Board evaluated the ability of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to attract and retain qualified investment professionals, including research, advisory and supervisory personnel. The Board further considered the compliance programs and compliance records of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser. In addition, the Board took into account the full range of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and its affiliates.

Fund performance and expenses

The Board considered the performance results for the Fund over various time periods ended December 31, 2015. The Board considered these results in comparison to the performance of funds in a universe that was determined by Broadridge Inc. (“Broadridge”) to be similar to the Fund (the “Universe”), and in comparison to the Fund’s benchmark index and to other comparative data. Broadridge is an independent provider of investment company data. The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the performance Universe.


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36   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund   Other information (unaudited)

The Board noted that the performance of the Fund (Administrator Class) was higher than the average performance of the Universe for all periods under review. The Board also noted that the performance of the Fund was higher than its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, for all periods under review.

The Board also received and considered information regarding the Fund’s net operating expense ratios and their various components, including actual management fees, custodian and other non-management fees, and Rule 12b-1 and non-Rule 12b-1 shareholder service fees. The Board considered these ratios in comparison to the median ratios of funds in class-specific expense groups that were determined by Broadridge to be similar to the Fund (the “Groups”). The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the expense Groups and an explanation of how funds comprising expense groups and their expense ratios may vary from year-to-year. Based on the Broadridge reports, the Board noted that the net operating expense ratios of the Fund were lower than or equal to the median net operating expense ratios of the expense Groups. The Board discussed and accepted Funds Management’s proposal to reduce the net operating expense ratio caps for the Class A, Class C and Class R.

The Board took into account the Fund performance and expense information provided to it among the factors considered in deciding to re-approve the Advisory Agreements.

Investment management and sub-advisory fee rates

The Board reviewed and considered the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management under the Management Agreement, as well as the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management for class-level administrative services under a Class-Level Administration Agreement, which include class-level transfer agency and sub-transfer agency costs (collectively, the “Management Rates”). The Board also reviewed and considered the contractual investment sub-advisory fee rates that are payable by Funds Management to the Sub-Adviser for investment sub-advisory services.

Among other information reviewed by the Board was a comparison of the Fund’s Management Rates with the average contractual investment management fee rates of funds in the expense Groups at a common asset level as well as transfer agency costs of the funds in the expense Groups. The Board noted that the Management Rates of the Fund were lower than the sum of these average rates for the Fund’s expense Groups for all share classes.

The Board also received and considered information about the portion of the total management fee that was retained by Funds Management after payment of the fee to the Sub-Adviser for sub-advisory services. In assessing the reasonableness of this amount, the Board received and evaluated information about the nature and extent of responsibilities retained and risks assumed by Funds Management and not delegated to or assumed by the Sub-Adviser, and about Funds Management’s on-going oversight services. However, given the affiliation between Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser, the Board ascribed limited relevance to the allocation of fees between them.

The Board also received and considered information about the nature and extent of services offered and fee rates charged by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to other types of clients with investment strategies similar to those of the Fund. In this regard, the Board received information about the significantly greater scope of services, and compliance, reporting and other legal burdens and risks of managing mutual funds compared with those associated with managing assets of non-mutual fund clients such as collective funds or institutional separate accounts.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management under the Management Agreement and to the Sub-Adviser under the Sub-Advisory Agreement was reasonable, in light of the services covered by the Advisory Agreements.

Profitability

The Board received and considered information concerning the profitability of Funds Management, as well as the profitability of Wells Fargo as a whole, from providing services to the Fund and the fund family as a whole. The Board also received and considered information concerning the profitability of the Sub-Adviser, if any, from providing services to the fund family as a whole, noting that the Sub-Adviser’s profitability information with respect to providing services to the Fund was subsumed in the Wells Fargo and Funds Management profitability analysis.

Funds Management reported on the methodologies and estimates used in calculating profitability. Among other things, the Board noted that the levels of profitability reported on a fund-by-fund basis varied widely, depending on factors such as the size and type of fund. Based on its review, the Board did not deem the profits reported by Funds Management or Wells Fargo from its services to the Fund to be at a level that would prevent it from approving the continuation of the Advisory Agreements.


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund     37   

Economies of scale

With respect to possible economies of scale, the Board noted the existence of breakpoints in the Fund’s management fee structure, which operate generally to reduce the Fund’s expense ratios as the Fund grows in size. It considered that, for a small fund or a fund that shrinks in size, breakpoints conversely can result in higher fee levels. The Board also considered that fee waiver and expense reimbursement arrangements and competitive fee rates at the outset are means of sharing potential economies of scale with shareholders of the Fund and the fund family as a whole. The Board discussed and accepted Funds Management’s proposal to reduce the net operating expense ratio caps for the Class A, Class C and Class R. The Board considered Funds Management’s view that any analyses of potential economies of scale in managing a particular fund are inherently limited in light of the joint and common costs and investments that Funds Management incurs across the fund family as a whole.

The Board concluded that the Fund’s fee and expense arrangements, including contractual breakpoints, constituted a reasonable approach to sharing potential economies of scale with the Fund and its shareholders.

Other benefits to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser

The Board received and considered information regarding potential “fall-out” or ancillary benefits received by Funds Management and its affiliates, including the Sub-Adviser, as a result of their relationships with the Fund. Ancillary benefits could include, among others, benefits directly attributable to other relationships with the Fund and benefits potentially derived from an increase in Funds Management’s and the Sub-Adviser’s business as a result of their relationships with the Fund. The Board noted that various affiliates of Funds Management may receive distribution-related fees, shareholder servicing payments and sub-transfer agency fees in respect of shares sold or held through them and services provided.

The Board also reviewed information about soft dollar credits earned and utilized by the Sub-Adviser, fees earned by Funds Management from managing a private investment vehicle for the fund family’s securities lending collateral and commissions earned by an affiliated broker from portfolio transactions.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board did not find that any ancillary benefits received by Funds Management and its affiliates, including the Sub-Adviser, were unreasonable.

Conclusion

At the Meeting, after considering the above-described factors and based on its deliberations and its evaluation of the information described above, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable.


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38   Wells Fargo Disciplined U.S. Core Fund   List of abbreviations

The following is a list of common abbreviations for terms and entities that may have appeared in this report.

 

ACA —  ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation
ADR —  American depositary receipt
ADS —  American depositary shares
AGC —  Assured Guaranty Corporation
AGM —  Assured Guaranty Municipal
Ambac —  Ambac Financial Group Incorporated
AMT —  Alternative minimum tax
AUD —  Australian dollar
BAN —  Bond anticipation notes
BHAC —  Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corporation
BRL —  Brazilian real
CAB —  Capital appreciation bond
CAD —  Canadian dollar
CCAB —  Convertible capital appreciation bond
CDA —  Community Development Authority
CDO —  Collateralized debt obligation
CHF —  Swiss franc
COP —  Colombian peso
CLP —  Chilean peso
DKK —  Danish krone
DRIVER —  Derivative inverse tax-exempt receipts
DW&P —  Department of Water & Power
DWR —  Department of Water Resources
ECFA —  Educational & Cultural Facilities Authority
EDA —  Economic Development Authority
EDFA —  Economic Development Finance Authority
ETF —  Exchange-traded fund
EUR —  Euro
FDIC —  Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FFCB —  Federal Farm Credit Banks
FGIC —  Financial Guaranty Insurance Corporation
FHA —  Federal Housing Administration
FHLB —  Federal Home Loan Bank
FHLMC —  Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
FICO —  The Financing Corporation
FNMA —  Federal National Mortgage Association
FSA —  Farm Service Agency
GBP —  Great British pound
GDR —  Global depositary receipt
GNMA —  Government National Mortgage Association
GO —  General obligation
HCFR —  Healthcare facilities revenue
HEFA —  Health & Educational Facilities Authority
HEFAR —  Higher education facilities authority revenue
HFA —  Housing Finance Authority
HFFA —  Health Facilities Financing Authority
HKD —  Hong Kong dollar
HUD —  Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUF —  Hungarian forint
IDA —  Industrial Development Authority
IDAG —  Industrial Development Agency
IDR —  Indonesian rupiah
IEP —  Irish pound
JPY —  Japanese yen
KRW —  Republic of Korea won
LIBOR —  London Interbank Offered Rate
LIFER —  Long Inverse Floating Exempt Receipts
LIQ —  Liquidity agreement
LLC —  Limited liability company
LLLP —  Limited liability limited partnership
LLP —  Limited liability partnership
LOC —  Letter of credit
LP —  Limited partnership
MBIA —  Municipal Bond Insurance Association
MFHR —  Multifamily housing revenue
MSTR —  Municipal securities trust receipts
MTN —  Medium-term note
MUD —  Municipal Utility District
MXN —  Mexican peso
MYR —  Malaysian ringgit
National —  National Public Finance Guarantee Corporation
NGN —  Nigerian naira
NOK —  Norwegian krone
NZD —  New Zealand dollar
PCFA —  Pollution Control Financing Authority
PCL —  Public Company Limited
PCR —  Pollution control revenue
PFA —  Public Finance Authority
PFFA —  Public Facilities Financing Authority
PFOTER —  Puttable floating option tax-exempt receipts
plc —  Public limited company
PLN —  Polish zloty
PUTTER —  Puttable tax-exempt receipts
R&D —  Research & development
Radian —  Radian Asset Assurance
RAN —  Revenue anticipation notes
RDA —  Redevelopment Authority
RDFA —  Redevelopment Finance Authority
REIT —  Real estate investment trust
ROC —  Reset option certificates
RON —  Romanian lei
RUB —  Russian ruble
SAVRS —  Select auction variable rate securities
SBA —  Small Business Authority
SDR —  Swedish depositary receipt
SEK —  Swedish krona
SFHR —  Single-family housing revenue
SFMR —  Single-family mortgage revenue
SGD —  Singapore dollar
SPA —  Standby purchase agreement
SPDR —  Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts
SPEAR —  Short Puttable Exempt Adjustable Receipts
STRIPS —  Separate trading of registered interest and
           principal securities
TAN —  Tax anticipation notes
TBA —  To be announced
THB —  Thai baht
TIPS —  Treasury inflation-protected securities
TRAN —  Tax revenue anticipation notes
TRY —  Turkish lira
TTFA —  Transportation Trust Fund Authority
TVA —  Tennessee Valley Authority
ZAR —  South African rand
 


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For more information

More information about Wells Fargo Funds is available free upon request. To obtain literature, please write, email, visit the Fund’s website, or call:

Wells Fargo Funds

P.O. Box 8266

Boston, MA 02266-8266

Email: fundservice@wellsfargo.com

Website: wellsfargofunds.com

Individual investors: 1-800-222-8222

Retail investment professionals: 1-888-877-9275

Institutional investment professionals: 1-866-765-0778

 

This report and the financial statements contained herein are submitted for the general information of the shareholders of the Fund. If this report is used for promotional purposes, distribution of the report must be accompanied or preceded by a current prospectus. Before investing, please consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the investment. For a current prospectus and, if available, a summary prospectus, containing this information, call 1-800-222-8222 or visit the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com. Read the prospectus carefully before you invest or send money.

Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM) is a trade name used by the asset management businesses of Wells Fargo & Company. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, provides investment advisory and administrative services for Wells Fargo Funds. Other affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company provide subadvisory and other services for the funds. The funds are distributed by Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC, Member FINRA, an affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE

© 2016 Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. All rights reserved.

 

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245321 09-16

A203/AR203 07-16


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Annual Report

July 31, 2016

 

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Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund

 

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Table of Contents

Reduce clutter. Save trees.

Sign up for electronic delivery of prospectuses and shareholder reports at wellsfargo.com/advantagedelivery

Contents

 

 

 

Letter to shareholders

    2   

Performance highlights

    6   

Fund expenses

    10   

Portfolio of investments

    11   
Financial statements  

Statement of assets and liabilities

    14   

Statement of operations

    15   

Statement of changes in net assets

    16   

Financial highlights

    17   

Notes to financial statements

    22   

Report of independent registered public accounting firm

    27   

Other information

    28   

List of abbreviations

    34   

 

The views expressed and any forward-looking statements are as of July 31, 2016, unless otherwise noted, and are those of the Fund managers and/or Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. Discussions of individual securities, or the markets generally, or any Wells Fargo Fund are not intended as individual recommendations. Future events or results may vary significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. The views expressed are subject to change at any time in response to changing circumstances in the market. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC and the Fund disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any views expressed or forward-looking statements.

 

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE



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2   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

 

LOGO

Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period

 

 

Dear Valued Shareholder:

We are pleased to offer you this annual report for the Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016. During this period, which began August 1, 2015, U.S. and international stock markets experienced heightened volatility, with intermittent rebounds interspersed with sell-offs. The U.S. economy displayed resilience throughout the period, although growth was somewhat sluggish amid ongoing pressures that included slowing growth in China, a strengthening U.S. dollar, and uncertainty regarding interest-rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed); international economies faced deeper ongoing challenges. During June 2016, global markets became especially volatile as the U.K.’s vote over whether to leave the European Union (E.U.) approached. However, markets began recovering shortly after the U.K. voted to leave and rallied through July. Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period, as measured by the Russell 1000® Index.1 International markets generally declined as measured by the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index.2

In the third quarter of 2015, China’s slowdown took a toll on economies and markets worldwide.

U.S. stocks sagged during the quarter, experiencing the most volatility since 2011. Economic data released during the quarter suggested the U.S. economy remained solid but had lost some steam, burdened by the drag of the U.S. dollar’s strength coupled with global economic turmoil. The fact that the Fed left the federal funds interest rate unchanged at its September 2015 meeting surprised investors and fueled increased uncertainty about the U.S. economy’s stamina to remain healthy while facing the challenges of slowing growth in China and troubles elsewhere in the world. Outside the U.S., markets were even more volatile and delivered generally weaker quarterly results, also largely due to investors’ increasing anxiety over China’s weakened economy.

Despite ongoing concerns, U.S. stocks generally rose in the fourth quarter of 2015; international markets lagged.

While the broad U.S. stock market bounced back in the quarter, stock markets outside the U.S. failed to keep pace as economic concerns, including China’s ongoing slowdown, continued to affect many countries. U.S. economic data released during the quarter indicated the economy remained solid, although the strong U.S. dollar and weakness in international economies remained headwinds. In December, the Fed, as expected, raised its target interest rate by 25 basis points (bps; 100 bps equals 1.00%) after keeping it near zero for seven years. The move reflected confidence in the U.S. economy’s ability to stay healthy with less central-bank support. The Fed also clarified that future interest-rate increases would be gradual.

 

 

 

1  The Russell 1000® Index measures the performance of the 1,000 largest companies in the Russell 3000® Index, which represents approximately 92% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000® Index. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

2  Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index is a free-float-adjusted market-capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the United States and Canada. The MSCI EAFE Index consists of the following 21 developed markets country indexes: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. You cannot invest directly in an index.


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Letter to shareholders (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund     3   

In the first quarter of 2016, market volatility increased globally amid ongoing concerns.

Stock markets worldwide fluctuated widely in the first quarter of 2016. Most sold off sharply in the first six weeks of the year on concerns such as weak global growth, falling commodity prices, and uncertainty over the timing and impact of the Fed’s interest-rate increases. As the quarter progressed, fears abated somewhat and global markets generally rallied back. The U.S. economy ended the quarter on a positive note as much of the quarter’s data reflected resiliency. With ongoing uncertainties about global growth and financial markets, however, the Fed held off from raising the target interest rate during the quarter. Outside the U.S., the eurozone fell into deflation in February; in response, the European Central Bank announced an expansion of its stimulus program. In China, the government in March set a growth rate of 6.5% to 7.0% for 2016, an acknowledgment of weakening growth. In emerging markets, although central-bank stimulus and improved prices for oil and other commodities led to stock-market rallies in the quarter, many of these countries’ economies face credit downgrades due to challenges such as the likelihood of a stronger U.S. dollar, which would make dollar-denominated debt more expensive.

Worries over interest rates and the U.K.’s vote largely drove the markets during the second quarter of 2016.

U.S. stocks began the quarter in positive territory but started to lose steam in early May on worries that a possible June interest-rate increase by the Fed could hurt the market. In mid-May, stocks briefly plunged following comments by Fed officials noting that a June interest-rate increase remained on the table. But once investors had processed this information, stocks again rallied, finishing up for the month. The first three weeks of June brought heightened volatility, spurred largely by a disappointing jobs report and uncertainty over whether the U.K. would remain in the E.U. The U.K.’s Brexit vote on June 23 shocked countries in Europe and much of the rest of the world. Stock markets plummeted as investors worried that the U.K.’s departure from the E.U. would slow global growth and prolong the low-interest-rate environment. Following the initial rout, however, U.S. stocks rallied as investors seemed to decide that any negative effects would be more localized and not create a serious risk for global growth. By quarter-end, the broad U.S. stock market had moved back into positive territory.

Stocks generally posted positive results for July 2016.

U.S. stocks displayed the most momentum during the first two weeks of the month, buoyed partly by an unexpectedly favorable June jobs report that helped strengthen confidence in the U.S. economy. Also, investors perhaps felt that global central banks could extend stimulus measures in the wake of the Brexit vote. Although U.S. market momentum slowed during the second half of July, stocks ended in positive territory for the month. International stocks delivered positive monthly results as well.

    

 


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4   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

Don’t let short-term uncertainty derail long-term investment goals.

Periods of uncertainty can present challenges, but experience has taught us that maintaining long-term investment goals can be an effective way to plan for the future. To help you create a sound strategy based on your personal goals and risk tolerance, Wells Fargo Funds offers more than 100 mutual funds spanning a wide range of asset classes and investment styles. Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance. We encourage investors to know their investments and to understand that appropriate levels of risk-taking may unlock opportunities.

Thank you for choosing to invest in Wells Fargo Funds. We appreciate your confidence in us and remain committed to helping you meet your financial needs.

Sincerely,

 

LOGO

Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance.

 

 

 

 

For further information about your Fund, contact your investment professional, visit our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or call us directly at 1-800-222-8222. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


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6   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

Investment objective

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Manager

Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC

Subadviser

Wells Capital Management Incorporated

Portfolio managers

Michael C. Smith, CFA®

Chris Warner, CFA®

Average annual total returns (%) as of July 31, 2016

 

        Including sales charge     Excluding sales charge     Expense ratios1 (%)  
    Inception date   1 year     5 year     10 year     1 year     5 year     10 year     Gross     Net2  
Class A (STAEX)   12-29-2000     (5.82     9.11        5.82        (0.07     10.42        6.45        1.19        1.19   
Class B (WECBX)*   12-29-2000     (5.76     9.33        5.88        (0.76     9.61        5.88        1.94        1.94   
Class C (WECCX)   12-29-2000     (1.76     9.60        5.66        (0.76     9.60        5.66        1.94        1.94   
Administrator Class (WECDX)   4-8-2005                          0.16        10.70        6.73        1.11        1.00   
Institutional Class (WFCIX)   4-8-2005                          0.27        10.89        6.91        0.86        0.80   
Russell 1000® Growth Index3                            4.35        13.62        9.50                 
*   Effective September 9, 2016, Class B shares are no longer offered by the Fund.

Figures quoted represent past performance, which is no guarantee of future results, and do not reflect taxes that a shareholder may pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Performance shown without sales charges would be lower if sales charges were reflected. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted, which assumes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. Current month-end performance is available on the Fund’s website, wellsfargofunds.com.

Index returns do not include transaction costs associated with buying and selling securities, any mutual fund fees or expenses, or any taxes. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

For Class A shares, the maximum front-end sales charge is 5.75%. For Class B shares, the maximum contingent deferred sales charge is 5.00%. For Class C shares, the maximum contingent deferred sales charge is 1.00%. Performance including a contingent deferred sales charge assumes the sales charge for the corresponding time period. Administrator Class and Institutional Class shares are sold without a front-end sales charge or contingent deferred sales charge.

Stock values fluctuate in response to the activities of individual companies and general market and economic conditions. Certain investment strategies tend to increase the total risk of an investment (relative to the broader market). The Fund is exposed to foreign investment risk, focused portfolio risk, and smaller-company securities risk. Consult the Fund’s prospectus for additional information on these and other risks.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


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Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund     7   
Growth of $10,000 investment as of July 31, 20164
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1  Reflects the expense ratios as stated in the most recent prospectuses. The expense ratios shown are subject to change and may differ from the annualized expense ratios shown in the financial highlights of this report.

 

2  The manager has contractually committed through November 30, 2016, to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at 1.20% for Class A, 1.95% for Class B, 1.95% for Class C, 1.00% for Administrator Class, and 0.80% for Institutional Class. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Brokerage commissions, stamp duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense cap. Without this cap, the Fund’s returns would have been lower.

 

3  The Russell 1000® Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

4  The chart compares the performance of Class A shares for the most recent ten years with the Russell 1000® Growth Index. The chart assumes a hypothetical investment of $10,000 in Class A shares and reflects all operating expenses and assumes the maximum initial sales charge of 5.75%.

 

5  The ten largest holdings, excluding cash and cash equivalents, are calculated based on the value of the investments divided by total net assets of the Fund. Holdings are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.

 

6  Amounts are calculated based on the total long-term investments of the Fund. These amounts are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.


Table of Contents

 

8   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

MANAGER’S DISCUSSION

Fund highlights

n   The Fund underperformed its benchmark, the Russell 1000® Growth Index, for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016.

 

n   Stock selection in the information technology (IT) and telecommunication services sectors detracted from performance.

 

n   Stock selection within the consumer discretionary sector benefited performance.

Over the 12-month period, an elevated level of uncertainty was visible in the U.S. stock market as global economic data and geopolitical events led many investors to reexamine their tolerance for risk; as a result, U.S. stocks at times traded more on emotion and fear than on company-specific fundamentals. In this environment, investors generally tended to prefer yield and defensive stocks, often referred to as bond proxies. These market dynamics were more pronounced in international markets, where economic activity generally was more tepid and geopolitical events caused greater uncertainty.

 

Ten largest holdings (%) as of July 31, 20165  

Amazon.com Incorporated

     5.33   

Alphabet Incorporated Class A

     5.33   

Facebook Incorporated Class A

     4.74   

Visa Incorporated Class A

     4.22   

The Home Depot Incorporated

     4.16   

Apple Incorporated

     4.11   

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated

     3.63   

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

     3.48   

Fidelity National Information Services Incorporated

     2.90   

Constellation Brands Incorporated Class A

     2.83   

The Fund’s telecommunication services and IT holdings weighed on performance relative to the Russell 1000® Growth Index.

Within the telecommunication services sector, the Fund’s position in SBA Communications Corporation, a cell-tower operator in the U.S. and abroad, detracted from performance. SBA’s growth rate declined due to weaker-than-expected capital spending by large wireless carriers and concerns about the company’s use of debt in a volatile credit market. Given the change in SBA’s fundamentals, we exited the Fund’s position in the stock.

Within the IT sector, enterprise-security company Palo Alto Networks, Incorporated, detracted from performance. While network security remains a priority for businesses, companies in this industry, including

 

Palo Alto, have fallen victim to difficult earnings comparisons following the elevated level of growth they experienced in the wake of several high-profile cyberattacks. While Palo Alto reported better-than-expected revenue growth during the period, the company stated that earnings growth likely will decelerate in the near term because macroeconomic challenges have become more pronounced. We sold the Fund’s position in Palo Alto during the period given that the company had approached our valuation target, its fundamentals were likely to decelerate, and we saw few near-term catalysts.

 

Sector distribution as of July 31, 20166
LOGO

Stock selection in the consumer discretionary sector aided results.

The Fund benefited from its position in internet retail giant Amazon.com, Incorporated, as the company’s shares posted strong gains over the reporting period. Amazon enjoyed better-than-expected revenue growth from each of its business segments. Amazon’s strategy of providing low prices, an efficient retail-logistics network, and a strong customer-loyalty plan has resulted in continued market-share gains from traditional brick-and-mortar retailers. With an estimated 50 million subscribers, Amazon Prime has continued to grow sharply, while results from the company’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) segment have shown remarkable

 

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


Table of Contents

 

Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund     9   

growth. A multi-billion-dollar cloud-computing business, AWS has been generating a significant portion of Amazon’s operating income and is a key component of the company’s future growth.

The Fund’s position in The Home Depot, Incorporated, also contributed to performance. As a leading home improvement retailer in the U.S., Home Depot has benefited from several tailwinds. Most importantly, the U.S. housing recovery has been strengthening in terms of price appreciation, transaction volumes, and housing starts. Household formations, which have been rising, have been another catalyst for the company’s growth. As consumers regain confidence that their homes may appreciate in value, home-improvement spending should continue to improve. Strengthening labor markets also have helped consumers feel increasingly secure in their employment. Despite a cautious overall consumer environment, spending on home-related durable goods has been trending positively for several years; we have observed a secular trend of consumers shifting away from spending on apparel and luxury items and toward home improvement. In addition, Home Depot has improved store operations and inventory management; these efforts have translated into strong traffic growth and market-share gains compared with competitors and have helped send Home Depot’s stock price higher over the past 12 months.

Recent market dynamics support our confidence in the Fund’s positioning.

The world presently faces a range of complex and substantial issues. As a result, investors often become preoccupied with worries about the global economic and geopolitical outlooks. Because we share many of these concerns, we have taken a cautious approach within the Fund. We have intentionally shifted toward higher-quality companies with stable cash flows; this positioning reflects the impact that macro factors could have on individual holdings. We acknowledge the importance of risk management in an era of uncertainty.

That being said, however, our process will remain focused on the micro. While valuations of the Fund’s holdings can fluctuate, the fundamentals of these companies, in our view, are underpinned by innovation and strong managements as well as by potentially profitable business models and durable growth. We believe these businesses may be relatively immune to economic uncertainty and therefore could be able to command a scarcity premium. These companies also tend to have visible, durable earnings growth, which indicates their stock prices ultimately could follow the same trajectory. We have been encouraged by recent market activity, which has shown signs of this condition playing out.

Scarcity is a key dimension in our view of the investing landscape. We believe the root cause of many of the world’s problems is a lack of healthy economic growth; however, the scarcity premium for secular earnings growth has yet to meaningfully unfold. We believe this time lag creates an attractive opportunity, as many of the Fund’s positions have underperformed relative to their actual earnings-growth rates; if investors are like thirsty desert travelers, the Fund’s fundamentally strong holdings could be viewed as an oasis on the horizon.

We believe the U.S. economy is on stable footing with attractive growth relative to much of the world. However, we remain mindful of the duration of economic cycles and the ongoing challenge for the U.S. economy to find a higher altitude. Therefore, we maintain a healthy allocation to high-quality core holdings and remain underweight stocks with high economic sensitivity. While consumer spending has not been overly robust, strength has continued in areas such as value retailing, ecommerce, leisure, and housing. These consumer themes, along with innovation in high-growth IT and health care, are well represented in the Fund.

Government spending appears poised to expand in areas such as infrastructure and defense. Although corporations remain cautious on capital spending, the severe headwinds of a strong U.S. dollar and low oil prices appear to be easing and could provide for better-than-expected earnings growth. Overall, we believe the U.S. stock market likely will be supported by a slowly improving economy, giving growth stocks a potential opportunity to stand out from the crowd.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


Table of Contents

 

10   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund   Fund expenses (unaudited)

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments and contingent deferred sales charges (if any) on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees, distribution (12b-1) and/or shareholder servicing fees, and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the six-month period and held for the

entire period from February 1, 2016 to July 31, 2016.

Actual expenses

The “Actual” line of the table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the “Actual” line under the heading entitled “Expenses paid during period” for your applicable class of shares to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical example for comparison purposes

The “Hypothetical” line of the table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads) and contingent deferred sales charges. Therefore, the “Hypothetical” line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

     Beginning
account value
2-1-2016
     Ending
account value
7-31-2016
     Expenses
paid during
the period¹
    

Annualized net

expense ratio

 

Class A

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,099.39       $ 6.26         1.20

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,018.90       $ 6.02         1.20

Class B

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,095.83       $ 10.16         1.95

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,015.17       $ 9.77         1.95

Class C

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,095.83       $ 10.16         1.95

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,015.17       $ 9.77         1.95

Administrator Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,100.94       $ 5.22         1.00

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,019.89       $ 5.02         1.00

Institutional Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,101.60       $ 4.18         0.80

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,020.89       $ 4.02         0.80

 

 

1 Expenses paid is equal to the annualized net expense ratio of each class multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the most recent fiscal half-year divided by the number of days in the fiscal year (to reflect the one-half-year period).


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund     11   

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  

Common Stocks: 100.58%

          

Consumer Discretionary: 24.65%

          
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure: 5.23%           

Starbucks Corporation

          83,400       $ 4,841,370   

Yum! Brands Incorporated

          58,000         5,186,360   
             10,027,730   
          

 

 

 
Internet & Catalog Retail: 5.33%           

Amazon.com Incorporated †

          13,453         10,208,271   
          

 

 

 
Media: 1.91%           

Charter Communications Incorporated Class A †

          15,600         3,663,972   
          

 

 

 
Multiline Retail: 2.14%           

Dollar General Corporation

          43,200         4,092,768   
          

 

 

 
Specialty Retail: 8.56%           

O’Reilly Automotive Incorporated †

          11,900         3,458,497   

The Home Depot Incorporated

          57,583         7,960,274   

The TJX Companies Incorporated

          60,917         4,978,137   
             16,396,908   
          

 

 

 
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods: 1.48%           

Coach Incorporated

          65,600         2,828,016   
          

 

 

 

Consumer Staples: 10.85%

          
Beverages: 8.25%           

Constellation Brands Incorporated Class A

          32,915         5,418,796   

Dr Pepper Snapple Group Incorporated

          51,200         5,043,712   

Monster Beverage Corporation †

          33,300         5,348,979   
             15,811,487   
          

 

 

 
Tobacco: 2.60%           

Reynolds American Incorporated

          99,400         4,975,964   
          

 

 

 

Financials: 4.47%

          
Diversified Financial Services: 4.47%           

Intercontinental Exchange Incorporated

          16,883         4,460,489   

S&P Global Incorporated

          33,578         4,103,232   
             8,563,721   
          

 

 

 

Health Care: 13.68%

          
Biotechnology: 1.88%           

Biogen Incorporated †

          7,300         2,116,489   

Celgene Corporation †

          13,279         1,489,771   
             3,606,260   
          

 

 

 
Health Care Equipment & Supplies: 2.11%           

Intuitive Surgical Incorporated †

          5,800         4,035,408   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

12   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund   Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  
Health Care Providers & Services: 3.63%           

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated

          48,600       $ 6,959,520   
          

 

 

 
Pharmaceuticals: 6.06%           

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

          89,000         6,658,090   

Eli Lilly & Company

          17,700         1,467,153   

Novo Nordisk A/S ADR

          61,100         3,480,867   
             11,606,110   
          

 

 

 

Industrials: 4.64%

          
Airlines: 1.07%           

Delta Air Lines Incorporated

          52,752         2,044,140   
          

 

 

 
Professional Services: 1.36%           

Verisk Analytics Incorporated †

          30,700         2,618,096   
          

 

 

 
Road & Rail: 2.21%           

Kansas City Southern

          44,000         4,228,840   
          

 

 

 

Information Technology: 39.69%

          
Communications Equipment: 2.24%           

Harris Corporation

          49,500         4,287,690   
          

 

 

 
Internet Software & Services: 14.22%           

Alphabet Incorporated Class A †

          12,899         10,207,495   

Alphabet Incorporated Class C †

          4,900         3,767,071   

Facebook Incorporated Class A †

          73,249         9,078,481   

Tencent Holdings Limited ADR

          173,200         4,191,440   
             27,244,487   
          

 

 

 
IT Services: 9.26%           

Fidelity National Information Services Incorporated

          69,800         5,551,193   

PayPal Holdings Incorporated †

          109,900         4,092,676   

Visa Incorporated Class A

          103,658         8,090,507   
             17,734,376   
          

 

 

 
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment: 1.83%           

Broadcom Limited

          21,600         3,498,768   
          

 

 

 
Software: 8.03%           

Adobe Systems Incorporated †

          38,100         3,728,466   

Electronic Arts Incorporated †

          55,300         4,220,496   

Salesforce.com Incorporated †

          46,600         3,811,880   

ServiceNow Incorporated †

          48,468         3,631,223   
             15,392,065   
          

 

 

 
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals: 4.11%           

Apple Incorporated

          75,583         7,876,504   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund     13   

      

 

 

Security name                Shares      Value  

Materials: 2.60%

         
Chemicals: 2.60%          

The Sherwin-Williams Company

         16,600       $ 4,975,518   
         

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks (Cost $139,411,050)

            192,676,619   
         

 

 

 
    Yield                      
Short-Term Investments: 2.26%          
Investment Companies: 2.26%          

Wells Fargo Government Money Market Fund Select Class (l)(u)

    0.32        4,327,746         4,327,746   
         

 

 

 

Total Short-Term Investments (Cost $4,327,746)

            4,327,746        
         

 

 

 

 

Total investments in securities (Cost $143,738,796) *     102.84        197,004,365   

Other assets and liabilities, net

    (2.84        (5,449,097
 

 

 

      

 

 

 
Total net assets     100.00      $ 191,555,268   
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

Non-income-earning security

 

(l) The issuer of the security is an affiliated person of the Fund as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

(u) The rate represents the 7-day annualized yield at period end.

 

* Cost for federal income tax purposes is $144,267,812 and unrealized gains (losses) consists of:

 

Gross unrealized gains

   $ 53,613,275   

Gross unrealized losses

     (876,722
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized gains

   $ 52,736,553   

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

14   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund   Statement of assets and liabilities—July 31, 2016
         

Assets

 

Investments

 

In unaffiliated securities, at value (cost $139,411,050)

  $ 192,676,619   

In affiliated securities, at value (cost $4,327,746)

    4,327,746   
 

 

 

 

Total investments, at value (cost $143,738,796)

    197,004,365   

Receivable for Fund shares sold

    9,221   

Receivable for dividends

    87,767   

Prepaid expenses and other assets

    37,017   
 

 

 

 

Total assets

    197,138,370   
 

 

 

 

Liabilities

 

Payable for investments purchased

    4,778,574   

Payable for Fund shares redeemed

    535,796   

Management fee payable

    87,298   

Distribution fees payable

    3,066   

Administration fees payable

    22,703   

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

    155,665   
 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

    5,583,102   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 191,555,268   
 

 

 

 

NET ASSETS CONSIST OF

 

Paid-in capital

  $ 121,862,909   

Accumulated net realized gains on investments

    16,426,790   

Net unrealized gains on investments

    53,265,569   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 191,555,268   
 

 

 

 

COMPUTATION OF NET ASSET VALUE AND OFFERING PRICE PER SHARE

 

Net assets – Class A

  $ 18,497,912   

Shares outstanding – Class A1

    2,065,381   

Net asset value per share – Class A

    $8.96   

Maximum offering price per share – Class A2

    $9.51   

Net assets – Class B

  $ 22,695   

Shares outstanding – Class B1

    3,203   

Net asset value per share – Class B

    $7.09   

Net assets – Class C

  $ 4,845,340   

Shares outstanding – Class C1

    683,872   

Net asset value per share – Class C

    $7.09   

Net assets – Administrator Class

  $ 5,254,002   

Shares outstanding – Administrator Class1

    560,187   

Net asset value per share – Administrator Class

    $9.38   

Net assets – Institutional Class

  $ 162,935,319   

Shares outstanding – Institutional Class1

    16,882,356   

Net asset value per share – Institutional Class

    $9.65   

 

 

1  The Fund has an unlimited number of authorized shares.

 

2  Maximum offering price is computed as 100/94.25 of net asset value. On investments of $50,000 or more, the offering price is reduced.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Statement of operations—year ended July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund     15   
         

Investment income

 

Dividends (net of foreign withholding taxes of $80,317)

  $ 1,938,933   

Income from affiliated securities

    11,811   

Securities lending income, net

    445   
 

 

 

 

Total investment income

    1,951,189   
 

 

 

 

Expenses

 

Management fee

    1,606,299   

Administration fees

 

Class A

    44,433   

Class B

    90   

Class C

    11,550   

Administrator Class

    12,126   

Institutional Class

    251,475   

Shareholder servicing fees

 

Class A

    52,896   

Class B

    107   

Class C

    13,750   

Administrator Class

    18,710   

Distribution fees

 

Class B

    321   

Class C

    41,251   

Custody and accounting fees

    20,824   

Professional fees

    40,016   

Registration fees

    63,758   

Shareholder report expenses

    109,135   

Trustees’ fees and expenses

    24,535   

Other fees and expenses

    17,753   
 

 

 

 

Total expenses

    2,329,029   

Less: Fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements

    (326,445
 

 

 

 

Net expenses

    2,002,584   
 

 

 

 

Net investment loss

    (51,395
 

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAINS (LOSSES) ON INVESTMENTS

 

Net realized gains on investments

    23,772,212   

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (28,678,764
 

 

 

 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (4,906,552
 

 

 

 

Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations

  $ (4,957,947
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

16   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund   Statement of changes in net assets
     Year ended
July 31, 2016
    Year ended
July 31, 2015
 

Operations

       

Net investment loss

    $ (51,395     $ (880,977

Net realized gains on investments

      23,772,212          133,384,136   

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

      (28,678,764       (60,133,598
 

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

      (4,957,947       72,369,561   
 

 

 

 

Distributions to shareholders from

       

Net realized gains

       

Class A

      (8,268,795       (4,180,367

Class B

      (16,431       (29,782

Class C

      (2,442,837       (1,041,460

Administrator Class

      (2,258,097       (6,299,282

Institutional Class

      (70,034,159       (81,434,953
 

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

      (83,020,319       (92,985,844
 

 

 

 

Capital share transactions

    Shares          Shares     

Proceeds from shares sold

       

Class A

    272,747        2,727,507        155,038        2,127,588   

Class C

    32,097        275,581        80,725        950,480   

Administrator Class

    48,161        477,125        353,463        4,955,910   

Institutional Class

    3,567,469        43,696,914        4,502,805        64,783,218   
 

 

 

 
      47,177,127          72,817,196   
 

 

 

 

Reinvestment of distributions

       

Class A

    899,011        7,758,473        314,153        4,011,740   

Class B

    2,395        16,431        2,673        29,782   

Class C

    348,974        2,393,965        91,245        1,017,377   

Administrator Class

    241,051        2,176,690        479,088        6,280,838   

Institutional Class

    7,234,603        67,137,120        5,829,180        77,761,267   
 

 

 

 
      79,482,679          89,101,004   
 

 

 

 

Payment for shares redeemed

       

Class A

    (1,012,779     (9,431,420     (1,513,775     (21,046,656

Class B

    (7,902     (76,962     (13,638     (161,929

Class C

    (276,572     (2,145,911     (127,822     (1,483,495

Administrator Class

    (2,756,526     (35,152,614     (1,166,520     (16,155,945

Institutional Class

    (9,332,927     (98,111,368     (37,137,527     (520,427,263
 

 

 

 
      (144,918,275       (559,275,288
 

 

 

 

Net decrease in net assets resulting from capital share transactions

      (18,258,469       (397,357,088
 

 

 

 

Total decrease in net assets

      (106,236,735       (417,973,371
 

 

 

 

Net assets

       

Beginning of period

      297,792,003          715,765,374   
 

 

 

 

End of period

    $ 191,555,268        $ 297,792,003   
 

 

 

 

Undistributed net investment income

    $ 0        $ 0   
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund     17   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS A   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $13.74        $14.13        $12.52        $10.45        $10.12   

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.04 )1      (0.08 )1      (0.09 )1      0.00 1,2      (0.05 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.14     1.65        2.37        2.07        0.38   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.18     1.57        2.28        2.07        0.33   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (4.60     (1.96     (0.67     0.00        0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $8.96        $13.74        $14.13        $12.52        $10.45   

Total return3

    (0.07 )%      12.14     18.40     19.81     3.26

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.28     1.24     1.25     1.26     1.23

Net expenses

    1.20     1.23     1.24     1.25     1.23

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.36 )%      (0.55 )%      (0.66 )%      0.03     (0.49 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    79     126     100     97     94

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $18,498        $26,197        $41,708        $44,041        $47,233   

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Amount is less than $0.005.

 

3  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


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18   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS B   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $11.93        $12.60        $11.31        $9.51        $9.28   

Net investment loss

    (0.10 )1      (0.16 )1      (0.17 )1      (0.07 )1      (0.11 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.14     1.45        2.13        1.87        0.34   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.24     1.29        1.96        1.80        0.23   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (4.60     (1.96     (0.67     0.00        0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $7.09        $11.93        $12.60        $11.31        $9.51   

Total return2

    (0.76 )%      11.31     17.50     18.93     2.48

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    2.02     1.99     2.00     2.00     1.98

Net expenses

    1.95     1.98     1.99     2.00     1.98

Net investment loss

    (1.13 )%      (1.29 )%      (1.41 )%      (0.67 )%      (1.24 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    79     126     100     97     94

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $23        $104        $248        $495        $1,095   

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


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Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund     19   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS C   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $11.93        $12.61        $11.32        $9.51        $9.28   

Net investment loss

    (0.09 )1      (0.16 )1      (0.17 )1      (0.07 )1      (0.11 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.15     1.44        2.13        1.88        0.34   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.24     1.28        1.96        1.81        0.23   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (4.60     (1.96     (0.67     0.00        0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $7.09        $11.93        $12.61        $11.32        $9.51   

Total return2

    (0.76 )%      11.21     17.60     18.93     2.48

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    2.03     1.99     2.00     2.01     1.98

Net expenses

    1.95     1.99     1.99     2.00     1.98

Net investment loss

    (1.11 )%      (1.32 )%      (1.41 )%      (0.72 )%      (1.25 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    79     126     100     97     94

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $4,845        $6,914        $6,747        $6,320        $6,199   

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


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20   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
ADMINISTRATOR CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $14.13        $14.45        $12.78        $10.63        $10.26   

Net investment income (loss)

    0.01 1      (0.05 )1      (0.06 )1      0.03 1      (0.03 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.16     1.69        2.42        2.12        0.40   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.15     1.64        2.36        2.15        0.37   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    0.00        0.00        (0.02     0.00        0.00   

Net realized gains

    (4.60     (1.96     (0.67     0.00        0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (4.60     (1.96     (0.69     0.00        0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $9.38        $14.13        $14.45        $12.78        $10.63   

Total return

    0.16     12.38     18.77     20.13     3.51

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.14     1.05     1.06     1.08     1.07

Net expenses

    1.00     0.99     1.00     1.00     1.00

Net investment income (loss)

    0.06     (0.32 )%      (0.42 )%      0.23     (0.27 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    79     126     100     97     94

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $5,254        $42,776        $48,560        $68,611        $57,533   

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


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Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund     21   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
INSTITUTIONAL CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $14.39        $14.65        $12.95        $10.75        $10.37   

Net investment income (loss)

    0.00 1,2      (0.01 )1      (0.03 )1      0.06 1      (0.01 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.14     1.71        2.45        2.14        0.39   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.14     1.70        2.42        2.20        0.38   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    0.00        0.00        (0.05     0.00        0.00   

Net realized gains

    (4.60     (1.96     (0.67     0.00        0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (4.60     (1.96     (0.72     0.00        0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $9.65        $14.39        $14.65        $12.95        $10.75   

Total return

    0.27     12.63     18.98     20.37     3.66

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    0.95     0.81     0.82     0.83     0.80

Net expenses

    0.80     0.80     0.80     0.80     0.79

Net investment income (loss)

    0.04     (0.09 )%      (0.22 )%      0.50     (0.06 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    79     126     100     97     94

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $162,935        $221,801        $618,502        $508,685        $735,633   

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Amount is less than $0.005.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


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22   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund   Notes to financial statements

1. ORGANIZATION

Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”), a Delaware statutory trust organized on March 10, 1999, is an open-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). As an investment company, the Trust follows the accounting and reporting guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946, Financial Services – Investment Companies. These financial statements report on the Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund (the “Fund”) which is a diversified series of the Trust.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The following significant accounting policies, which are consistently followed in the preparation of the financial statements of the Fund, are in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles which require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Securities valuation

All investments are valued each business day as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (generally 4 p.m. Eastern Time), although the Fund may deviate from this calculation time under unusual or unexpected circumstances.

Equity securities that are listed on a foreign or domestic exchange or market are valued at the official closing price or, if none, the last sales price. If no sale occurs on the principal exchange or market that day, the prior day’s price will be deemed “stale” and a fair value price will be determined in accordance with the Fund’s Valuation Procedures.

Investments in registered open-end investment companies are valued at net asset value. Interests in non-registered investment vehicles that are redeemable at net asset value are fair valued normally at net asset value.

Investments which are not valued using any of the methods discussed above are valued at their fair value, as determined in good faith by the Board of Trustees of the Fund. The Board of Trustees has established a Valuation Committee comprised of the Trustees and has delegated to it the authority to take any actions regarding the valuation of portfolio securities that the Valuation Committee deems necessary or appropriate, including determining the fair value of portfolio securities, unless the determination has been delegated to the Management Valuation Team of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”). The Board of Trustees retains the authority to make or ratify any valuation decisions or approve any changes to the Valuation Procedures as it deems appropriate. On a quarterly basis, the Board of Trustees receives reports on any valuation actions taken by the Valuation Committee or the Management Valuation Team which may include items for ratification.

Valuations of fair valued securities are compared to the next actual sales price when available, or other appropriate market values, to assess the continued appropriateness of the fair valuation methodologies used. These securities are fair valued on a day-to-day basis, taking into consideration changes to appropriate market information and any significant changes to the inputs considered in the valuation process until there is a readily available price provided on an exchange or by an independent pricing service. Valuations received from an independent pricing service or independent broker-dealer quotes are periodically validated by comparisons to most recent trades and valuations provided by other independent pricing services in addition to the review of prices by the manager and/or subadviser. Unobservable inputs used in determining fair valuations are identified based on the type of security, taking into consideration factors utilized by market participants in valuing the investment, knowledge about the issuer and the current market environment.

Security loans

The Fund may lend its securities from time to time in order to earn additional income in the form of fees or interest on securities received as collateral or the investment of any cash received as collateral. The Fund continues to receive interest or dividends on the securities loaned. The Fund receives collateral in the form of cash or securities with a value at least equal to the value of the securities on loan. The value of the loaned securities is determined at the close of each business day and any additional required collateral is delivered to the Fund on the next business day. In a securities lending transaction, the net asset value of the Fund will be affected by an increase or decrease in the value of the securities loaned and by an increase or decrease in the value of the instrument in which collateral is invested. The amount of securities lending activity undertaken by the Fund fluctuates from time to time. In the event of default or bankruptcy by the borrower, the Fund may be prevented from recovering the loaned securities or gaining access to the collateral or may experience delays or costs in doing so. In addition, the investment of any cash collateral received may lose all or part of its value. The Fund has the right under the lending agreement to recover the securities from the borrower on demand.


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Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund     23   

The Fund lends its securities through an unaffiliated securities lending agent. Cash collateral received in connection with its securities lending transactions is invested in Securities Lending Cash Investments, LLC (the “Securities Lending Fund”). The Securities Lending Fund is exempt from registration under Section 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act and is managed by Funds Management and is subadvised by Wells Capital Management Incorporated (“WellsCap”), an affiliate of Funds Management and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company (“Wells Fargo”). Funds Management receives an advisory fee starting at 0.05% and declining to 0.01% as the average daily net assets of the Securities Lending Fund increase. All of the fees received by Funds Management are paid to WellsCap for its services as subadviser. The Securities Lending Fund seeks to provide a positive return compared to the daily Fed Funds Open rate by investing in high-quality, U.S. dollar-denominated short-term money market instruments. Securities Lending Fund investments are fair valued based upon the amortized cost valuation technique. Income earned from investment in the Securities Lending Fund is included in securities lending income on the Statement of Operations.

Security transactions and income recognition

Securities transactions are recorded on a trade date basis. Realized gains or losses are recorded on the basis of identified cost.

Dividend income is recognized on the ex-dividend date. Dividend income is recorded net of foreign taxes withheld where recovery of such taxes is not assured.

Distributions to shareholders

Distributions to shareholders from net investment income and net realized gains, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Such distributions are determined in conformity with federal income tax regulations, which may differ in amount or character from net investment income and realized gains recognized for purposes of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Federal and other taxes

The Fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company by distributing substantially all of its investment company taxable income and any net realized capital gains (after reduction for capital loss carryforwards) sufficient to relieve it from all, or substantially all, federal income taxes. Accordingly, no provision for federal income taxes was required.

The Fund’s income and federal excise tax returns and all financial records supporting those returns for the prior three fiscal years are subject to examination by the federal and Delaware revenue authorities. Management has analyzed the Fund’s tax positions taken on federal, state, and foreign tax returns for all open tax years and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability.

Reclassifications are made to the Fund’s capital accounts for permanent tax differences to reflect income and gains available for distribution (or available capital loss carryforwards) under federal income tax regulations. U.S. generally accepted accounting principles require that certain components of net assets be adjusted to reflect permanent differences between financial and tax reporting. In addition, the Fund may utilize equalization accounting for tax purposes and designate earnings and profits, including net realized gains distributed to shareholders on redemption of shares, as a part of the dividends paid deduction for income tax purposes. These reclassifications have no effect on net assets or net asset values per share. The primary permanent differences causing such reclassifications are due to net operating losses and equalization payments. At July 31, 2016, as a result of permanent book-to-tax differences, the following reclassification adjustments were made on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities:

 

Paid-in capital    Accumulated net
investment loss
   Accumulated net
realized gains
on investments
$508,605    $51,395    $(560,000)

Class allocations

The separate classes of shares offered by the Fund differ principally in applicable sales charges, distribution, shareholder servicing, and administration fees. Class specific expenses are charged directly to that share class. Investment income, common expenses, and realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments are allocated daily to each class of shares based on the relative proportion of net assets of each class.

3. FAIR VALUATION MEASUREMENTS

Fair value measurements of investments are determined within a framework that has established a fair value hierarchy based upon the various data inputs utilized in determining the value of the Fund’s investments. The three-level hierarchy


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24   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund   Notes to financial statements

gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to significant unobservable inputs (Level 3). The Fund’s investments are classified within the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The inputs are summarized into three broad levels as follows:

 

n   Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical securities

 

n   Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, use of amortized cost, etc.)

 

n   Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The inputs or methodologies used for valuing investments in securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

The following is a summary of the inputs used in valuing the Fund’s assets and liabilities as of July 31, 2016:

 

     Quoted prices
(Level 1)
     Other significant
observable inputs
(Level 2)
    

Significant
unobservable inputs

(Level 3)

     Total  

Assets

           

Investments in:

           

Common stocks

           

Consumer discretionary

   $ 47,217,665       $ 0       $ 0       $ 47,217,665   

Consumer staples

     20,787,451         0         0         20,787,451   

Financials

     8,563,721         0         0         8,563,721   

Health care

     26,207,298         0         0         26,207,298   

Industrials

     8,891,076         0         0         8,891,076   

Information technology

     76,033,890         0         0         76,033,890   

Materials

     4,975,518         0         0         4,975,518   

Short-term investments

           

Investment companies

     4,327,746         0         0         4,327,746   

Total assets

   $ 197,004,365       $ 0       $ 0       $ 197,004,365   

The Fund recognizes transfers between levels within the fair value hierarchy at the end of the reporting period. At July 31, 2016, the Fund did not have any transfers into/out of Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3.

4. TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES

Management fee

Funds Management, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo, is the manager of the Fund and provides advisory and fund-level administrative services under an investment management agreement. Under the investment management agreement, Funds Management is responsible for, among other services, implementing the investment objectives and strategies of the Fund, supervising the subadviser, providing fund-level administrative services in connection with the Fund’s operations, and providing any other fund-level administrative services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. As compensation for its services under the investment management agreement, Funds Management is entitled to receive an annual management fee starting at 0.70% and declining to 0.505% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase. For the year ended July 31, 2016, the management fee was equivalent to an annual rate of 0.70% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.

Funds Management has retained the services of a subadviser to provide daily portfolio management to the Fund. The fee for subadvisory services is borne by Funds Management. Wells Cap is the subadviser to the Fund and is entitled to receive a fee from Funds Management at an annual rate starting at 0.30% and declining to 0.20% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase.


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Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund     25   

Administration fees

Under a class-level administration agreement, Funds Management provides class-level administrative services to the Fund, which includes paying fees and expenses for services provided by the transfer agent, sub-transfer agents, omnibus account servicers and record-keepers. As compensation for its services under the class-level administration agreement, Funds Management receives an annual fee which is calculated based on the average daily net assets of each class as follows:

 

     Class-level
administration fee
 

Class A, Class B, Class C

     0.21

Administrator Class, Institutional Class

     0.13   

Funds Management has contractually waived and/or reimbursed management and administration fees to the extent necessary to maintain certain net operating expense ratios for the Fund. Waiver of fees and/or reimbursement of expenses by Funds Management were made first from fund level expenses on a proportionate basis and then from class specific expenses. Funds Management has committed through November 30, 2016 to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s expenses at 1.20% for Class A shares, 1.95% for Class B shares, 1.95% for Class C shares, 1.00% for Administrator Class shares, and 0.80% for Institutional Class shares. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees

Distribution fees

The Trust has adopted a distribution plan for Class B and Class C shares of the Fund pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Distribution fees are charged to Class B and Class C shares and paid to Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC (“Funds Distributor”), the principal underwriter, at an annual rate of 0.75% of the average daily net assets of Class B and Class C shares.

In addition, Funds Distributor is entitled to receive the front-end sales charge from the purchase of Class A shares and a contingent deferred sales charge on the redemption of certain Class A shares. Funds Distributor is also entitled to receive the contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of Class B and Class C shares. For the year ended July 31, 2016, Funds Distributor received $3,831 from the sale of Class A shares.

Shareholder servicing fees

The Trust has entered into contracts with one or more shareholder servicing agents, whereby Class A, Class B, Class C, and Administrator Class of the Fund are charged a fee at an annual rate of 0.25% of the average daily net assets of each respective class.

A portion of these total shareholder servicing fees were paid to affiliates of Wells Fargo.

5. INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

Purchases and sales of investments, excluding U.S. government obligations (if any) and short-term securities, for the year ended July 31, 2016 were $180,143,688 and $270,722,728, respectively.

The Fund may purchase or sell investment securities to other Wells Fargo funds under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. The procedures have been designed to ensure that these interfund transactions, which generally do not incur broker commissions, are effected at current market prices. Interfund trades are included within the respective purchases and sales amounts shown.

6. BANK BORROWINGS

The Trust (excluding the money market funds and certain other funds) and Wells Fargo Variable Trust are parties to a $200,000,000 revolving credit agreement whereby the Fund is permitted to use bank borrowings for temporary or emergency purposes, such as to fund shareholder redemption requests. Interest under the credit agreement is charged to the Fund based on a borrowing rate equal to the higher of the Federal Funds rate in effect on that day plus 1.25% or the overnight LIBOR rate in effect on that day plus 1.25%. In addition, an annual commitment fee equal to 0.20% of the unused balance is allocated to each participating fund. Prior to September 1, 2015, the revolving credit agreement amount was $150,000,000 and the annual commitment fee was equal to 0.10% of the unused balance which was allocated to each participating fund.

For the year ended July 31, 2016, there were no borrowings by the Fund under the agreement.


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26   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund   Notes to financial statements

7. DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

The tax character of distributions paid during the years ended July 31, 2016 and July 31, 2015 were as follows:

 

     Year ended July 31  
     2016      2015  

Ordinary income

   $ 7,366,840       $ 31,666,488   

Long-term capital gain

     75,653,479         61,319,356   

As of July 31, 2016, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed
long-term
gain
   Unrealized
gains
$16,955,806    $52,736,553

8. CONCENTRATION RISK

Concentration risks result from exposure to a limited number of sectors. A fund that invests a substantial portion of its assets in any sector may be more affected by changes in that sector than would be a fund whose investments are not heavily weighted in any sector.

9. INDEMNIFICATION

Under the Trust’s organizational documents, the officers and Trustees have been granted certain indemnification rights against certain liabilities that may arise out of performance of their duties to the Trust. Additionally, in the normal course of business, the Trust may enter into contracts with service providers that contain a variety of indemnification clauses. The Trust’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is dependent on future claims that may be made against the Fund and, therefore, cannot be estimated.


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Report of independent registered public accounting firm   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund     27   

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND SHAREHOLDERS OF WELLS FARGO FUNDS TRUST:

We have audited the accompanying statements of assets and liabilities, including the portfolio of investments, of the Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund (formerly known as Wells Fargo Advantage Endeavor Select Fund) (the “Fund”), one of the funds constituting the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, as of July 31, 2016, and the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years in the five-year period then ended. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of July 31, 2016, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers, or by other appropriate auditing procedures. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund as of July 31, 2016, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years in the five-year period then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

 

LOGO

Boston, Massachusetts

September 23, 2016


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28   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund   Other information (unaudited)

TAX INFORMATION

For corporate shareholders, pursuant to Section 854 of the Internal Revenue Code, 43.53% of ordinary income dividends qualify for the corporate dividends-received deduction for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016.

Pursuant to Section 852 of the Internal Revenue Code, $76,213,479 was designated as a 20% rate gain distribution for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016. Long-term capital gains in the amount of $560,000 were distributed in connection with Fund share redemptions.

Pursuant to Section 854 of the Internal Revenue Code, $3,625,959 of income dividends paid during the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016 has been designated as qualified dividend income (QDI).

For the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016, $7,366,840 has been designated as short-term capital gain dividends for nonresident alien shareholders pursuant to Section 871 of the Internal Revenue Code.

PROXY VOTING INFORMATION

A description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities is available, upon request, by calling 1-800-222-8222, visiting our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available on the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com or by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov.

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION

The complete portfolio holdings for the Fund are publicly available monthly on the Fund’s website (wellsfargofunds.com), on a one-month delayed basis. In addition, top ten holdings information (excluding derivative positions) for the Fund is publicly available on the Fund’s website on a monthly, seven-day or more delayed basis. The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q, which is available by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. In addition, the Fund’s Form N-Q may be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC, and at regional offices in New York City, at 233 Broadway, and in Chicago, at 175 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 900. Information about the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund     29   

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS

Each of the Trustees and Officers1 listed in the table below acts in identical capacities for each fund in the Wells Fargo family of funds, which consists of 139 mutual funds comprising the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, Wells Fargo Variable Trust, Wells Fargo Master Trust and four closed-end funds (collectively the “Fund Complex”). This table should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information2. The mailing address of each Trustee and Officer is 525 Market Street, 12th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105. Each Trustee and Officer serves an indefinite term, however, each Trustee serves such term until reaching the mandatory retirement age established by the Trustees.

Independent Trustees

 

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service*

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer  

Current other public

company or
investment company
directorships

William R. Ebsworth

(Born 1957)

  Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 1984 to 2013, equities analyst, portfolio manager, research director and chief financial officer at Fidelity Management and Research Company in Boston, Tokyo, and Hong Kong and retired in 2013 as Chief Investment Officer of Fidelity Strategic Advisers, Inc. where he lead a team of investment professionals managing client assets. Prior thereto, Board member of Hong Kong Securities Clearing Co., Hong Kong Options Clearing Corp., the Thailand International Fund, Ltd., Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company, and Empire Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company. Mr. Ebsworth is a CFA® charterholder and an Adjunct Lecturer, Finance, at Babson College.   Asset Allocation Trust

Jane A. Freeman

(Born 1953)

  Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 2012 to 2014 and 1999 to 2008, Chief Financial Officer of Scientific Learning Corporation. From 2008 to 2012, Ms. Freeman provided consulting services related to strategic business projects. Prior to 1999, Portfolio Manager at Rockefeller & Co. and Scudder, Stevens & Clark. Board member of the Harding Loevner Funds from 1996 to 2014, serving as both Lead Independent Director and chair of the Audit Committee. Board member of the Russell Exchange Traded Funds Trust from 2011 to 2012 and the chair of the Audit Committee. Ms. Freeman is Chair of Taproot Foundation (non-profit organization), a Board Member of Ruth Bancroft Garden (non-profit organization) and an inactive chartered financial analyst.   Asset Allocation Trust

Peter G. Gordon

(Born 1942)

  Trustee, since 1998; Chairman, since 2005   Co-Founder, Retired Chairman, President and CEO of Crystal Geyser Water Company. Trustee Emeritus, Colby College.   Asset Allocation Trust

Isaiah Harris, Jr.

(Born 1952)

  Trustee, since 2009   Retired. Chairman of the Board of CIGNA Corporation since 2009, and Director since 2005. From 2003 to 2011, Director of Deluxe Corporation. Prior thereto, President and CEO of BellSouth Advertising and Publishing Corp. from 2005 to 2007, President and CEO of BellSouth Enterprises from 2004 to 2005 and President of BellSouth Consumer Services from 2000 to 2003. Emeritus member of the Iowa State University Foundation Board of Governors. Emeritus Member of the Advisory Board of Iowa State University School of Business. Advisory Board Member, Palm Harbor Academy (charter school). Advisory Board Member, Child Evangelism Fellowship (non-profit). Mr. Harris is a certified public accountant (inactive status).   CIGNA Corporation; Asset Allocation Trust

Judith M. Johnson

(Born 1949)

  Trustee, since 2008; Audit Committee Chairman, since 2008   Retired. Prior thereto, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Minneapolis Employees Retirement Fund from 1996 to 2008. Ms. Johnson is an attorney, certified public accountant and a certified managerial accountant.   Asset Allocation Trust

David F. Larcker

(Born 1950)

  Trustee, since 2009   James Irvin Miller Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Director of the Corporate Governance Research Initiative and Senior Faculty of The Rock Center for Corporate Governance since 2006. From 2005 to 2008, Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Prior thereto, Ernst & Young Professor of Accounting at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania from 1985 to 2005.   Asset Allocation Trust


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30   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund   Other information (unaudited)

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service*

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer  

Current other public

company or
investment company
directorships

Olivia S. Mitchell

(Born 1953)

  Trustee, since 2006   International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Professor, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania since 1993. Director of Wharton’s Pension Research Council and Boettner Center on Pensions & Retirement Research, and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Previously, Cornell University Professor from 1978 to 1993.   Asset Allocation Trust

Timothy J. Penny

(Born 1951)

  Trustee, since 1996   President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, a non-profit organization, since 2007 and Senior Fellow at the Humphrey Institute Policy Forum at the University of Minnesota since 1995. Member of the Board of Trustees of NorthStar Education Finance, Inc., a non-profit organization, since 2007.   Asset Allocation Trust

Michael S. Scofield

(Born 1943)

  Trustee, since 2010   Served on the Investment Company Institute’s Board of Governors and Executive Committee from 2008-2011 as well the Governing Council of the Independent Directors Council from 2006-2011 and the Independent Directors Council Executive Committee from 2008-2011. Chairman of the IDC from 2008-2010. Institutional Investor (Fund Directions) Trustee of Year in 2007. Trustee of the Evergreen Funds complex (and its predecessors) from 1984 to 2010. Chairman of the Evergreen Funds from 2000-2010. Former Trustee of the Mentor Funds. Retired Attorney, Law Offices of Michael S. Scofield.   Asset Allocation Trust

 

* Length of service dates reflect the Trustee’s commencement of service with the Trust’s predecessor entities, where applicable.

Officers

 

Name and

year of birth

  Position held and
length of service
  Principal occupations during past five years or longer    

Karla M. Rabusch

(Born 1959)

  President, since 2003   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2003.    

Jeremy DePalma1

(Born 1974)

  Treasurer, since 2012   Senior Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Senior Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010 and head of the Fund Reporting and Control Team within Fund Administration from 2005 to 2010.    

C. David Messman

(Born 1960)

  Secretary, since 2000; Chief Legal Officer, since 2003   Senior Vice President and Secretary of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2001. Assistant General Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. since 2013 and Vice President and Managing Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. from 1996 to 2013.    

Michael Whitaker

(Born 1967)

  Chief Compliance Officer, since 2016*   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2016. Chief Compliance Officer of Fidelity’s Fixed Income Funds and Asset Allocation Funds from 2008 to 2016, Compliance Officer of FMR Co., Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments from 2007 to 2016.    

David Berardi

(Born 1975)

  Assistant Treasurer, since 2009   Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010. Manager of Fund Reporting and Control for Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2004 to 2010.    

 

 

1 Jeremy DePalma acts as Treasurer of 68 funds and Assistant Treasurer of 71 funds in the Fund Complex.

 

2 The Statement of Additional Information includes additional information about the Trustees and is available, without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-222-8222 or by visiting the website at wellsfargofunds.com.

 

* Michael Whitaker became Chief Compliance Officer effective May 16, 2016.


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund     31   

BOARD CONSIDERATION OF INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENTS:

Under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”) must determine annually whether to approve the continuation of the Trust’s investment management and sub-advisory agreements. In this regard, at an in-person meeting held on May 24-25, 2016 (the “Meeting”), the Board, all the members of which have no direct or indirect interest in the investment management and sub-advisory agreements and are not “interested persons” of the Trust, as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”), reviewed and approved for Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund (the “Fund”): (i) an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”); and (ii) an investment sub-advisory agreement (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”) with Wells Capital Management Incorporated (the “Sub-Adviser”), an affiliate of Funds Management. The Management Agreement and the Sub-Advisory Agreement are collectively referred to as the “Advisory Agreements.”

At the Meeting, the Board considered the factors and reached the conclusions described below relating to the selection of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser and the approval of the Advisory Agreements. Prior to the Meeting, including at an in-person meeting in April 2016, the Trustees conferred extensively among themselves and with representatives of Funds Management about these matters. Also, the Board has adopted a team-based approach, with each team consisting of a sub-set of Trustees, to assist the full Board in the discharge of its duties in reviewing performance and other matters throughout the year. The Independent Trustees were assisted in their evaluation of the Advisory Agreements by independent legal counsel, from whom they received separate legal advice and with whom they met separately.

In providing information to the Board, Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser were guided by a detailed set of requests for information submitted to them by independent legal counsel on behalf of the Independent Trustees at the start of the Board’s annual contract renewal process earlier in 2016. In considering and approving the Advisory Agreements, the Trustees considered the information they believed relevant, including but not limited to the information discussed below. The Board considered not only the specific information presented in connection with the Meeting, but also the knowledge gained over time through interaction with Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser about various topics. In this regard, the Board reviewed reports of Funds Management at each of its quarterly meetings, which included, among other things, portfolio reviews and performance reports. In addition, the Board and the teams mentioned above confer with portfolio managers at various times throughout the year. The Board did not identify any particular information or consideration that was all-important or controlling, and each individual Trustee may have attributed different weights to various factors.

After its deliberations, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable. The Board considered the approval of the Advisory Agreements for the Fund as part of its consideration of agreements for funds across the complex, but its approvals were made on a fund-by-fund basis. The following summarizes a number of important, but not necessarily all, factors considered by the Board in support of its approvals.

Nature, extent and quality of services

The Board received and considered various information regarding the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under the Advisory Agreements. This information included a description of the investment advisory services and Fund-level administrative services covered by the Management Agreement, as well as, among other things, a summary of the background and experience of senior management of Funds Management, and the qualifications, background, tenure and responsibilities of each of the portfolio managers primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the Fund.

The Board evaluated the ability of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to attract and retain qualified investment professionals, including research, advisory and supervisory personnel. The Board further considered the compliance programs and compliance records of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser. In addition, the Board took into account the full range of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and its affiliates.

Fund performance and expenses

The Board considered the performance results for the Fund over various time periods ended December 31, 2015. The Board considered these results in comparison to the performance of funds in a universe that was determined by Broadridge Inc. (“Broadridge”) to be similar to the Fund (the “Universe”), and in comparison to the Fund’s benchmark index and to other comparative data. Broadridge is an independent provider of investment company data. The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the performance Universe. The Board noted that the performance of the Fund (Administrator Class) was lower than the average performance of the Universe for all periods under review. The Board also noted that the performance of the Fund was lower than its benchmark, the Russell 1000® Growth Index, for all periods under review.


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32   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund   Other information (unaudited)

The Board received information concerning, and discussed factors contributing to, the underperformance of the Fund relative to the Universe and benchmark for the periods noted above. The Board took note of the explanations for the relative underperformance in these periods, including with respect to market factors and investment decisions that affected the Fund’s performance.

The Board also received and considered information regarding the Fund’s net operating expense ratios and their various components, including actual management fees, custodian and other non-management fees, and Rule 12b-1 and non-Rule 12b-1 shareholder service fees. The Board considered these ratios in comparison to the median ratios of funds in class-specific expense groups that were determined by Broadridge to be similar to the Fund (the “Groups”). The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the expense Groups and an explanation of how funds comprising expense groups and their expense ratios may vary from year-to-year. Based on the Broadridge reports, the Board noted that the net operating expense ratios of the Fund were lower than the median net operating expense ratios of the expense Groups.

The Board took into account the Fund performance and expense information provided to it among the factors considered in deciding to re-approve the Advisory Agreements.

Investment management and sub-advisory fee rates

The Board reviewed and considered the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management under the Management Agreement, as well as the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management for class-level administrative services under a Class-Level Administration Agreement, which include class-level transfer agency and sub-transfer agency costs (collectively, the “Management Rates”). The Board also reviewed and considered the contractual investment sub-advisory fee rates that are payable by Funds Management to the Sub-Adviser for investment sub-advisory services.

Among other information reviewed by the Board was a comparison of the Fund’s Management Rates with the average contractual investment management fee rates of funds in the expense Groups at a common asset level as well as transfer agency costs of the funds in the expense Groups. The Board noted that the Management Rates of the Fund were in range of the sum of these average rates for the Fund’s expense Groups for all share classes.

The Board also received and considered information about the portion of the total management fee that was retained by Funds Management after payment of the fee to the Sub-Adviser for sub-advisory services. In assessing the reasonableness of this amount, the Board received and evaluated information about the nature and extent of responsibilities retained and risks assumed by Funds Management and not delegated to or assumed by the Sub-Adviser, and about Funds Management’s on-going oversight services. However, given the affiliation between Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser, the Board ascribed limited relevance to the allocation of fees between them.

The Board also received and considered information about the nature and extent of services offered and fee rates charged by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to other types of clients with investment strategies similar to those of the Fund. In this regard, the Board received information about the significantly greater scope of services, and compliance, reporting and other legal burdens and risks of managing mutual funds compared with those associated with managing assets of non-mutual fund clients such as collective funds or institutional separate accounts.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management under the Management Agreement and to the Sub-Adviser under the Sub-Advisory Agreement was reasonable, in light of the services covered by the Advisory Agreements.

Profitability

The Board received and considered information concerning the profitability of Funds Management, as well as the profitability of Wells Fargo as a whole, from providing services to the Fund and the fund family as a whole. The Board also received and considered information concerning the profitability of the Sub-Adviser from providing services to the fund family as a whole, noting that the Sub-Adviser’s profitability information with respect to providing services to the Fund was subsumed in the Wells Fargo and Funds Management profitability analysis.

Funds Management reported on the methodologies and estimates used in calculating profitability. Among other things, the Board noted that the levels of profitability reported on a fund-by-fund basis varied widely, depending on factors such as the size and type of fund. Based on its review, the Board did not deem the profits reported by Funds Management or Wells Fargo from its services to the Fund to be at a level that would prevent it from approving the continuation of the Advisory Agreements.


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund     33   

Economies of scale

With respect to possible economies of scale, the Board noted the existence of breakpoints in the Fund’s management fee structure, which operate generally to reduce the Fund’s expense ratios as the Fund grows in size. It considered that, for a small fund or a fund that shrinks in size, breakpoints conversely can result in higher fee levels. The Board also considered that fee waiver and expense reimbursement arrangements and competitive fee rates at the outset are means of sharing potential economies of scale with shareholders of the Fund and the fund family as a whole. The Board considered Funds Management’s view that any analyses of potential economies of scale in managing a particular fund are inherently limited in light of the joint and common costs and investments that Funds Management incurs across the fund family as a whole.

The Board concluded that the Fund’s fee and expense arrangements, including contractual breakpoints, constituted a reasonable approach to sharing potential economies of scale with the Fund and its shareholders.

Other benefits to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser

The Board received and considered information regarding potential “fall-out” or ancillary benefits received by Funds Management and its affiliates, including the Sub-Adviser, as a result of their relationships with the Fund. Ancillary benefits could include, among others, benefits directly attributable to other relationships with the Fund and benefits potentially derived from an increase in Funds Management’s and the Sub-Adviser’s business as a result of their relationships with the Fund. The Board noted that various affiliates of Funds Management may receive distribution-related fees, shareholder servicing payments and sub-transfer agency fees in respect of shares sold or held through them and services provided.

The Board also reviewed information about soft dollar credits earned and utilized by the Sub-Adviser, fees earned by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser from managing a private investment vehicle for the fund family’s securities lending collateral and commissions earned by an affiliated broker from portfolio transactions.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board did not find that any ancillary benefits received by Funds Management and its affiliates, including the Sub-Adviser, were unreasonable.

Conclusion

At the Meeting, after considering the above-described factors and based on its deliberations and its evaluation of the information described above, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable.


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34   Wells Fargo Endeavor Select Fund   List of abbreviations

The following is a list of common abbreviations for terms and entities that may have appeared in this report.

 

ACA —  ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation
ADR —  American depositary receipt
ADS —  American depositary shares
AGC —  Assured Guaranty Corporation
AGM —  Assured Guaranty Municipal
Ambac —  Ambac Financial Group Incorporated
AMT —  Alternative minimum tax
AUD —  Australian dollar
BAN —  Bond anticipation notes
BHAC —  Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corporation
BRL —  Brazilian real
CAB —  Capital appreciation bond
CAD —  Canadian dollar
CCAB —  Convertible capital appreciation bond
CDA —  Community Development Authority
CDO —  Collateralized debt obligation
CHF —  Swiss franc
COP —  Colombian peso
CLP —  Chilean peso
DKK —  Danish krone
DRIVER —  Derivative inverse tax-exempt receipts
DW&P —  Department of Water & Power
DWR —  Department of Water Resources
ECFA —  Educational & Cultural Facilities Authority
EDA —  Economic Development Authority
EDFA —  Economic Development Finance Authority
ETF —  Exchange-traded fund
EUR —  Euro
FDIC —  Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FFCB —  Federal Farm Credit Banks
FGIC —  Financial Guaranty Insurance Corporation
FHA —  Federal Housing Administration
FHLB —  Federal Home Loan Bank
FHLMC —  Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
FICO —  The Financing Corporation
FNMA —  Federal National Mortgage Association
FSA —  Farm Service Agency
GBP —  Great British pound
GDR —  Global depositary receipt
GNMA —  Government National Mortgage Association
GO —  General obligation
HCFR —  Healthcare facilities revenue
HEFA —  Health & Educational Facilities Authority
HEFAR —  Higher education facilities authority revenue
HFA —  Housing Finance Authority
HFFA —  Health Facilities Financing Authority
HKD —  Hong Kong dollar
HUD —  Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUF —  Hungarian forint
IDA —  Industrial Development Authority
IDAG —  Industrial Development Agency
IDR —  Indonesian rupiah
IEP —  Irish pound
JPY —  Japanese yen
KRW —  Republic of Korea won
LIBOR —  London Interbank Offered Rate
LIFER —  Long Inverse Floating Exempt Receipts
LIQ —  Liquidity agreement
LLC —  Limited liability company
LLLP —  Limited liability limited partnership
LLP —  Limited liability partnership
LOC —  Letter of credit
LP —  Limited partnership
MBIA —  Municipal Bond Insurance Association
MFHR —  Multifamily housing revenue
MSTR —  Municipal securities trust receipts
MTN —  Medium-term note
MUD —  Municipal Utility District
MXN —  Mexican peso
MYR —  Malaysian ringgit
National —  National Public Finance Guarantee Corporation
NGN —  Nigerian naira
NOK —  Norwegian krone
NZD —  New Zealand dollar
PCFA —  Pollution Control Financing Authority
PCL —  Public Company Limited
PCR —  Pollution control revenue
PFA —  Public Finance Authority
PFFA —  Public Facilities Financing Authority
PFOTER —  Puttable floating option tax-exempt receipts
plc —  Public limited company
PLN —  Polish zloty
PUTTER —  Puttable tax-exempt receipts
R&D —  Research & development
Radian —  Radian Asset Assurance
RAN —  Revenue anticipation notes
RDA —  Redevelopment Authority
RDFA —  Redevelopment Finance Authority
REIT —  Real estate investment trust
ROC —  Reset option certificates
RON —  Romanian lei
RUB —  Russian ruble
SAVRS —  Select auction variable rate securities
SBA —  Small Business Authority
SDR —  Swedish depositary receipt
SEK —  Swedish krona
SFHR —  Single-family housing revenue
SFMR —  Single-family mortgage revenue
SGD —  Singapore dollar
SPA —  Standby purchase agreement
SPDR —  Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts
SPEAR —  Short Puttable Exempt Adjustable Receipts
STRIPS —  Separate trading of registered interest and
           principal securities
TAN —  Tax anticipation notes
TBA —  To be announced
THB —  Thai baht
TIPS —  Treasury inflation-protected securities
TRAN —  Tax revenue anticipation notes
TRY —  Turkish lira
TTFA —  Transportation Trust Fund Authority
TVA —  Tennessee Valley Authority
ZAR —  South African rand
 


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LOGO

 

 

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For more information

More information about Wells Fargo Funds is available free upon request. To obtain literature, please write, email, visit the Fund’s website, or call:

Wells Fargo Funds

P.O. Box 8266

Boston, MA 02266-8266

Email: fundservice@wellsfargo.com

Website: wellsfargofunds.com

Individual investors: 1-800-222-8222

Retail investment professionals: 1-888-877-9275

Institutional investment professionals: 1-866-765-0778

 

This report and the financial statements contained herein are submitted for the general information of the shareholders of the Fund. If this report is used for promotional purposes, distribution of the report must be accompanied or preceded by a current prospectus. Before investing, please consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the investment. For a current prospectus and, if available, a summary prospectus, containing this information, call 1-800-222-8222 or visit the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com. Read the prospectus carefully before you invest or send money.

Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM) is a trade name used by the asset management businesses of Wells Fargo & Company. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, provides investment advisory and administrative services for Wells Fargo Funds. Other affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company provide subadvisory and other services for the funds. The funds are distributed by Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC, Member FINRA, an affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE

© 2016 Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. All rights reserved.

 

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245322 09-16

A205/AR205 07-16


Table of Contents

Annual Report

July 31, 2016

 

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Wells Fargo Growth Fund

 

LOGO

 

 

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Table of Contents

Reduce clutter. Save trees.

Sign up for electronic delivery of prospectuses and shareholder reports at wellsfargo.com/advantagedelivery

Contents

 

 

 

Letter to shareholders

    2   

Performance highlights

    6   

Fund expenses

    10   

Portfolio of investments

    11   
Financial statements  

Statement of assets and liabilities

    16   

Statement of operations

    17   

Statement of changes in net assets

    18   

Financial highlights

    19   

Notes to financial statements

    24   

Report of independent registered public accounting firm

    29   

Other information

    30   

List of abbreviations

    36   

 

The views expressed and any forward-looking statements are as of July 31, 2016, unless otherwise noted, and are those of the Fund managers and/or Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. Discussions of individual securities, or the markets generally, or any Wells Fargo Fund are not intended as individual recommendations. Future events or results may vary significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. The views expressed are subject to change at any time in response to changing circumstances in the market. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC and the Fund disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any views expressed or forward-looking statements.

 

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE



Table of Contents

 

2   Wells Fargo Growth Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

 

LOGO

Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period

 

 

Dear Valued Shareholder:

We are pleased to offer you this annual report for the Wells Fargo Growth Fund for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016. During this period, which began August 1, 2015, U.S. and international stock markets experienced heightened volatility, with intermittent rebounds interspersed with sell-offs. The U.S. economy displayed resilience throughout the period, although growth was somewhat sluggish amid ongoing pressures that included slowing growth in China, a strengthening U.S. dollar, and uncertainty regarding interest-rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed); international economies faced deeper ongoing challenges. During June 2016, global markets became especially volatile as the U.K.’s vote over whether to leave the European Union (E.U.) approached. However, markets began recovering shortly after the U.K. voted to leave and rallied through July. Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period, as measured by the Russell 1000® Index.1 International markets generally declined as measured by the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index.2

In the third quarter of 2015, China’s slowdown took a toll on economies and markets worldwide.

U.S. stocks sagged during the quarter, experiencing the most volatility since 2011. Economic data released during the quarter suggested the U.S. economy remained solid but had lost some steam, burdened by the drag of the U.S. dollar’s strength coupled with global economic turmoil. The fact that the Fed left the federal funds interest rate unchanged at its September 2015 meeting surprised investors and fueled increased uncertainty about the U.S. economy’s stamina to remain healthy while facing the challenges of slowing growth in China and troubles elsewhere in the world. Outside the U.S., markets were even more volatile and delivered generally weaker quarterly results, also largely due to investors’ increasing anxiety over China’s weakened economy.

Despite ongoing concerns, U.S. stocks generally rose in the fourth quarter of 2015; international markets lagged.

While the broad U.S. stock market bounced back in the quarter, stock markets outside the U.S. failed to keep pace as economic concerns, including China’s ongoing slowdown, continued to affect many countries. U.S. economic data released during the quarter indicated the economy remained solid, although the strong U.S. dollar and weakness in international economies remained headwinds. In December, the Fed, as expected, raised its target interest rate by 25 basis points (bps; 100 bps equals 1.00%) after keeping it near zero for seven years. The move reflected confidence in the U.S. economy’s ability to stay healthy with less central-bank support. The Fed also clarified that future interest-rate increases would be gradual.

 

 

 

1  The Russell 1000® Index measures the performance of the 1,000 largest companies in the Russell 3000® Index, which represents approximately 92% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000® Index. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

2  Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index is a free-float-adjusted market-capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the United States and Canada. The MSCI EAFE Index consists of the following 21 developed markets country indexes: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. You cannot invest directly in an index.


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Letter to shareholders (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Growth Fund     3   

In the first quarter of 2016, market volatility increased globally amid ongoing concerns.

Stock markets worldwide fluctuated widely in the first quarter of 2016. Most sold off sharply in the first six weeks of the year on concerns such as weak global growth, falling commodity prices, and uncertainty over the timing and impact of the Fed’s interest-rate increases. As the quarter progressed, fears abated somewhat and global markets generally rallied back. The U.S. economy ended the quarter on a positive note as much of the quarter’s data reflected resiliency. With ongoing uncertainties about global growth and financial markets, however, the Fed held off from raising the target interest rate during the quarter. Outside the U.S., the eurozone fell into deflation in February; in response, the European Central Bank announced an expansion of its stimulus program. In China, the government in March set a growth rate of 6.5% to 7.0% for 2016, an acknowledgment of weakening growth. In emerging markets, although central-bank stimulus and improved prices for oil and other commodities led to stock-market rallies in the quarter, many of these countries’ economies face credit downgrades due to challenges such as the likelihood of a stronger U.S. dollar, which would make dollar-denominated debt more expensive.

Worries over interest rates and the U.K.’s vote largely drove the markets during the second quarter of 2016.

U.S. stocks began the quarter in positive territory but started to lose steam in early May on worries that a possible June interest-rate increase by the Fed could hurt the market. In mid-May, stocks briefly plunged following comments by Fed officials noting that a June interest-rate increase remained on the table. But once investors had processed this information, stocks again rallied, finishing up for the month. The first three weeks of June brought heightened volatility, spurred largely by a disappointing jobs report and uncertainty over whether the U.K. would remain in the E.U. The U.K.’s Brexit vote on June 23 shocked countries in Europe and much of the rest of the world. Stock markets plummeted as investors worried that the U.K.’s departure from the E.U. would slow global growth and prolong the low-interest-rate environment. Following the initial rout, however, U.S. stocks rallied as investors seemed to decide that any negative effects would be more localized and not create a serious risk for global growth. By quarter-end, the broad U.S. stock market had moved back into positive territory.

Stocks generally posted positive results for July 2016.

U.S. stocks displayed the most momentum during the first two weeks of the month, buoyed partly by an unexpectedly favorable June jobs report that helped strengthen confidence in the U.S. economy. Also, investors perhaps felt that global central banks could extend stimulus measures in the wake of the Brexit vote. Although U.S. market momentum slowed during the second half of July, stocks ended in positive territory for the month. International stocks delivered positive monthly results as well.

    

 


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4   Wells Fargo Growth Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

Don’t let short-term uncertainty derail long-term investment goals.

Periods of uncertainty can present challenges, but experience has taught us that maintaining long-term investment goals can be an effective way to plan for the future. To help you create a sound strategy based on your personal goals and risk tolerance, Wells Fargo Funds offers more than 100 mutual funds spanning a wide range of asset classes and investment styles. Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance. We encourage investors to know their investments and to understand that appropriate levels of risk-taking may unlock opportunities.

Thank you for choosing to invest in Wells Fargo Funds. We appreciate your confidence in us and remain committed to helping you meet your financial needs.

Sincerely,

 

LOGO

Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance.

 

 

 

 

For further information about your Fund, contact your investment professional, visit our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or call us directly at 1-800-222-8222. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


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6   Wells Fargo Growth Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

Investment objective

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Manager

Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC

Subadviser

Wells Capital Management Incorporated

Portfolio managers

Joseph M. Eberhardy, CFA®, CPA

Thomas C. Ognar, CFA®

Bruce C. Olson, CFA®

Average annual total returns (%) as of July 31, 20161

 

        Including sales charge     Excluding sales charge     Expense ratios2 (%)  
    Inception date   1 year     5 year     10 year     1 year     5 year     10 year     Gross     Net3  
Class A (SGRAX)   2-24-2000     (7.34     9.28        10.58        (1.69     10.58        11.24        1.13        1.13   
Class C (WGFCX)   12-26-2002     (3.44     9.76        10.41        (2.44     9.76        10.41        1.88        1.88   
Class R6 (SGRHX)   9-30-2015                          (1.25     11.07        11.75        0.70        0.70   
Administrator Class (SGRKX)   8-30-2002                          (1.53     10.82        11.54        1.05        0.96   
Institutional Class (SGRNX)   2-24-2000                          (1.31     11.05        11.74        0.80        0.75   
Russell 3000® Growth Index4                            3.57        13.39        9.41                 

Figures quoted represent past performance, which is no guarantee of future results, and do not reflect taxes that a shareholder may pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Performance shown without sales charges would be lower if sales charges were reflected. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted, which assumes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. Current month-end performance is available on the Fund’s website, wellsfargofunds.com.

Index returns do not include transaction costs associated with buying and selling securities, any mutual fund fees or expenses, or any taxes. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

For Class A shares, the maximum front-end sales charge is 5.75%. For Class C shares, the maximum contingent deferred sales charge is 1.00%. Performance including a contingent deferred sales charge assumes the sales charge for the corresponding time period. Class R6, Administrator Class, and Institutional Class shares are sold without a front-end sales charge or contingent deferred sales charge.

Stock values fluctuate in response to the activities of individual companies and general market and economic conditions. Certain investment strategies tend to increase the total risk of an investment (relative to the broader market). The Fund is exposed to foreign investment risk and smaller-company securities risk. Consult the Fund’s prospectus for additional information on these and other risks.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


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Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Growth Fund     7   
Growth of $10,000 investment as of July 31, 20165
LOGO

 

 

 

 

1  Effective June 20, 2008, Advisor Class was renamed Class A and modified to assume the features and attributes of Class A. Historical performance shown for Class A shares through June 20, 2008, includes Advisor Class expenses. Historical performance shown for Class R6 shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of Institutional Class shares, and includes the higher expenses applicable to Institutional Class shares. If these expenses had not been included, returns would be higher.

 

2  Reflects the expense ratios as stated in the most recent prospectuses. The expense ratios shown are subject to change and may differ from the annualized expense ratios shown in the financial highlights of this report.

 

3  The manager has contractually committed through November 30, 2016, to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at 1.21% for Class A, 1.96% for Class C, 0.70% for Class R6, 0.96% for Administrator Class, and 0.75% for Institutional Class. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Brokerage commissions, stamp duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense cap. Without this cap, the Fund’s returns would have been lower.

 

4  The Russell 3000® Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 3000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. The stocks in this index are also members of either the Russell 1000® Growth Index or the Russell 2000® Growth Index. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

5  The chart compares the performance of Class A shares for the most recent ten years with the Russell 3000® Growth Index. The chart assumes a hypothetical investment of $10,000 in Class A shares and reflects all operating expenses and assumes the maximum initial sales charge of 5.75%.

 

6  The ten largest holdings, excluding cash and cash equivalents, are calculated based on the value of the investments divided by total net assets of the Fund. Holdings are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.

 

7  Amounts are calculated based on the total long-term investments of the Fund. These amounts are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.


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8   Wells Fargo Growth Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

MANAGER’S DISCUSSION

Fund highlights

n   The Fund underperformed its benchmark, the Russell 3000® Growth Index, for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016.

 

n   Holdings within the health care and information technology (IT) sectors contributed to the Fund’s underperformance for the period. An underweight to slower-growing stocks in the consumer staples sector also detracted from results as investors sought higher-yielding stocks.

 

n   The market environment often was influenced by investor sentiment rather than by fundamentals during the period, which presented a general challenge for our emphasis on adding value through bottom-up stock selection.

Small-cap stocks struggled during the period.

Over the course of the 12 months, investors demonstrated a strong preference for the perceived safety of mega-cap stocks as uncertainty continued about the prospects for global growth. As a result, small-cap growth stocks experienced elevated volatility for much of the period and detracted from the Fund’s performance. While small-cap growth stocks recovered slightly by the end of the period, they significantly underperformed their large-cap counterparts for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016.

The ongoing low-interest-rate environment drove investors’ demand for dividend yield, hindering Fund results.

Faced with the prospect of historically low interest rates and, in some countries, negative interest rates, investors continued to seek alternative sources of income via dividend-paying stocks. Stocks paying a dividend yield larger than 2% contributed disproportionately to the total return of the Russell 3000® Growth Index for the period. Due to its focus on faster-growing stocks, the Fund tends to be significantly underweight dividend-paying stocks compared with the index; this characteristic significantly contributed to the Fund’s underperformance for the period. While investors’ preference for dividend yield challenged our investment process at times during the period, it also led to historically attractive relative valuations for faster-growing stocks, which could bode well for future Fund performance.

 

Ten largest holdings (%) as of July 31, 20166  

Alphabet Incorporated Class A

     5.20   

Facebook Incorporated Class A

     5.16   

Amazon.com Incorporated

     4.44   

Visa Incorporated Class A

     3.07   

Microchip Technology Incorporated

     2.87   

Dollar Tree Incorporated

     2.55   

Burlington Stores Incorporated

     2.49   

MarketAxess Holdings Incorporated

     2.48   

Acadia Healthcare Company Incorporated

     2.47   

MasterCard Incorporated Class A

     2.45   

Results from the Fund’s health care and IT holdings detracted from performance.

Within health care, biotechnology holdings detracted notably over the period. Although these companies tended to experience solid demand for existing medical solutions, their stocks suffered significant declines in the first half of 2016. Multiple factors drove the share-price weakness, including the negative effects of ongoing political rhetoric concerning potential drug-pricing controls and less-robust fundamental outlooks for several companies.

Within the IT sector, several holdings with significant market opportunities within faster-growing areas, such as cloud services, data analytics, and network security,

 

displayed weakness. Although these holdings generally delivered solid growth fundamentals, they experienced significant volatility as investors reacted to global economic uncertainties. At times during the period, investors preferred select mega-cap IT stocks, often at the expense of many small- and mid-cap IT companies that were actively reinvesting in their businesses to expand their market share.

Holdings within the consumer discretionary, energy, and materials sectors contributed positively to performance.

Within the consumer discretionary sector, the Fund benefited from solid performance by holdings with strong secular growth. Retail companies focused on the lower-end consumer continued to perform well as their business models tend to be more resistant to the pressures of Amazon.com, Incorporated, and other online retailers. Among the Fund’s energy holdings, exploration and production company Concho Resources Incorporated, which has fracking operations in the

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


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Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Growth Fund     9   

Permian Basin, delivered favorable results as oil prices rallied off their February 2016 lows. Within the materials sector, Airgas, Incorporated, performed well as investors rewarded companies with proven business models that offered consistent results.

 

Sector distribution as of July 31, 20167
LOGO

We continue to focus on consistently implementing our process.

Over the course of the 12-month period, we made modest adjustments to the Fund to potentially capitalize on opportunities and position for the future. Using our bottom-up research process, we added IT companies that met our criteria for robust, sustainable growth that appears underappreciated by the market. We funded these purchases primarily with the proceeds from sales of holdings in the health care and consumer discretionary sectors.

Given the abundant political and economic headlines dominating the media in the U.S. and worldwide, we

 

expect to see continued market volatility heading into the summer of 2016 and likely through the U.S. general election in November 2016. As this volatility occurs, we intend to take advantage of potential opportunities as the valuation gaps of the companies held within the Fund widen and contract. We maintain strong conviction for the rapidly growing companies within the portfolio; many holdings have been trading at or near multiyear-low valuations relative to the broad market. Our investment strategy—seeking robust growth companies with sustainable business models that are underappreciated by investors—should position us, going forward, to take advantage of opportunities within the market for the benefit of Fund shareholders.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


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10   Wells Fargo Growth Fund   Fund expenses (unaudited)

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments and contingent deferred sales charges (if any) on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees, distribution (12b-1) and/or shareholder servicing fees, and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the six-month period and held for the entire period from February 1, 2016 to July 31, 2016.

Actual expenses

The “Actual” line of the table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the “Actual” line under the heading entitled “Expenses paid during period” for your applicable class of shares to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical example for comparison purposes

The “Hypothetical” line of the table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads) and contingent deferred sales charges. Therefore, the “Hypothetical” line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

     Beginning
account value
2-1-2016
     Ending
account value
7-31-2016
     Expenses
paid during
the period¹
    

Annualized net
expense ratio

 

Class A

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,149.54       $ 6.11         1.14

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,019.18       $ 5.74         1.14

Class C

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,145.20       $ 10.07         1.89

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,015.47       $ 9.46         1.89

Class R6

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,152.00       $ 3.75         0.70

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,021.38       $ 3.52         0.70

Administrator Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,150.42       $ 5.13         0.96

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,020.09       $ 4.82         0.96

Institutional Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,151.55       $ 4.01         0.75

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,021.13       $ 3.77         0.75

 

 

1 Expenses paid is equal to the annualized net expense ratio of each class multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the most recent fiscal half-year divided by the number of days in the fiscal year (to reflect the one-half-year period).


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Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Growth Fund     11   

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  

Common Stocks: 99.72%

          

Consumer Discretionary: 20.52%

          
Auto Components: 0.20%           

Delphi Automotive plc

          199,610       $ 13,537,550   
          

 

 

 
Distributors: 1.52%           

LKQ Corporation †

          3,027,810         104,126,386   
          

 

 

 
Diversified Consumer Services: 0.72%           

Grand Canyon Education Incorporated †

          1,172,575         49,318,505   
          

 

 

 
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure: 2.52%           

Fiesta Restaurant Group Incorporated †

          38,700         864,558   

Starbucks Corporation

          2,605,960         151,275,978   

The Habit Restaurants Incorporated Class A †«(l)

          1,299,600         21,105,504   
             173,246,040   
          

 

 

 
Internet & Catalog Retail: 4.44%           

Amazon.com Incorporated †

          401,150         304,396,632   
          

 

 

 
Media: 0.36%           

The Walt Disney Company

          261,510         25,091,885   
          

 

 

 
Multiline Retail: 2.92%           

Dollar General Corporation

          268,600         25,447,164   

Dollar Tree Incorporated †

          1,818,250         175,079,293   
             200,526,457   
          

 

 

 
Specialty Retail: 6.48%           

Burlington Stores Incorporated †

          2,231,320         170,718,293   

CarMax Incorporated †«

          34,480         2,008,805   

Five Below Incorporated †

          976,813         49,827,231   

The Home Depot Incorporated

          427,300         59,069,952   

Tractor Supply Company

          1,370,695         125,624,197   

ULTA Salon, Cosmetics and Fragrance Incorporated †

          142,000         37,091,820   
             444,340,298   
          

 

 

 
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods: 1.36%           

Under Armour Incorporated Class A †«

          1,497,800         59,103,188   

Under Armour Incorporated Class C †

          966,663         34,509,869   
             93,613,057   
          

 

 

 

Consumer Staples: 4.53%

          
Beverages: 0.65%           

Constellation Brands Incorporated Class A

          270,000         44,450,100   
          

 

 

 
Food & Staples Retailing: 3.28%           

Costco Wholesale Corporation

          549,900         91,954,278   

Sprouts Farmers Market Incorporated †

          5,764,800         133,339,824   
             225,294,102   
          

 

 

 
Personal Products: 0.60%           

The Estee Lauder Companies Incorporated Class A

          443,320         41,184,428   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


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12   Wells Fargo Growth Fund   Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  

Energy: 1.58%

          
Energy Equipment & Services: 0.48%           

Halliburton Company

          137,000       $ 5,981,420   

Schlumberger Limited

          333,600         26,861,472   
             32,842,892   
          

 

 

 
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels: 1.10%           

Concho Resources Incorporated †

          608,570         75,584,394   
          

 

 

 

Financials: 2.81%

          
Capital Markets: 0.34%           

Raymond James Financial Incorporated

          253,200         13,900,680   

TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation

          301,600         9,156,576   
             23,057,256   
          

 

 

 
Diversified Financial Services: 2.47%           

MarketAxess Holdings Incorporated

          1,050,650         169,848,079   
          

 

 

 

Health Care: 22.09%

          
Biotechnology: 6.60%           

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Incorporated †

          1,004,078         129,124,431   

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Incorporated †

          563,800         56,052,996   

Celgene Corporation †

          1,063,860         119,354,453   

Incyte Corporation †

          164,500         14,839,545   

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Incorporated †

          161,610         68,703,643   

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Incorporated †

          442,600         28,007,728   

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated †

          381,200         36,976,400   
             453,059,196   
          

 

 

 
Health Care Equipment & Supplies: 4.26%           

Becton Dickinson & Company

          87,600         15,417,600   

Intuitive Surgical Incorporated †

          60,100         41,815,176   

Medtronic plc

          1,404,551         123,080,804   

NuVasive Incorporated †

          687,911         42,788,064   

Steris Corporation

          973,060         69,038,607   
             292,140,251   
          

 

 

 
Health Care Providers & Services: 5.32%           

Acadia Healthcare Company Incorporated †

          2,995,842         169,265,073   

Centene Corporation †

          248,400         17,524,620   

Diplomat Pharmacy Incorporated †«

          1,430,300         51,390,679   

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings †

          151,800         21,185,208   

VCA Incorporated †

          1,484,170         105,880,688   
             365,246,268   
          

 

 

 
Health Care Technology: 3.47%           

Cerner Corporation †

          1,992,200         124,293,358   

Veeva Systems Incorporated Class A †

          2,990,300         113,601,497   
             237,894,855   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Growth Fund     13   

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  
Life Sciences Tools & Services: 0.30%           

Mettler-Toledo International Incorporated †

          35,600       $ 14,639,076   

Patheon NV †

          216,987         5,611,284   
             20,250,360   
          

 

 

 
Pharmaceuticals: 2.14%           

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

          1,024,250         76,624,143   

Zoetis Incorporated

          1,390,304         70,168,643   
             146,792,786   
          

 

 

 

Industrials: 8.17%

          
Aerospace & Defense: 0.71%           

The Boeing Company

          364,950         48,779,217   
          

 

 

 
Air Freight & Logistics: 0.96%           

United Parcel Service Incorporated Class B

          607,260         65,644,806   
          

 

 

 
Commercial Services & Supplies: 2.47%           

KAR Auction Services Incorporated

          1,557,400         66,609,998   

Waste Connections Incorporated

          1,379,220         102,724,306   
             169,334,304   
          

 

 

 
Machinery: 0.49%           

Fortive Corporation †

          76,000         3,663,960   

ITT Incorporated

          955,400         30,295,734   
             33,959,694   
          

 

 

 
Road & Rail: 3.54%           

Kansas City Southern

          588,380         56,549,202   

Norfolk Southern Corporation

          530,000         47,583,400   

Union Pacific Corporation

          1,488,140         138,471,427   
             242,604,029   
          

 

 

 

Information Technology: 37.05%

          
Internet Software & Services: 14.09%           

Alphabet Incorporated Class A †

          450,800         356,736,072   

Alphabet Incorporated Class C †

          56,781         43,652,665   

CoStar Group Incorporated †

          450,620         93,683,898   

Envestnet Incorporated †(l)

          2,909,831         111,068,249   

Facebook Incorporated Class A †

          2,859,190         354,368,009   

New Relic Incorporated †«

          216,700         7,463,148   
             966,972,041   
          

 

 

 
IT Services: 8.03%           

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation Class A †

          175,386         10,082,941   

Euronet Worldwide Incorporated †

          53,183         4,055,736   

Global Payments Incorporated

          811,200         60,564,192   

MasterCard Incorporated Class A

          1,763,050         167,912,882   

Vantiv Incorporated Class A †

          1,786,793         97,862,653   

Visa Incorporated Class A

          2,696,680         210,475,874   
             550,954,278   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

14   Wells Fargo Growth Fund   Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016

      

 

 

Security name                Shares      Value  
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment: 3.91%          

Broadcom Limited

         216,000       $ 34,987,680   

Microchip Technology Incorporated «

         3,536,450         196,768,078   

Monolithic Power Systems Incorporated

         227,191         16,521,330   

Texas Instruments Incorporated

         289,800         20,213,550   
            268,490,638   
         

 

 

 
Software: 9.25%          

Adobe Systems Incorporated †

         340,580         33,329,159   

Fortinet Incorporated †

         1,738,910         60,322,788   

Microsoft Corporation

         673,400         38,168,312   

Paycom Software Incorporated †

         1,732,772         81,804,166   

Paylocity Holding Corporation †«

         1,187,425         53,006,652   

Proofpoint Incorporated †

         1,361,800         103,319,766   

Red Hat Incorporated †

         279,926         21,075,629   

Salesforce.com Incorporated †

         462,300         37,816,140   

ServiceNow Incorporated †

         359,310         26,919,505   

Splunk Incorporated †

         1,893,761         118,435,813   

Tableau Software Incorporated Class A †

         537,995         30,402,097   

Ultimate Software Group Incorporated †

         142,730         29,844,843   
            634,444,870   
         

 

 

 
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals: 1.77%          

Apple Incorporated

         1,165,000         121,404,650   
         

 

 

 

Materials: 2.97%

         
Chemicals: 2.97%          

Ecolab Incorporated

         994,600         117,740,748   

Praxair Incorporated

         741,030         86,359,632   
            204,100,380   
         

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks (Cost $4,159,006,172)

            6,842,530,684   
         

 

 

 
    Yield                      
Short-Term Investments: 1.88%          
Investment Companies: 1.88%          

Securities Lending Cash Investments LLC (l)(r)(u)

    0.50        124,859,525         124,859,525   

Wells Fargo Government Money Market Fund Select Class (l)(u)

    0.32           3,981,324         3,981,324   

Total Short-Term Investments (Cost $128,840,849)

            128,840,849        
         

 

 

 

 

Total investments in securities (Cost $4,287,847,021) *     101.60        6,971,371,533   

Other assets and liabilities, net

    (1.60        (110,056,964
 

 

 

      

 

 

 
Total net assets     100.00      $ 6,861,314,569   
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Growth Fund     15   

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-income-earning security

 

« All or a portion of this security is on loan.

 

(l) The issuer of the security is an affiliated person of the Fund as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

(r) The investment is a non-registered investment vehicle purchased with cash collateral received from securities on loan.

 

(u) The rate represents the 7-day annualized yield at period end.

 

* Cost for federal income tax purposes is $4,312,714,114 and unrealized gains (losses) consists of:

 

Gross unrealized gains

   $ 2,763,469,544   

Gross unrealized losses

     (104,812,125
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized gains

   $ 2,658,657,419   

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

16   Wells Fargo Growth Fund   Statement of assets and liabilities—July 31, 2016
         

Assets

 

Investments

 

In unaffiliated securities (including $121,236,359 of securities loaned), at value (cost $4,015,929,147)

  $ 6,710,356,931   

In affiliated securities, at value (cost $271,917,874)

    261,014,602   
 

 

 

 

Total investments, at value (cost $4,287,847,021)

    6,971,371,533   

Receivable for investments sold

    29,636,730   

Receivable for Fund shares sold

    7,103,217   

Receivable for dividends

    1,152,017   

Receivable for securities lending income

    83,833   

Prepaid expenses and other assets

    70,524   
 

 

 

 

Total assets

    7,009,417,854   
 

 

 

 

Liabilities

 

Payable for investments purchased

    4,286,206   

Payable for Fund shares redeemed

    12,922,722   

Payable upon receipt of securities loaned

    124,859,525   

Management fee payable

    3,320,045   

Distribution fee payable

    200,982   

Administration fees payable

    943,864   

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

    1,569,941   
 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

    148,103,285   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 6,861,314,569   
 

 

 

 

NET ASSETS CONSIST OF

 

Paid-in capital

  $ 3,644,189,129   

Accumulated net investment loss

    (15,954,981

Accumulated net realized gains on investments

    549,555,909   

Net unrealized gains on investments

    2,683,524,512   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 6,861,314,569   
 

 

 

 

COMPUTATION OF NET ASSET VALUE AND OFFERING PRICE PER SHARE

 

Net assets – Class A

  $ 2,582,954,780   

Shares outstanding – Class A1

    61,097,794   

Net asset value per share – Class A

    $42.28   

Maximum offering price per share – Class A2

    $44.86   

Net assets – Class C

  $ 321,032,304   

Shares outstanding – Class C1

    8,659,861   

Net asset value per share – Class C

    $37.07   

Net assets – Class R6

  $ 30,905,538   

Shares outstanding – Class R61

    645,258   

Net asset value per share – Class R6

    $47.90   

Net assets – Administrator Class

  $ 1,528,287,834   

Shares outstanding – Administrator Class1

    33,472,520   

Net asset value per share – Administrator Class

    $45.66   

Net assets – Institutional Class

  $ 2,398,134,113   

Shares outstanding – Institutional Class1

    50,097,285   

Net asset value per share – Institutional Class

    $47.87   

 

 

1  The Fund has an unlimited number of authorized shares.

 

2  Maximum offering price is computed as 100/94.25 of net asset value. On investments of $50,000 or more, the offering price is reduced.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Statement of operations—year ended July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Growth Fund     17   
         

Investment income

 

Dividends (net of foreign withholding taxes of $29,998)

  $ 50,830,392   

Securities lending income, net

    1,334,969   

Income from affiliated securities

    199,955   
 

 

 

 

Total investment income

    52,365,316   
 

 

 

 

Expenses

 

Management fee

    54,253,854   

Administration fees

 

Class A

    5,032,918   

Class C

    771,068   

Class R6

    1,607 1 

Administrator Class

    2,375,203   

Institutional Class

    3,944,489   

Investor Class

    1,413,072 2 

Shareholder servicing fees

 

Class A

    5,989,825   

Class C

    917,938   

Administrator Class

    4,548,056   

Investor Class

    1,102,754 2 

Distribution fee

 

Class C

    2,753,815   

Custody and accounting fees

    449,900   

Professional fees

    45,951   

Registration fees

    160,455   

Shareholder report expenses

    699,005   

Trustees’ fees and expenses

    23,190   

Other fees and expenses

    125,871   
 

 

 

 

Total expenses

    84,608,971   

Less: Fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements

    (4,428,719
 

 

 

 

Net expenses

    80,180,252   
 

 

 

 

Net investment loss

    (27,814,936
 

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAINS (LOSSES) ON INVESTMENTS

 

Net realized gains (losses) on:

 

Unaffiliated securities

    1,030,994,593   

Affiliated securities

    (154,799,118
 

 

 

 

Net realized gains on investments

    876,195,475   
 

 

 

 

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on:

 

Unaffiliated securities

    (1,279,818,188

Affiiliated securities

    (11,243,557
 

 

 

 

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (1,291,061,745
 

 

 

 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (414,866,270
 

 

 

 

Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations

  $ (442,681,206
 

 

 

 

 

 

1 For the period from September 30, 2015 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2016

 

2  For the period from August 1, 2015 to October 23, 2015. Effective at the close of business on October 23, 2015, Investor Class shares were converted to Class A shares and are no longer offered by the Fund.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

18   Wells Fargo Growth Fund   Statement of changes in net assets
     Year ended
July 31, 2016
    Year ended
July 31, 2015
 

Operations

       

Net investment loss

    $ (27,814,936     $ (46,794,164

Net realized gains on investments

      876,195,475          1,219,370,154   

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

      (1,291,061,745       328,837,984   
 

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

      (442,681,206       1,501,413,974   
 

 

 

 

Distributions to shareholders from

       

Net realized gains

       

Class A

      (399,298,978       (231,582,982

Class C

      (58,938,406       (75,250,933

Class R6

      (3,078 )1        N/A   

Administrator Class

      (246,890,849       (343,165,487

Institutional Class

      (415,951,081       (470,228,817

Investor Class

      0 2        (300,177,941
 

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

      (1,121,082,392       (1,420,406,160
 

 

 

 

Capital share transactions

    Shares          Shares     

Proceeds from shares sold

       

Class A

    43,995,297        2,023,515,239        3,096,946        149,093,930   

Class C

    581,792        20,816,141        687,649        28,728,045   

Class R6

    809,874 1      36,393,640 1      N/A        N/A   

Administrator Class

    7,124,750        320,564,136        7,685,162        396,601,510   

Institutional Class

    13,079,635        610,815,781        29,073,710        1,572,598,987   

Investor Class

    481,943 2      22,113,995 2      1,516,862        73,282,154   
 

 

 

 
      3,034,218,932          2,220,304,626   
 

 

 

 

Reinvestment of distributions

       

Class A

    9,441,799        377,011,011        4,653,339        208,236,915   

Class C

    1,219,230        42,892,540        1,331,646        53,838,455   

Class R6

    68 1      3,078 1      N/A        N/A   

Administrator Class

    5,707,643        245,828,196        6,824,589        325,601,120   

Institutional Class

    8,792,866        396,558,261        9,196,950        455,984,759   

Investor Class

    0 2      0 2      6,596,013        293,918,329   
 

 

 

 
      1,062,293,086          1,337,579,578   
 

 

 

 

Payment for shares redeemed

       

Class A

    (21,946,636     (888,004,129     (19,102,932     (941,145,013

Class C

    (3,607,488     (128,227,500     (3,749,283     (167,465,881

Class R6

    (164,684 )1      (7,572,255 )1      N/A        N/A   

Administrator Class

    (23,808,569     (1,051,831,735     (33,692,681     (1,742,600,427

Institutional Class

    (42,021,779     (1,850,525,284     (22,580,802     (1,219,410,764

Investor Class

    (43,198,360 )2      (1,994,219,513 )2      (10,699,627     (519,360,449
 

 

 

 
      (5,920,380,416       (4,589,982,534
 

 

 

 

Net decrease in net assets resulting from capital share transactions

      (1,823,868,398       (1,032,098,330
 

 

 

 

Total decrease in net assets

      (3,387,631,996       (951,090,516
 

 

 

 

Net assets

       

Beginning of period

      10,248,946,565          11,200,037,081   
 

 

 

 

End of period

    $ 6,861,314,569        $ 10,248,946,565   
 

 

 

 

Undistributed (accumulated) net investment income (loss)

    $ (15,954,981     $ 0   
 

 

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from September 30, 2015 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2016

 

2  For the period from August 1, 2015 to October 23, 2015. Effective at the close of business on October 23, 2015, Investor Class shares were converted to Class A shares and are no longer offered by the Fund.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Growth Fund     19   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS A   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $49.50        $49.99        $46.74        $37.85        $35.88   

Net investment loss

    (0.20 )1      (0.29 )1      (0.32 )1      (0.17 )1      (0.21 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.99     7.03        5.34        9.06        2.65   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (1.19     6.74        5.02        8.89        2.44   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (6.03     (7.23     (1.77     0.00        (0.47

Net asset value, end of period

    $42.28        $49.50        $49.99        $46.74        $37.85   

Total return2

    (1.69 )%      15.01     10.77     23.49     6.93

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.15     1.18     1.18     1.19     1.20

Net expenses

    1.14     1.18     1.18     1.19     1.20

Net investment loss

    (0.49 )%      (0.59 )%      (0.64 )%      (0.41 )%      (0.56 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    38     35     42     38     47

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $2,582,955        $1,465,643        $2,047,410        $2,464,533        $2,265,845   

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

20   Wells Fargo Growth Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS C   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $44.51        $45.95        $43.41        $35.42        $33.86   

Net investment loss

    (0.46 )1      (0.60 )1      (0.64 )1      (0.45 )1      (0.46 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.95     6.39        4.95        8.44        2.49   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (1.41     5.79        4.31        7.99        2.03   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (6.03     (7.23     (1.77     0.00        (0.47

Net asset value, end of period

    $37.07        $44.51        $45.95        $43.41        $35.42   

Total return2

    (2.44 )%      14.16     9.96     22.56     6.12

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.90     1.93     1.93     1.94     1.95

Net expenses

    1.89     1.93     1.93     1.94     1.95

Net investment loss

    (1.24 )%      (1.34 )%      (1.39 )%      (1.16 )%      (1.32 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    38     35     42     38     47

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $321,032        $465,833        $560,481        $589,402        $525,285   

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Growth Fund     21   

(For a share outstanding throughout the period)

 

CLASS R6   Year ended
July 31, 20161
 

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $48.97   

Net investment loss

    (0.02

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    4.98   
 

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    4.96   

Distributions to shareholders from

 

Net realized gains

    (6.03

Net asset value, end of period

    $47.90   

Total return2

    10.89

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

 

Gross expenses

    0.74

Net expenses

    0.70

Net investment loss

    (0.23 )% 

Supplemental data

 

Portfolio turnover rate

    38

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $30,906   

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from September 30, 2015 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2016

 

2  Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

22   Wells Fargo Growth Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
ADMINISTRATOR CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $52.86        $52.80        $49.16        $39.72        $37.54   

Net investment loss

    (0.14 )1      (0.20 )1      (0.23     (0.08 )1      (0.13 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (1.03     7.49        5.64        9.52        2.78   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (1.17     7.29        5.41        9.44        2.65   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (6.03     (7.23     (1.77     0.00        (0.47

Net asset value, end of period

    $45.66        $52.86        $52.80        $49.16        $39.72   

Total return

    (1.53 )%      15.28     11.04     23.77     7.15

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.07     1.02     1.02     1.03     1.03

Net expenses

    0.96     0.96     0.96     0.96     0.96

Net investment loss

    (0.31 )%      (0.37 )%      (0.42 )%      (0.18 )%      (0.33 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    38     35     42     38     47

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $1,528,288        $2,349,359        $3,359,480        $3,309,683        $2,984,775   

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Growth Fund     23   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
INSTITUTIONAL CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $54.99        $54.54        $50.63        $40.83        $38.49   

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.05 )1      (0.09 )1      (0.13     0.01 1      (0.05 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (1.04     7.77        5.81        9.79        2.86   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (1.09     7.68        5.68        9.80        2.81   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (6.03     (7.23     (1.77     0.00        (0.47

Net asset value, end of period

    $47.87        $54.99        $54.54        $50.63        $40.83   

Total return

    (1.31 )%      15.53     11.26     24.03     7.37

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    0.82     0.76     0.75     0.76     0.77

Net expenses

    0.75     0.75     0.75     0.75     0.76

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.10 )%      (0.17 )%      (0.21 )%      0.02     (0.13 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    38     35     42     38     47

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $2,398,134        $3,863,196        $2,975,721        $2,649,095        $2,312,074   

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


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24   Wells Fargo Growth Fund   Notes to financial statements

1. ORGANIZATION

Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”), a Delaware statutory trust organized on March 10, 1999, is an open-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). As an investment company, the Trust follows the accounting and reporting guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946, Financial Services – Investment Companies. These financial statements report on the Wells Fargo Growth Fund (the “Fund”) which is a diversified series of the Trust.

Effective at the close of business on October 23, 2015, Investor Class shares became Class A shares in a tax-free conversion. Shareholders of Investor Class received Class A shares at a value equal to the value of their Investor Class shares immediately prior to the conversion. Investor Class shares are no longer offered by the Fund.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The following significant accounting policies, which are consistently followed in the preparation of the financial statements of the Fund, are in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles which require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Securities valuation

All investments are valued each business day as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (generally 4 p.m. Eastern Time), although the Fund may deviate from this calculation time under unusual or unexpected circumstances.

Equity securities that are listed on a foreign or domestic exchange or market are valued at the official closing price or, if none, the last sales price. If no sale occurs on the principal exchange or market that day, the prior day’s price will be deemed “stale” and a fair value price will be determined in accordance with the Fund’s Valuation Procedures.

Investments in registered open-end investment companies are valued at net asset value. Interests in non-registered investment vehicles that are redeemable at net asset value are fair valued normally at net asset value.

Investments which are not valued using any of the methods discussed above are valued at their fair value, as determined in good faith by the Board of Trustees of the Fund. The Board of Trustees has established a Valuation Committee comprised of the Trustees and has delegated to it the authority to take any actions regarding the valuation of portfolio securities that the Valuation Committee deems necessary or appropriate, including determining the fair value of portfolio securities, unless the determination has been delegated to the Management Valuation Team of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”). The Board of Trustees retains the authority to make or ratify any valuation decisions or approve any changes to the Valuation Procedures as it deems appropriate. On a quarterly basis, the Board of Trustees receives reports on any valuation actions taken by the Valuation Committee or the Management Valuation Team which may include items for ratification.

Valuations of fair valued securities are compared to the next actual sales price when available, or other appropriate market values, to assess the continued appropriateness of the fair valuation methodologies used. These securities are fair valued on a day-to-day basis, taking into consideration changes to appropriate market information and any significant changes to the inputs considered in the valuation process until there is a readily available price provided on an exchange or by an independent pricing service. Valuations received from an independent pricing service or independent broker-dealer quotes are periodically validated by comparisons to most recent trades and valuations provided by other independent pricing services in addition to the review of prices by the manager and/or subadviser. Unobservable inputs used in determining fair valuations are identified based on the type of security, taking into consideration factors utilized by market participants in valuing the investment, knowledge about the issuer and the current market environment.

Security loans

The Fund may lend its securities from time to time in order to earn additional income in the form of fees or interest on securities received as collateral or the investment of any cash received as collateral. The Fund continues to receive interest or dividends on the securities loaned. The Fund receives collateral in the form of cash or securities with a value at least equal to the value of the securities on loan. The value of the loaned securities is determined at the close of each business day and any additional required collateral is delivered to the Fund on the next business day. In a securities lending transaction, the net asset value of the Fund will be affected by an increase or decrease in the value of the securities loaned and by an increase or decrease in the value of the instrument in which collateral is invested. The amount


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Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Growth Fund     25   

of securities lending activity undertaken by the Fund fluctuates from time to time. In the event of default or bankruptcy by the borrower, the Fund may be prevented from recovering the loaned securities or gaining access to the collateral or may experience delays or costs in doing so. In addition, the investment of any cash collateral received may lose all or part of its value. The Fund has the right under the lending agreement to recover the securities from the borrower on demand.

The Fund lends its securities through an unaffiliated securities lending agent. Cash collateral received in connection with its securities lending transactions is invested in Securities Lending Cash Investments, LLC (the “Securities Lending Fund”). The Securities Lending Fund is exempt from registration under Section 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act and is managed by Funds Management and is subadvised by Wells Capital Management Incorporated (“WellsCap”), an affiliate of Funds Management and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company (“Wells Fargo”). Funds Management receives an advisory fee starting at 0.05% and declining to 0.01% as the average daily net assets of the Securities Lending Fund increase. All of the fees received by Funds Management are paid to WellsCap for its services as subadviser. The Securities Lending Fund seeks to provide a positive return compared to the daily Fed Funds Open rate by investing in high-quality, U.S. dollar-denominated short-term money market instruments. Securities Lending Fund investments are fair valued based upon the amortized cost valuation technique. Income earned from investment in the Securities Lending Fund is included in securities lending income on the Statement of Operations.

Security transactions and income recognition

Securities transactions are recorded on a trade date basis. Realized gains or losses are recorded on the basis of identified cost.

Dividend income is recognized on the ex-dividend date. Dividend income is recorded net of foreign taxes withheld where recovery of such taxes is not assured.

Distributions to shareholders

Distributions to shareholders from net investment income and net realized gains, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Such distributions are determined in conformity with federal income tax regulations, which may differ in amount or character from net investment income and realized gains recognized for purposes of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Federal and other taxes

The Fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company by distributing substantially all of its investment company taxable income and any net realized capital gains (after reduction for capital loss carryforwards) sufficient to relieve it from all, or substantially all, federal income taxes. Accordingly, no provision for federal income taxes was required.

The Fund’s income and federal excise tax returns and all financial records supporting those returns for the prior three fiscal years are subject to examination by the federal and Delaware revenue authorities. Management has analyzed the Fund’s tax positions taken on federal, state, and foreign tax returns for all open tax years and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability.

Reclassifications are made to the Fund’s capital accounts for permanent tax differences to reflect income and gains available for distribution (or available capital loss carryforwards) under federal income tax regulations. U.S. generally accepted accounting principles require that certain components of net assets be adjusted to reflect permanent differences between financial and tax reporting. These reclassifications have no effect on net assets or net asset values per share. The primary permanent differences causing such reclassifications are due to dividends from certain securities and net operating losses. At July 31, 2016, as a result of permanent book-to-tax differences, the following reclassification adjustments were made on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities:

 

Paid-in capital    Accumulated net
investment loss
   Accumulated net
realized gains
on investments
$(14,010,179)    $11,859,955    $2,150,224

As of July 31, 2016, the Fund had a qualified late-year ordinary loss of $15,954,981 which will be recognized on the first day of the following fiscal year.

Class allocations

The separate classes of shares offered by the Fund differ principally in applicable sales charges, distribution, shareholder servicing, and administration fees. Class specific expenses are charged directly to that share class. Investment income, common expenses, and realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments are allocated daily to each class of shares based on the relative proportion of net assets of each class.


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26   Wells Fargo Growth Fund   Notes to financial statements

3. FAIR VALUATION MEASUREMENTS

Fair value measurements of investments are determined within a framework that has established a fair value hierarchy based upon the various data inputs utilized in determining the value of the Fund’s investments. The three-level hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to significant unobservable inputs (Level 3). The Fund’s investments are classified within the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The inputs are summarized into three broad levels as follows:

 

n   Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical securities

 

n   Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, use of amortized cost, etc.)

 

n   Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The inputs or methodologies used for valuing investments in securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

The following is a summary of the inputs used in valuing the Fund’s assets and liabilities as of July 31, 2016:

 

    

Quoted prices

(Level 1)

     Other significant
observable inputs
(Level 2)
    

Significant
unobservable inputs

(Level 3)

     Total  

Assets

           

Investments in:

           

Common stocks

           

Consumer discretionary

   $ 1,408,196,810       $ 0       $ 0       $ 1,408,196,810   

Consumer staples

     310,928,630         0         0         310,928,630   

Energy

     108,427,286         0         0         108,427,286   

Financials

     192,905,335         0         0         192,905,335   

Health care

     1,515,383,716         0         0         1,515,383,716   

Industrials

     560,322,050         0         0         560,322,050   

Information technology

     2,542,266,477         0         0         2,542,266,477   

Materials

     204,100,380         0         0         204,100,380   

Short-term investments

           

Investment companies

     3,981,324         0         0         3,981,324   

Investments measured at net asset value*

                                124,859,525   

Total assets

   $ 6,846,512,008       $ 0       $ 0       $ 6,971,371,533   

 

* Investments that are measured at fair value using the net asset value per share (or its equivalent) as a practical expedient have not been categorized in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value amount presented in the table is intended to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the amounts presented in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. The Fund’s investment in Securities Lending Cash Investments, LLC valued at $124,859,525 does not have a redemption period notice, can be redeemed daily and does not have any unfunded commitments.

The Fund recognizes transfers between levels within the fair value hierarchy at the end of the reporting period. At July 31, 2016, the Fund did not have any transfers into/out of Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3.

4. TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES

Management fee

Funds Management, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo, is the manager of the Fund and provides advisory and fund-level administrative services under an investment management agreement. Under the investment management agreement, Funds Management is responsible for, among other services, implementing the investment objectives and strategies of the Fund, supervising the subadviser, providing fund-level administrative services in connection with the Fund’s operations, and providing any other fund-level administrative services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. As compensation for its services under the investment management agreement, Funds


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Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Growth Fund     27   

Management is entitled to receive an annual management fee starting at 0.80% and declining to 0.555% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase. For the year ended July 31, 2016, the management fee was equivalent to an annual rate of 0.67% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.

Funds Management has retained the services of a subadviser to provide daily portfolio management to the Fund. The fee for subadvisory services is borne by Funds Management. WellsCap is the subadviser to the Fund and is entitled to receive a fee from Funds Management at an annual rate starting at 0.45% and declining to 0.30% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase.

Administration fees

Under a class-level administration agreement, Funds Management provides class-level administrative services to the Fund, which includes paying fees and expenses for services provided by the transfer agent, sub-transfer agents, omnibus account servicers and record-keepers. As compensation for its services under the class-level administration agreement, Funds Management receives an annual fee which is calculated based on the average daily net assets of each class as follows:

 

     Class-level
administration fee
 

Class A, Class C

     0.21

Class R6

     0.03   

Administrator Class, Institutional Class

     0.13   

Investor Class

     0.32   

Funds Management has contractually waived and/or reimbursed management and administration fees to the extent necessary to maintain certain net operating expense ratios for the Fund. Waiver of fees and/or reimbursement of expenses by Funds Management were made first from fund level expenses on a proportionate basis and then from class specific expenses. Funds Management has committed through November 30, 2016 to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s expenses at 1.21% for Class A shares, 1.96% for Class C shares, 0.70% for Class R6 shares, 0.96% for Administrator Class shares, and 0.75% for Institutional Class shares. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees.

Distribution fee

The Trust has adopted a distribution plan for Class C shares of the Fund pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. A distribution fee is charged to Class C shares and paid to Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC, the principal underwriter, at an annual rate of 0.75% of the average daily net assets of Class C shares.

In addition, Funds Distributor is entitled to receive the front-end sales charge from the purchase of Class A shares and a contingent deferred sales charge on the redemption of certain Class A shares. Funds Distributor is also entitled to receive the contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of Class C shares. For the year ended July 31, 2016, Funds Distributor received $16,733 from the sale of Class A shares and $24 and $3,651 in contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of Class A and Class C shares, respectively.

Shareholder servicing fees

The Trust has entered into contracts with one or more shareholder servicing agents, whereby Class A, Class C, Administrator Class, and Investor Class of the Fund are charged a fee at an annual rate of 0.25% of the average daily net assets of each respective class.

A portion of these total shareholder servicing fees were paid to affiliates of Wells Fargo.

5. INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

Purchases and sales of investments, excluding U.S. government obligations (if any) and short-term securities, for the year ended July 31, 2016 were $3,094,366,097 and $5,868,422,189, respectively.

The Fund may purchase or sell investment securities to other Wells Fargo funds under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. The procedures have been designed to ensure that these interfund transactions, which generally do not incur broker commissions, are effected at current market prices. Interfund trades are included within the respective purchases and sales amounts shown.


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28   Wells Fargo Growth Fund   Notes to financial statements

6. INVESTMENTS IN AFFILIATES

An affiliated investment is a company which is under common ownership or control of the Fund or which the Fund has ownership of at least 5% of the outstanding voting shares. The following is a summary of transactions for the long-term holdings of issuers that were either affiliates of the Fund at the beginning of the period or the end of the period.

 

    Shares,
beginning
of period
    Shares
purchased
    Shares
sold
   

Shares,
end

of period

   

Value, end

of period

   

Income

from
affiliated

securities

   

Realized

losses

 

Envestnet Incorporated

    3,268,908        7,823        366,900        2,909,831      $ 111,068,249      $ 0      $ (5,001,083

Fiesta Restaurant Group Incorporated*

    2,098,000        527,000        2,586,300        38,700        864,558        0        (65,804,887

Grand Canyon Education Incorporated*

    3,903,000        0        2,730,425        1,172,575        49,318,505        0        (10,401,062

Inovalon Holdings Incorporated*

    1,629,037        0        1,629,037        0        0        0        (13,372,108

Shutterstock Incorporated*

    2,028,000        0        2,028,000        0        0        0        (58,443,242   

The Habit Restaurants Incorporated Class A

    0        1,531,000        231,400        1,299,600        21,105,504        0        (1,776,736
            $ 0      $ (154,799,118
* No longer an affiliate of the Fund at the end of the period.

7. BANK BORROWINGS

The Trust (excluding the money market funds and certain other funds) and Wells Fargo Variable Trust are parties to a $200,000,000 revolving credit agreement whereby the Fund is permitted to use bank borrowings for temporary or emergency purposes, such as to fund shareholder redemption requests. Interest under the credit agreement is charged to the Fund based on a borrowing rate equal to the higher of the Federal Funds rate in effect on that day plus 1.25% or the overnight LIBOR rate in effect on that day plus 1.25%. In addition, an annual commitment fee equal to 0.20% of the unused balance is allocated to each participating fund. Prior to September 1, 2015, the revolving credit agreement amount was $150,000,000 and the annual commitment fee was equal to 0.10% of the unused balance which was allocated to each participating fund.

For the year ended July 31, 2016, there were no borrowings by the Fund under the agreement.

8. DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

The tax character of distributions paid during the years ended July 31, 2016 and July 31, 2015 were as follows:

 

     Year ended July 31  
     2016      2015  

Ordinary income

   $ 22,940,734       $ 0   

Long-term capital gain

     1,098,141,658         1,420,406,160   

As of July 31, 2016, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed

long-term
gain

   Unrealized
gains
  

Late-year
ordinary losses

deferred

$574,423,002    $2,658,657,419    $(15,954,981)

9. CONCENTRATION RISK

Concentration risks result from exposure to a limited number of sectors. A fund that invests a substantial portion of its assets in any sector may be more affected by changes in that sector than would be a fund whose investments are not heavily weighted in any sector.

10. INDEMNIFICATION

Under the Trust’s organizational documents, the officers and Trustees have been granted certain indemnification rights against certain liabilities that may arise out of performance of their duties to the Trust. Additionally, in the normal course of business, the Trust may enter into contracts with service providers that contain a variety of indemnification clauses. The Trust’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is dependent on future claims that may be made against the Fund and, therefore, cannot be estimated.


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Report of independent registered public accounting firm   Wells Fargo Growth Fund     29   

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND SHAREHOLDERS OF WELLS FARGO FUNDS TRUST:

We have audited the accompanying statements of assets and liabilities, including the portfolio of investments, of the Wells Fargo Growth Fund (formerly known as Wells Fargo Advantage Growth Fund) (the “Fund”), one of the funds constituting the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, as of July 31, 2016, and the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years or periods in the five-year period then ended. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of July 31, 2016, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers, or by other appropriate auditing procedures. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Wells Fargo Growth Fund as of July 31, 2016, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years or periods in the five-year period then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

 

LOGO

Boston, Massachusetts

September 23, 2016


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30   Wells Fargo Growth Fund   Other information (unaudited)

TAX INFORMATION

For corporate shareholders, pursuant to Section 854 of the Internal Revenue Code, 100% of ordinary income dividends qualify for the corporate dividends-received deduction for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016.

Pursuant to Section 852 of the Internal Revenue Code, $1,098,141,658 was designated as a 20% rate gain distribution for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016.

Pursuant to Section 854 of the Internal Revenue Code, $22,940,734 of income dividends paid during the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016 has been designated as qualified dividend income (QDI).

For the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016, $22,940,734 has been designated as short-term capital gain dividends for nonresident alien shareholders pursuant to Section 871 of the Internal Revenue Code.

PROXY VOTING INFORMATION

A description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities is available, upon request, by calling 1-800-222-8222, visiting our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available on the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com or by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov.

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION

The complete portfolio holdings for the Fund are publicly available monthly on the Fund’s website (wellsfargofunds.com), on a one-month delayed basis. In addition, top ten holdings information (excluding derivative positions) for the Fund is publicly available on the Fund’s website on a monthly, seven-day or more delayed basis. The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q, which is available by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. In addition, the Fund’s Form N-Q may be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC, and at regional offices in New York City, at 233 Broadway, and in Chicago, at 175 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 900. Information about the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Growth Fund     31   

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS

Each of the Trustees and Officers1 listed in the table below acts in identical capacities for each fund in the Wells Fargo family of funds, which consists of 139 mutual funds comprising the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, Wells Fargo Variable Trust, Wells Fargo Master Trust and four closed-end funds (collectively the “Fund Complex”). This table should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information2. The mailing address of each Trustee and Officer is 525 Market Street, 12th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105. Each Trustee and Officer serves an indefinite term, however, each Trustee serves such term until reaching the mandatory retirement age established by the Trustees.

Independent Trustees

 

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service*

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer   Current other public
company or
investment company
directorships

William R. Ebsworth

(Born 1957)

  Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 1984 to 2013, equities analyst, portfolio manager, research director and chief financial officer at Fidelity Management and Research Company in Boston, Tokyo, and Hong Kong and retired in 2013 as Chief Investment Officer of Fidelity Strategic Advisers, Inc. where he lead a team of investment professionals managing client assets. Prior thereto, Board member of Hong Kong Securities Clearing Co., Hong Kong Options Clearing Corp., the Thailand International Fund, Ltd., Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company, and Empire Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company. Mr. Ebsworth is a CFA® charterholder and an Adjunct Lecturer, Finance, at Babson College.   Asset Allocation Trust

Jane A. Freeman

(Born 1953)

  Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 2012 to 2014 and 1999 to 2008, Chief Financial Officer of Scientific Learning Corporation. From 2008 to 2012, Ms. Freeman provided consulting services related to strategic business projects. Prior to 1999, Portfolio Manager at Rockefeller & Co. and Scudder, Stevens & Clark. Board member of the Harding Loevner Funds from 1996 to 2014, serving as both Lead Independent Director and chair of the Audit Committee. Board member of the Russell Exchange Traded Funds Trust from 2011 to 2012 and the chair of the Audit Committee. Ms. Freeman is Chair of Taproot Foundation (non-profit organization), a Board Member of Ruth Bancroft Garden (non-profit organization) and an inactive chartered financial analyst.   Asset Allocation Trust

Peter G. Gordon

(Born 1942)

  Trustee, since 1998; Chairman, since 2005   Co-Founder, Retired Chairman, President and CEO of Crystal Geyser Water Company. Trustee Emeritus, Colby College.   Asset Allocation Trust

Isaiah Harris, Jr.

(Born 1952)

  Trustee, since 2009   Retired. Chairman of the Board of CIGNA Corporation since 2009, and Director since 2005. From 2003 to 2011, Director of Deluxe Corporation. Prior thereto, President and CEO of BellSouth Advertising and Publishing Corp. from 2005 to 2007, President and CEO of BellSouth Enterprises from 2004 to 2005 and President of BellSouth Consumer Services from 2000 to 2003. Emeritus member of the Iowa State University Foundation Board of Governors. Emeritus Member of the Advisory Board of Iowa State University School of Business. Advisory Board Member, Palm Harbor Academy (charter school). Advisory Board Member, Child Evangelism Fellowship (non-profit). Mr. Harris is a certified public accountant (inactive status).   CIGNA Corporation; Asset Allocation Trust

Judith M. Johnson

(Born 1949)

  Trustee, since 2008; Audit Committee Chairman, since 2008   Retired. Prior thereto, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Minneapolis Employees Retirement Fund from 1996 to 2008. Ms. Johnson is an attorney, certified public accountant and a certified managerial accountant.   Asset Allocation Trust

David F. Larcker

(Born 1950)

  Trustee, since 2009   James Irvin Miller Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Director of the Corporate Governance Research Initiative and Senior Faculty of The Rock Center for Corporate Governance since 2006. From 2005 to 2008, Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Prior thereto, Ernst & Young Professor of Accounting at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania from 1985 to 2005.   Asset Allocation Trust


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32   Wells Fargo Growth Fund   Other information (unaudited)

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service*

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer   Current other public
company or
investment company
directorships

Olivia S. Mitchell

(Born 1953)

  Trustee, since 2006   International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Professor, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania since 1993. Director of Wharton’s Pension Research Council and Boettner Center on Pensions & Retirement Research, and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Previously, Cornell University Professor from 1978 to 1993.   Asset Allocation Trust

Timothy J. Penny

(Born 1951)

  Trustee, since 1996   President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, a non-profit organization, since 2007 and Senior Fellow at the Humphrey Institute Policy Forum at the University of Minnesota since 1995. Member of the Board of Trustees of NorthStar Education Finance, Inc., a non-profit organization, since 2007.   Asset Allocation Trust

Michael S. Scofield

(Born 1943)

  Trustee, since 2010   Served on the Investment Company Institute’s Board of Governors and Executive Committee from 2008-2011 as well the Governing Council of the Independent Directors Council from 2006-2011 and the Independent Directors Council Executive Committee from 2008-2011. Chairman of the IDC from 2008-2010. Institutional Investor (Fund Directions) Trustee of Year in 2007. Trustee of the Evergreen Funds complex (and its predecessors) from 1984 to 2010. Chairman of the Evergreen Funds from 2000-2010. Former Trustee of the Mentor Funds. Retired Attorney, Law Offices of Michael S. Scofield.   Asset Allocation Trust

 

* Length of service dates reflect the Trustee’s commencement of service with the Trust’s predecessor entities, where applicable.

Officers

 

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer    

Karla M. Rabusch

(Born 1959)

  President, since 2003   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2003.    

Jeremy DePalma1

(Born 1974)

  Treasurer, since 2012   Senior Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Senior Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010 and head of the Fund Reporting and Control Team within Fund Administration from 2005 to 2010.    

C. David Messman

(Born 1960)

  Secretary, since 2000; Chief Legal Officer, since 2003   Senior Vice President and Secretary of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2001. Assistant General Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. since 2013 and Vice President and Managing Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. from 1996 to 2013.    

Michael Whitaker

(Born 1967)

  Chief Compliance Officer, since 2016*   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2016. Chief Compliance Officer of Fidelity’s Fixed Income Funds and Asset Allocation Funds from 2008 to 2016, Compliance Officer of FMR Co., Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments from 2007 to 2016.    

David Berardi

(Born 1975)

  Assistant Treasurer, since 2009   Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010. Manager of Fund Reporting and Control for Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2004 to 2010.    

 

 

1 Jeremy DePalma acts as Treasurer of 68 funds and Assistant Treasurer of 71 funds in the Fund Complex.

 

2 The Statement of Additional Information includes additional information about the Trustees and is available, without charge, upon request, by calling
1-800-222-8222 or by visiting the website at wellsfargofunds.com.

 

* Michael Whitaker became Chief Compliance Officer effective May 16, 2016.


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Growth Fund     33   

BOARD CONSIDERATION OF INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENTS:

Under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”) must determine annually whether to approve the continuation of the Trust’s investment management and sub-advisory agreements. In this regard, at an in-person meeting held on May 24-25, 2016 (the “Meeting”), the Board, all the members of which have no direct or indirect interest in the investment management and sub-advisory agreements and are not “interested persons” of the Trust, as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”), reviewed and approved for Wells Fargo Growth Fund (the “Fund”): (i) an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”); and (ii) an investment sub-advisory agreement (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”) with Wells Capital Management Incorporated (the “Sub-Adviser”), an affiliate of Funds Management. The Management Agreement and the Sub-Advisory Agreement are collectively referred to as the “Advisory Agreements.”

At the Meeting, the Board considered the factors and reached the conclusions described below relating to the selection of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser and the approval of the Advisory Agreements. Prior to the Meeting, including at an in-person meeting in April 2016, the Trustees conferred extensively among themselves and with representatives of Funds Management about these matters. Also, the Board has adopted a team-based approach, with each team consisting of a sub-set of Trustees, to assist the full Board in the discharge of its duties in reviewing performance and other matters throughout the year. The Independent Trustees were assisted in their evaluation of the Advisory Agreements by independent legal counsel, from whom they received separate legal advice and with whom they met separately.

In providing information to the Board, Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser were guided by a detailed set of requests for information submitted to them by independent legal counsel on behalf of the Independent Trustees at the start of the Board’s annual contract renewal process earlier in 2016. In considering and approving the Advisory Agreements, the Trustees considered the information they believed relevant, including but not limited to the information discussed below. The Board considered not only the specific information presented in connection with the Meeting, but also the knowledge gained over time through interaction with Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser about various topics. In this regard, the Board reviewed reports of Funds Management at each of its quarterly meetings, which included, among other things, portfolio reviews and performance reports. In addition, the Board and the teams mentioned above confer with portfolio managers at various times throughout the year. The Board did not identify any particular information or consideration that was all-important or controlling, and each individual Trustee may have attributed different weights to various factors.

After its deliberations, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable. The Board considered the approval of the Advisory Agreements for the Fund as part of its consideration of agreements for funds across the complex, but its approvals were made on a fund-by-fund basis. The following summarizes a number of important, but not necessarily all, factors considered by the Board in support of its approvals.

Nature, extent and quality of services

The Board received and considered various information regarding the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under the Advisory Agreements. This information included a description of the investment advisory services and Fund-level administrative services covered by the Management Agreement, as well as, among other things, a summary of the background and experience of senior management of Funds Management, and the qualifications, background, tenure and responsibilities of each of the portfolio managers primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the Fund.

The Board evaluated the ability of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to attract and retain qualified investment professionals, including research, advisory and supervisory personnel. The Board further considered the compliance programs and compliance records of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser. In addition, the Board took into account the full range of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and its affiliates.

Fund performance and expenses

The Board considered the performance results for the Fund over various time periods ended December 31, 2015. The Board considered these results in comparison to the performance of funds in a universe that was determined by Broadridge Inc. (“Broadridge”) to be similar to the Fund (the “Universe”), and in comparison to the Fund’s benchmark index and to other comparative data. Broadridge is an independent provider of investment company data. The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the performance Universe.


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34   Wells Fargo Growth Fund   Other information (unaudited)

The Board noted that the performance of the Fund (Administrator Class) was higher than the average performance of the Universe for all periods under review except the three-year period under review. The Board also noted that the performance of the Fund was lower than its benchmark, the Russell 3000® Growth Index, for all periods under review except the ten-year period.

The Board received information concerning, and discussed factors contributing to, the underperformance of the Fund relative to the Universe and benchmark for the periods noted above. The Board took note of the explanations for the relative underperformance in these periods, including with respect to market factors and investment decisions that affected the Fund’s performance.

The Board also received and considered information regarding the Fund’s net operating expense ratios and their various components, including actual management fees, custodian and other non-management fees, and Rule 12b-1 and non-Rule 12b-1 shareholder service fees. The Board considered these ratios in comparison to the median ratios of funds in class-specific expense groups that were determined by Broadridge to be similar to the Fund (the “Groups”). The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the expense Groups and an explanation of how funds comprising expense groups and their expense ratios may vary from year-to-year. Based on the Broadridge reports, the Board noted that the net operating expense ratios of the Fund were lower than or in range of the median net operating expense ratios of the expense Groups. The Board discussed and accepted Funds Management’s proposal to reduce the net operating expense ratio caps for the Class A and Class C.

The Board took into account the Fund performance and expense information provided to it among the factors considered in deciding to re-approve the Advisory Agreements.

Investment management and sub-advisory fee rates

The Board reviewed and considered the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management under the Management Agreement, as well as the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management for class-level administrative services under a Class-Level Administration Agreement, which include class-level transfer agency and sub-transfer agency costs (collectively, the “Management Rates”). The Board also reviewed and considered the contractual investment sub-advisory fee rates that are payable by Funds Management to the Sub-Adviser for investment sub-advisory services.

Among other information reviewed by the Board was a comparison of the Fund’s Management Rates with the average contractual investment management fee rates of funds in the expense Groups at a common asset level as well as transfer agency costs of the funds in the expense Groups. The Board noted that the Management Rates of the Fund were lower than or in range of the sum of these average rates for the Fund’s expense Groups for all share classes.

The Board also received and considered information about the portion of the total management fee that was retained by Funds Management after payment of the fee to the Sub-Adviser for sub-advisory services. In assessing the reasonableness of this amount, the Board received and evaluated information about the nature and extent of responsibilities retained and risks assumed by Funds Management and not delegated to or assumed by the Sub-Adviser, and about Funds Management’s on-going oversight services. However, given the affiliation between Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser, the Board ascribed limited relevance to the allocation of fees between them.

The Board also received and considered information about the nature and extent of services offered and fee rates charged by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to other types of clients with investment strategies similar to those of the Fund. In this regard, the Board received information about the significantly greater scope of services, and compliance, reporting and other legal burdens and risks of managing mutual funds compared with those associated with managing assets of non-mutual fund clients such as collective funds or institutional separate accounts.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management under the Management Agreement and to the Sub-Adviser under the Sub-Advisory Agreement was reasonable, in light of the services covered by the Advisory Agreements.

Profitability

The Board received and considered information concerning the profitability of Funds Management, as well as the profitability of Wells Fargo as a whole, from providing services to the Fund and the fund family as a whole. The Board also received and considered information concerning the profitability of the Sub-Adviser from providing services to the fund family as a whole, noting that the Sub-Adviser’s profitability information with respect to providing services to the Fund was subsumed in the Wells Fargo and Funds Management profitability analysis.


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Growth Fund     35   

Funds Management reported on the methodologies and estimates used in calculating profitability. Among other things, the Board noted that the levels of profitability reported on a fund-by-fund basis varied widely, depending on factors such as the size and type of fund. Based on its review, the Board did not deem the profits reported by Funds Management or Wells Fargo from its services to the Fund to be at a level that would prevent it from approving the continuation of the Advisory Agreements.

Economies of scale

With respect to possible economies of scale, the Board noted the existence of breakpoints in the Fund’s management fee structure, which operate generally to reduce the Fund’s expense ratios as the Fund grows in size. It considered that, for a small fund or a fund that shrinks in size, breakpoints conversely can result in higher fee levels. The Board also considered that fee waiver and expense reimbursement arrangements and competitive fee rates at the outset are means of sharing potential economies of scale with shareholders of the Fund and the fund family as a whole. The Board discussed and accepted Funds Management’s proposal to reduce the net operating expense ratio caps for the Class A and Class C. The Board considered Funds Management’s view that any analyses of potential economies of scale in managing a particular fund are inherently limited in light of the joint and common costs and investments that Funds Management incurs across the fund family as a whole.

The Board concluded that the Fund’s fee and expense arrangements, including contractual breakpoints, constituted a reasonable approach to sharing potential economies of scale with the Fund and its shareholders.

Other benefits to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser

The Board received and considered information regarding potential “fall-out” or ancillary benefits received by Funds Management and its affiliates, including the Sub-Adviser, as a result of their relationships with the Fund. Ancillary benefits could include, among others, benefits directly attributable to other relationships with the Fund and benefits potentially derived from an increase in Funds Management’s and the Sub-Adviser’s business as a result of their relationships with the Fund. The Board noted that various affiliates of Funds Management may receive distribution-related fees, shareholder servicing payments and sub-transfer agency fees in respect of shares sold or held through them and services provided.

The Board also reviewed information about soft dollar credits earned and utilized by the Sub-Adviser, fees earned by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser from managing a private investment vehicle for the fund family’s securities lending collateral and commissions earned by an affiliated broker from portfolio transactions.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board did not find that any ancillary benefits received by Funds Management and its affiliates, including the Sub-Adviser, were unreasonable.

Conclusion

At the Meeting, after considering the above-described factors and based on its deliberations and its evaluation of the information described above, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable.


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36   Wells Fargo Growth Fund   List of abbreviations

The following is a list of common abbreviations for terms and entities that may have appeared in this report.

 

ACA —  ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation
ADR —  American depositary receipt
ADS —  American depositary shares
AGC —  Assured Guaranty Corporation
AGM —  Assured Guaranty Municipal
Ambac —  Ambac Financial Group Incorporated
AMT —  Alternative minimum tax
AUD —  Australian dollar
BAN —  Bond anticipation notes
BHAC —  Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corporation
BRL —  Brazilian real
CAB —  Capital appreciation bond
CAD —  Canadian dollar
CCAB —  Convertible capital appreciation bond
CDA —  Community Development Authority
CDO —  Collateralized debt obligation
CHF —  Swiss franc
COP —  Colombian peso
CLP —  Chilean peso
DKK —  Danish krone
DRIVER —  Derivative inverse tax-exempt receipts
DW&P —  Department of Water & Power
DWR —  Department of Water Resources
ECFA —  Educational & Cultural Facilities Authority
EDA —  Economic Development Authority
EDFA —  Economic Development Finance Authority
ETF —  Exchange-traded fund
EUR —  Euro
FDIC —  Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FFCB —  Federal Farm Credit Banks
FGIC —  Financial Guaranty Insurance Corporation
FHA —  Federal Housing Administration
FHLB —  Federal Home Loan Bank
FHLMC —  Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
FICO —  The Financing Corporation
FNMA —  Federal National Mortgage Association
FSA —  Farm Service Agency
GBP —  Great British pound
GDR —  Global depositary receipt
GNMA —  Government National Mortgage Association
GO —  General obligation
HCFR —  Healthcare facilities revenue
HEFA —  Health & Educational Facilities Authority
HEFAR —  Higher education facilities authority revenue
HFA —  Housing Finance Authority
HFFA —  Health Facilities Financing Authority
HKD —  Hong Kong dollar
HUD —  Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUF —  Hungarian forint
IDA —  Industrial Development Authority
IDAG —  Industrial Development Agency
IDR —  Indonesian rupiah
IEP —  Irish pound
JPY —  Japanese yen
KRW —  Republic of Korea won
LIBOR —  London Interbank Offered Rate
LIFER —  Long Inverse Floating Exempt Receipts
LIQ —  Liquidity agreement
LLC —  Limited liability company
LLLP —  Limited liability limited partnership
LLP —  Limited liability partnership
LOC —  Letter of credit
LP —  Limited partnership
MBIA —  Municipal Bond Insurance Association
MFHR —  Multifamily housing revenue
MSTR —  Municipal securities trust receipts
MTN —  Medium-term note
MUD —  Municipal Utility District
MXN —  Mexican peso
MYR —  Malaysian ringgit
National —  National Public Finance Guarantee Corporation
NGN —  Nigerian naira
NOK —  Norwegian krone
NZD —  New Zealand dollar
PCFA —  Pollution Control Financing Authority
PCL —  Public Company Limited
PCR —  Pollution control revenue
PFA —  Public Finance Authority
PFFA —  Public Facilities Financing Authority
PFOTER —  Puttable floating option tax-exempt receipts
plc —  Public limited company
PLN —  Polish zloty
PUTTER —  Puttable tax-exempt receipts
R&D —  Research & development
Radian —  Radian Asset Assurance
RAN —  Revenue anticipation notes
RDA —  Redevelopment Authority
RDFA —  Redevelopment Finance Authority
REIT —  Real estate investment trust
ROC —  Reset option certificates
RON —  Romanian lei
RUB —  Russian ruble
SAVRS —  Select auction variable rate securities
SBA —  Small Business Authority
SDR —  Swedish depositary receipt
SEK —  Swedish krona
SFHR —  Single-family housing revenue
SFMR —  Single-family mortgage revenue
SGD —  Singapore dollar
SPA —  Standby purchase agreement
SPDR —  Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts
SPEAR —  Short Puttable Exempt Adjustable Receipts
STRIPS —  Separate trading of registered interest and
           principal securities
TAN —  Tax anticipation notes
TBA —  To be announced
THB —  Thai baht
TIPS —  Treasury inflation-protected securities
TRAN —  Tax revenue anticipation notes
TRY —  Turkish lira
TTFA —  Transportation Trust Fund Authority
TVA —  Tennessee Valley Authority
ZAR —  South African rand
 


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For more information

More information about Wells Fargo Funds is available free upon request. To obtain literature, please write, email, visit the Fund’s website, or call:

Wells Fargo Funds

P.O. Box 8266

Boston, MA 02266-8266

Email: fundservice@wellsfargo.com

Website: wellsfargofunds.com

Individual investors: 1-800-222-8222

Retail investment professionals: 1-888-877-9275

Institutional investment professionals: 1-866-765-0778

 

This report and the financial statements contained herein are submitted for the general information of the shareholders of the Fund. If this report is used for promotional purposes, distribution of the report must be accompanied or preceded by a current prospectus. Before investing, please consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the investment. For a current prospectus and, if available, a summary prospectus, containing this information, call
1-800-222-8222 or visit the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com. Read the prospectus carefully before you invest or send money.

Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM) is a trade name used by the asset management businesses of Wells Fargo & Company. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, provides investment advisory and administrative services for Wells Fargo Funds. Other affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company provide subadvisory and other services for the funds. The funds are distributed by Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC, Member FINRA, an affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE

© 2016 Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. All rights reserved.

 

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245323 09-16

A206/AR206 07-16


Table of Contents

Annual Report

July 31, 2016

 

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Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund

 

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Table of Contents

Reduce clutter. Save trees.

Sign up for electronic delivery of prospectuses and shareholder reports at wellsfargo.com/advantagedelivery

Contents

 

 

 

Letter to shareholders

    2   

Performance highlights

    6   

Fund expenses

    10   

Portfolio of investments

    11   
Financial statements  

Statement of assets and liabilities

    14   

Statement of operations

    15   

Statement of changes in net assets

    16   

Financial highlights

    17   

Notes to financial statements

    25   

Report of independent registered public accounting firm

    30   

Other information

    31   

List of abbreviations

    37   

 

The views expressed and any forward-looking statements are as of July 31, 2016, unless otherwise noted, and are those of the Fund managers and/or Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. Discussions of individual securities, or the markets generally, or any Wells Fargo Fund are not intended as individual recommendations. Future events or results may vary significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. The views expressed are subject to change at any time in response to changing circumstances in the market. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC and the Fund disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any views expressed or forward-looking statements.

 

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE



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2   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

 

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Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period

 

 

Dear Valued Shareholder:

We are pleased to offer you this annual report for the Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016. During this period, which began August 1, 2015, U.S. and international stock markets experienced heightened volatility, with intermittent rebounds interspersed with sell-offs. The U.S. economy displayed resilience throughout the period, although growth was somewhat sluggish amid ongoing pressures that included slowing growth in China, a strengthening U.S. dollar, and uncertainty regarding interest-rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed); international economies faced deeper ongoing challenges. During June 2016, global markets became especially volatile as the U.K.’s vote over whether to leave the European Union (E.U.) approached. However, markets began recovering shortly after the U.K. voted to leave and rallied through July. Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period, as measured by the Russell 1000® Index.1 International markets generally declined as measured by the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index.2

In the third quarter of 2015, China’s slowdown took a toll on economies and markets worldwide.

U.S. stocks sagged during the quarter, experiencing the most volatility since 2011. Economic data released during the quarter suggested the U.S. economy remained solid but had lost some steam, burdened by the drag of the U.S. dollar’s strength coupled with global economic turmoil. The fact that the Fed left the federal funds interest rate unchanged at its September 2015 meeting surprised investors and fueled increased uncertainty about the U.S. economy’s stamina to remain healthy while facing the challenges of slowing growth in China and troubles elsewhere in the world. Outside the U.S., markets were even more volatile and delivered generally weaker quarterly results, also largely due to investors’ increasing anxiety over China’s weakened economy.

Despite ongoing concerns, U.S. stocks generally rose in the fourth quarter of 2015; international markets lagged.

While the broad U.S. stock market bounced back in the quarter, stock markets outside the U.S. failed to keep pace as economic concerns, including China’s ongoing slowdown, continued to affect many countries. U.S. economic data released during the quarter indicated the economy remained solid, although the strong U.S. dollar and weakness in international economies remained headwinds. In December, the Fed, as expected, raised its target interest rate by 25 basis points (bps; 100 bps equals 1.00%) after keeping it near zero for seven years. The move reflected confidence in the U.S. economy’s ability to stay healthy with less central-bank support. The Fed also clarified that future interest-rate increases would be gradual.

 

 

 

1  The Russell 1000® Index measures the performance of the 1,000 largest companies in the Russell 3000® Index, which represents approximately 92% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000® Index. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

2  Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index is a free-float-adjusted market-capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the United States and Canada. The MSCI EAFE Index consists of the following 21 developed markets country indexes: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. You cannot invest directly in an index.


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Letter to shareholders (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund     3   

In the first quarter of 2016, market volatility increased globally amid ongoing concerns.

Stock markets worldwide fluctuated widely in the first quarter of 2016. Most sold off sharply in the first six weeks of the year on concerns such as weak global growth, falling commodity prices, and uncertainty over the timing and impact of the Fed’s interest-rate increases. As the quarter progressed, fears abated somewhat and global markets generally rallied back. The U.S. economy ended the quarter on a positive note as much of the quarter’s data reflected resiliency. With ongoing uncertainties about global growth and financial markets, however, the Fed held off from raising the target interest rate during the quarter. Outside the U.S., the eurozone fell into deflation in February; in response, the European Central Bank announced an expansion of its stimulus program. In China, the government in March set a growth rate of 6.5% to 7.0% for 2016, an acknowledgment of weakening growth. In emerging markets, although central-bank stimulus and improved prices for oil and other commodities led to stock-market rallies in the quarter, many of these countries’ economies face credit downgrades due to challenges such as the likelihood of a stronger U.S. dollar, which would make dollar-denominated debt more expensive.

Worries over interest rates and the U.K.’s vote largely drove the markets during the second quarter of 2016.

U.S. stocks began the quarter in positive territory but started to lose steam in early May on worries that a possible June interest-rate increase by the Fed could hurt the market. In mid-May, stocks briefly plunged following comments by Fed officials noting that a June interest-rate increase remained on the table. But once investors had processed this information, stocks again rallied, finishing up for the month. The first three weeks of June brought heightened volatility, spurred largely by a disappointing jobs report and uncertainty over whether the U.K. would remain in the E.U. The U.K.’s Brexit vote on June 23 shocked countries in Europe and much of the rest of the world. Stock markets plummeted as investors worried that the U.K.’s departure from the E.U. would slow global growth and prolong the low-interest-rate environment. Following the initial rout, however, U.S. stocks rallied as investors seemed to decide that any negative effects would be more localized and not create a serious risk for global growth. By quarter-end, the broad U.S. stock market had moved back into positive territory.

Stocks generally posted positive results for July 2016.

U.S. stocks displayed the most momentum during the first two weeks of the month, buoyed partly by an unexpectedly favorable June jobs report that helped strengthen confidence in the U.S. economy. Also, investors perhaps felt that global central banks could extend stimulus measures in the wake of the Brexit vote. Although U.S. market momentum slowed during the second half of July, stocks ended in positive territory for the month. International stocks delivered positive monthly results as well.

    

 


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4   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

Don’t let short-term uncertainty derail long-term investment goals.

Periods of uncertainty can present challenges, but experience has taught us that maintaining long-term investment goals can be an effective way to plan for the future. To help you create a sound strategy based on your personal goals and risk tolerance, Wells Fargo Funds offers more than 100 mutual funds spanning a wide range of asset classes and investment styles. Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance. We encourage investors to know their investments and to understand that appropriate levels of risk-taking may unlock opportunities.

Thank you for choosing to invest in Wells Fargo Funds. We appreciate your confidence in us and remain committed to helping you meet your financial needs.

Sincerely,

 

LOGO

Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance.

 

 

 

 

For further information about your Fund, contact your investment professional, visit our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or call us directly at 1-800-222-8222. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


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6   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

Investment objective

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Manager

Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC

Subadviser

Wells Capital Management Incorporated

Portfolio managers

Miguel E. Giaconi, CFA®

Jean-Baptiste Nadal, CFA®

Jeffrey Peck

Average annual total returns (%) as of July 31, 20161

 

        Including sales charge     Excluding sales charge     Expense ratios2 (%)  
    Inception date   1 year     5 year     Since
inception
    1 year     5 year     Since
inception
    Gross     Net3  
Class A (EIVAX)   8-1-2006     (7.38     8.94        6.61        (1.73     10.24        7.24        1.17        1.11   
Class B (EIVBX)*   8-1-2006     (6.84     9.12        6.69        (2.47     9.40        6.69        1.92        1.86   
Class C (EIVCX)   8-1-2006     (3.47     9.42        6.45        (2.47     9.42        6.45        1.92        1.86   
Class R (EIVTX)   3-1-2013                          (1.99     9.98        7.00        1.42        1.36   
Class R4 (EIVRX)   11-30-2012                          (1.39     10.61        7.56        0.89        0.80   
Class R6 (EIVFX)   11-30-2012                          (1.30     10.62        7.57        0.74        0.65   
Administrator Class (EIVDX)   7-30-2010                          (1.58     10.45        7.43        1.09        0.95   
Institutional Class (EIVIX)   8-1-2006                          (1.27     10.70        7.60        0.84        0.70   
Russell 1000® Value Index4                            5.38        12.75        6.20                 
*   Class B shares are closed to investment, except in connection with the reinvestment of any distributions and permitted exchanges.

Figures quoted represent past performance, which is no guarantee of future results, and do not reflect taxes that a shareholder may pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Performance shown without sales charges would be lower if sales charges were reflected. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted, which assumes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. Current month-end performance is available on the Fund’s website, wellsfargofunds.com.

Index returns do not include transaction costs associated with buying and selling securities, any mutual fund fees or expenses, or any taxes. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

For Class A shares, the maximum front-end sales charge is 5.75%. For Class B shares, the maximum contingent deferred sales charge is 5.00%. For Class C shares, the maximum contingent deferred sales charge is 1.00%. Performance including a contingent deferred sales charge assumes the sales charge for the corresponding time period. Class R, Class R4, Class R6, Administrator Class, and Institutional Class shares are sold without a front-end sales charge or contingent deferred sales charge.

Stock values fluctuate in response to the activities of individual companies and general market and economic conditions. Certain investment strategies tend to increase the total risk of an investment (relative to the broader market). The Fund is exposed to foreign investment risk and focused portfolio risk. Consult the Fund’s prospectus for additional information on these and other risks.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


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Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund     7   
Growth of $10,000 investment as of July 31, 20165
LOGO

 

 

 

1  Historical performance shown for Class R shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of Institutional Class shares, adjusted to reflect the higher expenses applicable to Class R shares. Historical performance shown for Class R4 shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of Institutional Class shares, adjusted to reflect the higher expenses applicable to Class R4 shares. Historical performance shown for Class R6 shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of Institutional Class shares, and includes the higher expenses applicable to Institutional Class shares. If these expenses had not been included, returns would be higher. Historical performance shown for Administrator Class shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of Institutional Class shares, adjusted to reflect the higher expenses applicable to Administrator Class shares. Historical performance shown for all classes of the Fund prior to July 19, 2010, is based on the performance of the Fund’s predecessor, Evergreen Intrinsic Value Fund.

 

2  Reflects the expense ratios as stated in the most recent prospectuses. The expense ratios shown are subject to change and may differ from the annualized expense ratios shown in the financial highlights of this report.

 

3  The manager has contractually committed through November 30, 2016, to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at the amounts shown. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Brokerage commissions, stamp duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense cap. Without this cap, the Fund’s returns would have been lower.

 

4  The Russell 1000® Value Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

5  The chart compares the performance of Class A shares for the most recent ten years with the Russell 1000® Value Index. The chart assumes a hypothetical investment of $10,000 in Class A shares and reflects all operating expenses and assumes the maximum initial sales charge of 5.75%.

 

6  The ten largest holdings, excluding cash and cash equivalents, are calculated based on the value of the investments divided by total net assets of the Fund. Holdings are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.

 

7  Amounts are calculated based on the total long-term investments of the Fund. These amounts are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.


Table of Contents

 

8   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

MANAGER’S DISCUSSION

Fund highlights

n   The Fund underperformed its benchmark, the Russell 1000® Value Index, for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016.

 

n   Security selection in the health care, industrials, financials, and information technology (IT) sectors was the primary detractor from relative performance. The negative impact of stock selection was partially offset by the Fund’s underweight to financials, the worst-performing sector, and overweights to IT and industrials, two strong-performing sectors. Also, stock selection in consumer staples aided the Fund’s relative performance.

 

n   Strong market performance in the Russell 1000® Value Index was principally driven by investor demand for bond-like-yielding stocks. We continued to adhere to our disciplined investment process that relies predominantly on discounted free cash flow. We focus on individual companies rather than on broad, top-down economic or sector forecasts. To manage risk, we maintained the Fund’s broad diversification by sector, industry, and position.

 

Ten largest holdings (%) as of July 31, 20166  

The TJX Companies Incorporated

     3.04   

BB&T Corporation

     3.02   

NextEra Energy Incorporated

     2.99   

Microsoft Corporation

     2.97   

EOG Resources Incorporated

     2.95   

The Allstate Corporation

     2.93   

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV ADR

     2.92   

Honeywell International Incorporated

     2.85   

Lockheed Martin Corporation

     2.81   

Alphabet Incorporated Class C

     2.69   

The Fund underperformed its benchmark for the reporting period.

On the negative side, stock selection in health care, industrials, financials, and IT detracted from relative return. Two of the most significant detractors were biopharmaceutical leader Gilead Sciences, Incorporated, and pharmacy benefit management organization Express Scripts Holding Company within health care. In the industrials sector, sensor producer Sensata Technologies Holding N.V. and aircraft lessor AerCap Holdings N.V. subtracted value. Meanwhile, the most significant negative contributors in IT and financials were consumer electronics innovator Apple Incorporated and wealth management servicer UBS AG, respectively.

 

 

Security selection in consumer staples contributed to the Fund’s performance, with the largest contributor being global beverage and snack producer PepsiCo, Incorporated.

During the period, we made changes to the Fund’s portfolio based upon our fundamental research.

As a result of trades, stock price movements, and the annual reconstitution of the Russell Indexes, the Fund’s positioning relative to its benchmark shifted noticeably during the period. The Fund’s overweight to IT increased due to our purchases of networking equipment producer Cisco Systems, Incorporated, and technology consulting and business outsourcing servicer Accenture plc, as well as of Alphabet Incorporated, a premier internet company with world-renowned brand Google. We also added to positions in specialized public safety communications provider Motorola Solutions, Incorporated, and money transfer agent The Western Union Company. These purchases were partially offset by the sale of semiconductor producers Texas Instruments Incorporated and QUALCOMM Incorporated, as well as of corporate storage company EMC Corporation.

The Fund reduced its sizable overweight to the consumer discretionary sector through the divestment of media and entertainment provider Time Warner Incorporated and hospitality company Marriott International, Incorporated. Meanwhile, the Fund’s slight overweight to industrials augmented with the purchase of aircraft lessor AerCap Holdings, along with adds to sensor producer Sensata Technologies. A decrease in the Fund’s consumer staples sector overweight resulted from the sale of household/personal care company Unilever N.V. and global leader in premium spirits Diageo plc. In all cases, trades were made based on fundamental, bottom-up research rather than top-down sector allocation decisions.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


Table of Contents

 

Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund     9   
Sector distribution as of July 31, 20167
LOGO

We continue to focus on our investment strategy and process.

In the current environment of low interest rates, investors are demanding bond-like equity investments with high dividend yields. As such, investors are principally focused on macroeconomic events, not company fundamentals. In our view, this trend is not sustainable because these sectors and companies become overvalued and momentum driven.

In an environment where investors are solely focused on dividend yields, our approach will almost certainly lag the market. While free cash flow may be used to pay dividends, we rely on the company’s management to identify the most appropriate uses of this cash. These uses may include

 

restructuring of the balance sheet, share repurchases, new products, acquisitions, or marketing. We remain confident in the portfolio’s holdings and are adding to some of these investments on weakness. In particular, we believe that industry trends in enterprise computing, health care, and financials favor the companies we selected for the portfolio.

We continue to believe that our long-term focus on company fundamentals, our determination to seek out mispricing opportunities in the marketplace, and our ability to identify catalysts that create or unlock value over our investment time horizon should return value for shareholders over a complete market cycle.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


Table of Contents

 

10   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund   Fund expenses (unaudited)

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments and contingent deferred sales charges (if any) on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees, distribution (12b-1) and/or shareholder servicing fees, and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the six-month period and held for the entire period from February 1, 2016 to July 31, 2016.

Actual expenses

The “Actual” line of the table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the “Actual” line under the heading entitled “Expenses paid during period” for your applicable class of shares to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical example for comparison purposes

The “Hypothetical” line of the table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads) and contingent deferred sales charges. Therefore, the “Hypothetical” line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

     Beginning
account value
2-1-2016
     Ending
account value
7-31-2016
     Expenses
paid during
the period¹
     Annualized net
expense ratio
 

Class A

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,096.80       $ 5.68         1.09

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,019.45       $ 5.47         1.09

Class B

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,092.25       $ 9.68         1.86

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,015.61       $ 9.32         1.86

Class C

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,093.11       $ 9.68         1.86

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,015.61       $ 9.32         1.86

Class R

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,095.11       $ 7.09         1.36

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,018.10       $ 6.83         1.36

Class R4

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,098.36       $ 4.17         0.80

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,020.89       $ 4.02         0.80

Class R6

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,098.80       $ 3.39         0.65

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,021.63       $ 3.27         0.65

Administrator Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,097.37       $ 4.95         0.95

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,020.14       $ 4.77         0.95

Institutional Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,099.18       $ 3.65         0.70

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,021.38       $ 3.52         0.70

 

 

1 Expenses paid is equal to the annualized net expense ratio of each class multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the most recent fiscal half-year divided by the number of days in the fiscal year (to reflect the one-half-year period).


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund     11   

    

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  

Common Stocks: 96.24%

          

Consumer Discretionary: 6.29%

          
Media: 2.53%           

The Walt Disney Company

          272,962       $ 26,190,704   
          

 

 

 
Specialty Retail: 3.76%           

Advance Auto Parts Incorporated

          43,856         7,449,380   

The TJX Companies Incorporated

          386,042         31,547,352   
             38,996,732   
          

 

 

 

Consumer Staples: 10.35%

          
Beverages: 5.36%           

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV ADR

          233,667         30,245,856   

PepsiCo Incorporated

          232,680         25,343,506   
             55,589,362   
          

 

 

 
Food Products: 2.49%           

Nestle SA ADR

          321,286         25,776,776   
          

 

 

 
Household Products: 2.50%           

The Procter & Gamble Company

          302,669         25,905,440   
          

 

 

 

Energy: 8.47%

          
Energy Equipment & Services: 3.15%           

FMC Technologies Incorporated †

          471,082         11,956,061   

Schlumberger Limited

          257,540         20,737,121   
             32,693,182   
          

 

 

 
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels: 5.32%           

Concho Resources Incorporated †

          42,713         5,304,955   

EOG Resources Incorporated

          373,923         30,549,509   

Occidental Petroleum Corporation

          92,663         6,924,706   

Royal Dutch Shell plc ADR Class A

          237,441         12,297,069   
             55,076,239   
          

 

 

 

Financials: 17.10%

          
Banks: 7.41%           

BB&T Corporation

          848,614         31,288,398   

CIT Group Incorporated

          564,777         19,518,693   

US Bancorp

          615,355         25,949,520   
             76,756,611   
          

 

 

 
Capital Markets: 2.88%           

Charles Schwab Corporation

          578,549         16,442,363   

UBS Group AG «

          971,454         13,386,636   
             29,828,999   
          

 

 

 
Consumer Finance: 1.89%           

Synchrony Financial

          701,816         19,566,630   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

12   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund   Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016

    

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  
Insurance: 2.93%           

The Allstate Corporation

          444,469       $ 30,370,567   
          

 

 

 
REITs: 1.99%           

Crown Castle International Corporation

          212,582         20,626,831   
          

 

 

 

Health Care: 11.56%

          
Biotechnology: 2.50%           

Gilead Sciences Incorporated

          326,413         25,940,041   
          

 

 

 
Health Care Equipment & Supplies: 2.46%           

Abbott Laboratories

          569,947         25,505,128   
          

 

 

 
Health Care Providers & Services: 4.15%           

Cigna Corporation

          174,038         22,443,940   

Express Scripts Holding Company †

          269,337         20,488,466   
             42,932,406   
          

 

 

 
Pharmaceuticals: 2.45%           

Merck & Company Incorporated

          432,393         25,364,173   
          

 

 

 

Industrials: 14.14%

          
Aerospace & Defense: 7.76%           

Honeywell International Incorporated

          253,529         29,493,029   

Lockheed Martin Corporation

          115,224         29,120,562   

The Boeing Company

          163,077         21,796,872   
             80,410,463   
          

 

 

 
Air Freight & Logistics: 1.89%           

United Parcel Service Incorporated Class B

          181,588         19,629,663   
          

 

 

 
Electrical Equipment: 1.96%           

Sensata Technologies Holding NV †

          534,663         20,274,421   
          

 

 

 
Trading Companies & Distributors: 2.53%           

AerCap Holdings NV †

          717,495         26,195,742   
          

 

 

 

Information Technology: 19.68%

          
Communications Equipment: 5.08%           

Cisco Systems Incorporated

          820,001         25,034,631   

Motorola Solutions Incorporated

          398,503         27,648,138   
             52,682,769   
          

 

 

 
Internet Software & Services: 2.69%           

Alphabet Incorporated Class C †

          36,313         27,917,071   
          

 

 

 
IT Services: 4.89%           

Accenture plc Class A

          231,822         26,151,840   

The Western Union Company

          1,223,588         24,471,760   
             50,623,600   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund     13   

    

 

 

Security name                Shares      Value  
Software: 5.22%          

Microsoft Corporation

         543,242       $ 30,790,957   

Oracle Corporation

         568,338         23,324,592   
            54,115,549   
         

 

 

 
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals: 1.80%          

Apple Incorporated

         178,521         18,603,673   
         

 

 

 

Materials: 1.50%

         
Construction Materials: 1.50%          

Vulcan Materials Company

         125,059         15,504,815   
         

 

 

 

Telecommunication Services: 1.93%

         
Diversified Telecommunication Services: 1.93%          

Verizon Communications Incorporated

         359,938         19,944,165   
         

 

 

 

Utilities: 5.22%

         
Electric Utilities: 2.99%          

NextEra Energy Incorporated

         241,281         30,953,939   
         

 

 

 
Multi-Utilities: 2.23%          

WEC Energy Group Incorporated

         357,021         23,174,233   
         

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks (Cost $856,314,033)

            997,149,924   
         

 

 

 
    Yield                      
Short-Term Investments: 5.15%          
Investment Companies: 5.15%          

Securities Lending Cash Investments LLC (l)(r)(u)

    0.50        13,536,600         13,536,600   

Wells Fargo Government Money Market Fund Select Class (l)(u)

    0.32           39,814,811         39,814,811   

Total Short-Term Investments (Cost $53,351,411)

            53,351,411       
         

 

 

 

 

Total investments in securities (Cost $909,665,444) *     101.39        1,050,501,335   

Other assets and liabilities, net

    (1.39        (14,430,380
 

 

 

      

 

 

 
Total net assets     100.00      $ 1,036,070,955   
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

Non-income-earning security

 

« All or a portion of this security is on loan.

 

(l) The issuer of the security is an affiliated person of the Fund as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

(r) The investment is a non-registered investment vehicle purchased with cash collateral received from securities on loan.

 

(u) The rate represents the 7-day annualized yield at period end.

 

* Cost for federal income tax purposes is $910,240,853 and unrealized gains (losses) consists of:

 

Gross unrealized gains

   $ 173,358,116   

Gross unrealized losses

     (33,097,634
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized gains

   $ 140,260,482   

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

14   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund   Statement of assets and liabilities—July 31, 2016
         

Assets

 

Investments

 

In unaffiliated securities (including $13,323,882 of securities loaned), at value (cost $856,314,033)

  $ 997,149,924   

In affiliated securities, at value (cost $53,351,411)

    53,351,411   
 

 

 

 

Total investments, at value (cost $909,665,444)

    1,050,501,335   

Receivable for Fund shares sold

    340,797   

Receivable for dividends

    844,659   

Receivable for securities lending income

    3,922   

Prepaid expenses and other assets

    76,576   
 

 

 

 

Total assets

    1,051,767,289   
 

 

 

 

Liabilities

 

Payable for Fund shares redeemed

    1,133,917   

Payable upon receipt of securities loaned

    13,536,600   

Management fee payable

    468,247   

Distribution fees payable

    18,597   

Administration fees payable

    137,033   

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

    401,940   
 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

    15,696,334   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 1,036,070,955   
 

 

 

 

NET ASSETS CONSIST OF

 

Paid-in capital

  $ 854,488,601   

Undistributed net investment income

    7,090,465   

Accumulated net realized gains on investments

    33,655,998   

Net unrealized gains on investments

    140,835,891   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 1,036,070,955   
 

 

 

 

COMPUTATION OF NET ASSET VALUE AND OFFERING PRICE PER SHARE

 

Net assets – Class A

  $ 318,542,811   

Shares outstanding – Class A1

    26,524,905   

Net asset value per share – Class A

    $12.01   

Maximum offering price per share – Class A2

    $12.74   

Net assets – Class B

  $ 543,933   

Shares outstanding – Class B1

    45,932   

Net asset value per share – Class B

    $11.84   

Net assets – Class C

  $ 28,756,213   

Shares outstanding – Class C1

    2,449,598   

Net asset value per share – Class C

    $11.74   

Net assets – Class R

  $ 42,691   

Shares outstanding – Class R1

    3,530   

Net asset value per share – Class R

    $12.09   

Net assets – Class R4

  $ 14,926   

Share outstanding – Class R41

    1,238   

Net asset value per share – Class R4

    $12.06   

Net assets – Class R6

  $ 2,842,447   

Shares outstanding – Class R61

    238,831   

Net asset value per share – Class R6

    $11.90   

Net assets – Administrator Class

  $ 470,152,490   

Shares outstanding – Administrator Class1

    37,576,004   

Net asset value per share – Administrator Class

    $12.51   

Net assets – Institutional Class

  $ 215,175,444   

Shares outstanding – Institutional Class1

    17,816,684   

Net asset value per share – Institutional Class

    $12.08   

 

 

1  The Fund has an unlimited number of authorized shares.

 

2  Maximum offering price is computed as 100/94.25 of net asset value. On investments of $50,000 or more, the offering price is reduced.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Statement of operations—year ended July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund     15   
         

Investment income

 

Dividends (net of foreign withholding taxes of $299,171)

  $ 23,330,582   

Securities lending income, net

    229,519   

Income from affiliated securities

    89,346   
 

 

 

 

Total investment income

    23,649,447   
 

 

 

 

Expenses

 

Management fee

    7,288,415   

Administration fees

 

Class A

    688,487   

Class B

    2,326   

Class C

    65,458   

Class R

    76   

Class R4

    11   

Class R6

    611   

Administrator Class

    617,608   

Institutional Class

    294,687   

Shareholder servicing fees

 

Class A

    785,711   

Class B

    2,769   

Class C

    77,926   

Class R

    91   

Class R4

    15   

Administrator Class

    1,187,502   

Distribution fees

 

Class B

    8,307   

Class C

    233,777   

Class R

    91   

Custody and accounting fees

    62,663   

Professional fees

    40,338   

Registration fees

    105,093   

Shareholder report expenses

    99,334   

Trustees’ fees and expenses

    22,545   

Other fees and expenses

    17,653   
 

 

 

 

Total expenses

    11,601,494   

Less: Fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements

    (1,280,150
 

 

 

 

Net expenses

    10,321,344   
 

 

 

 

Net investment income

    13,328,103   
 

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAINS (LOSSES) ON INVESTMENTS

 

Net realized gains on investments

    65,259,600   

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (102,914,738
 

 

 

 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (37,655,138
 

 

 

 

Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations

  $ (24,327,035
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

16   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund   Statement of changes in net assets
     Year ended
July 31, 2016
    Year ended
July 31, 2015
 

Operations

       

Net investment income

    $ 13,328,103        $ 11,044,365   

Net realized gains on investments

      65,259,600          129,111,859   

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

      (102,914,738       (31,816,136
 

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

      (24,327,035       108,340,088   
 

 

 

 

Distributions to shareholders from

       

Net investment income

       

Class A

      (3,169,347       (2,172,530

Class C

      (37,447       0   

Class R

      (201       (81

Class R4

      (186       (130

Class R6

      (38,287       (2,896

Administrator Class

      (5,583,834       (4,135,495

Institutional Class

      (3,324,787       (2,556,860

Net realized gains

       

Class A

      (34,464,666       (27,285,622

Class B

      (132,772       (212,769

Class C

      (3,405,696       (2,625,365

Class R

      (3,205       (2,211

Class R4

      (1,451       (1,003

Class R6

      (277,898       (11,038

Administrator Class

      (47,759,263       (36,136,386

Institutional Class

      (24,324,139       (17,741,411
 

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

      (122,523,179       (92,883,797
 

 

 

 

Capital share transactions

    Shares          Shares     

Proceeds from shares sold

       

Class A

    642,824        7,569,378        624,836        8,481,516   

Class B

    538        6,161        2,136        28,654   

Class C

    196,351        2,323,822        209,050        2,773,670   

Class R

    1,207        14,440        1,217        16,683   

Class R6

    217,137        2,885,275        339        4,595   

Administrator Class

    505,633        6,457,967        690,160        9,705,283   

Institutional Class

    2,739,487        33,654,265        2,658,478        36,641,333   
 

 

 

 
      52,911,308          57,651,734   
 

 

 

 

Reinvestment of distributions

       

Class A

    3,054,047        35,698,868        2,128,410        27,919,064   

Class B

    11,006        126,021        15,779        204,498   

Class C

    256,273        2,914,692        174,638        2,247,594   

Class R

    290        3,406        174        2,292   

Class R4

    139        1,637        87        1,132   

Class R6

    27,254        316,185        1,068        13,934   

Administrator Class

    4,139,213        50,467,672        2,786,857        37,930,250   

Institutional Class

    2,026,547        23,875,792        1,210,532        15,960,088   
 

 

 

 
      113,404,273          84,278,852   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Payment for shares redeemed

       

Class A

    (4,303,060     (51,494,497     (4,381,343     (59,669,917

Class B

    (109,356     (1,315,058     (163,321     (2,207,079

Class C

    (687,305     (8,016,477     (442,242     (5,907,017

Class R

    (938     (12,248     (470     (6,451

Class R4

    0        0        (111     (1,553

Class R6

    (17,996     (211,641     0        0   

Administrator Class

    (4,210,029     (52,406,894     (4,305,966     (60,992,273

Institutional Class

    (5,462,371     (65,509,014     (3,233,572     (43,813,596
 

 

 

 
      (178,965,829       (172,597,886
 

 

 

 

Net decrease in net assets resulting from capital share transactions

      (12,650,248       (30,667,300
 

 

 

 

Total decrease in net assets

      (159,500,462       (15,211,009
 

 

 

 

Net assets

   

Beginning of period

      1,195,571,417          1,210,782,426   
 

 

 

 

End of period

    $ 1,036,070,955        $ 1,195,571,417   
 

 

 

 

Undistributed net investment income

    $ 7,090,465        $ 6,065,222   
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund     17   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS A   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $13.73        $13.60        $12.52        $10.44        $11.50   

Net investment income

    0.13        0.10        0.07        0.07 1      0.11 1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.42     1.09        1.53        2.75        0.24   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.29     1.19        1.60        2.82        0.35   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    (0.11     (0.07     (0.06     (0.10     (0.28

Net realized gains

    (1.32     (0.99     (0.46     (0.64     (1.13
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1.43     (1.06     (1.52     (0.74     (1.41

Net asset value, end of period

    $12.01        $13.73        $13.60        $12.52        $10.44   

Total return2

    (1.73 )%      9.19     13.09     28.53     4.38

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.17     1.20     1.21     1.20     1.24

Net expenses

    1.10     1.16     1.16     1.16     1.17

Net investment income

    1.12     0.75     0.53     0.57     1.05

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    34     29     23     28     34

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $318,543        $372,443        $391,028        $386,655        $87,784   

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

18   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS B   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $13.54        $13.45        $12.42        $10.34        $11.37   

Net investment income (loss)

    0.05 1      0.00 1,2      (0.03 )1      (0.02     0.03 1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.43     1.08        1.52        2.74        0.24   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.38     1.08        1.49        2.72        0.27   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    0.00        0.00        0.00        0.00        (0.17

Net realized gains

    (1.32     (0.99     (0.46     (0.64     (1.13
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1.32     (0.99     (0.46     (0.64     (1.30

Net asset value, end of period

    $11.84        $13.54        $13.45        $12.42        $10.34   

Total return3

    (2.47 )%      8.36     12.25     27.57     3.56

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.92     1.96     1.97     1.97     2.01

Net expenses

    1.86     1.91     1.91     1.91     1.92

Net investment income (loss)

    0.38     0.00     (0.20 )%      (0.03 )%      0.27

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    34     29     23     28     34

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $544        $1,947        $3,889        $5,589        $4,323   

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Amount is less than $0.005.

 

3  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund     19   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS C   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $13.45        $13.36        $12.35        $10.30        $11.35   

Net investment income (loss)

    0.03        0.00 1      (0.03     (0.01 )2      0.03 2 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.41     1.08        1.50        2.72        0.24   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.38     1.08        1.47        2.71        0.27   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    (0.01     0.00        0.00        (0.02     (0.19

Net realized gains

    (1.32     (0.99     (0.46     (0.64     (1.13
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1.33     (0.99     (0.46     (0.66     (1.32

Net asset value, end of period

    $11.74        $13.45        $13.36        $12.35        $10.30   

Total return3

    (2.47 )%      8.42     12.24     27.50     3.62

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.93     1.96     1.97     1.97     2.01

Net expenses

    1.86     1.91     1.91     1.91     1.92

Net investment income (loss)

    0.37     0.00     (0.22 )%      (0.05 )%      0.26

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    34     29     23     28     34

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $28,756        $36,098        $36,654        $35,616        $20,187   

 

 

 

 

1  Amount is less than $0.005.

 

2  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

3  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

20   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS R   2016     2015     2014     20131  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $13.81        $13.66        $12.55        $11.20   

Net investment income

    0.10        0.05        0.03        0.00 2 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.43     1.12        1.54        1.35   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.33     1.17        1.57        1.35   

Distributions to shareholders from

       

Net investment income

    (0.07     (0.03     0.00        0.00   

Net realized gains

    (1.32     (0.99     (0.46     0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1.39     (1.02     (0.46     0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $12.09        $13.81        $13.66        $12.55   

Total return3

    (1.99 )%      8.96     12.77     12.05

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

       

Gross expenses

    1.44     1.47     1.49     1.46

Net expenses

    1.36     1.40     1.41     1.41

Net investment income

    0.86     0.50     0.26     0.01

Supplemental data

       

Portfolio turnover rate

    34     29     23     28

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $43        $41        $28        $18   

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from March 1, 2013 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2013

 

2  Amount is less than $0.005.

 

3  Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund     21   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS R4   2016     2015     2014     20131  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $13.78        $13.65        $12.55        $11.10   

Net investment income

    0.17        0.15        0.12        0.09   

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.42     1.09        1.54        2.15   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.25     1.24        1.66        2.24   

Distributions to shareholders from

       

Net investment income

    (0.15     (0.12     (0.10     (0.15

Net realized gains

    (1.32     (0.99     (0.46     (0.64
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1.47     (1.11     (0.56     (0.79

Net asset value, end of period

    $12.06        $13.78        $13.65        $12.55   

Total return2

    (1.39 )%      9.53     13.55     21.73

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

       

Gross expenses

    0.88     0.86     0.87     0.88

Net expenses

    0.80     0.80     0.80     0.80

Net investment income

    1.41     1.11     0.88     0.99

Supplemental data

       

Portfolio turnover rate

    34     29     23     28

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $15        $15        $15        $14   

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from November 30, 2012 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2013

 

2  Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

22   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS R6   2016     2015     2014     20131  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $13.62        $13.60        $12.56        $11.10   

Net investment income

    0.17        0.17 2      0.14 2      0.19   

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.40     1.08        1.47        2.06   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.23     1.25        1.61        2.25   

Distributions to shareholders from

       

Net investment income

    (0.17     (0.24     (0.11     (0.15

Net realized gains

    (1.32     (0.99     (0.46     (0.64
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1.49     (1.23     (0.57     (0.79

Net asset value, end of period

    $11.90        $13.62        $13.60        $12.56   

Total return3

    (1.30 )%      9.74     13.19     21.84

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

       

Gross expenses

    0.75     0.74     0.74     0.73

Net expenses

    0.65     0.65     0.65     0.65

Net investment income

    1.47     1.25     1.10     0.85

Supplemental data

       

Portfolio turnover rate

    34     29     23     28

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $2,842        $169        $150        $3,359   

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from November 30, 2012 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2013

 

2  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

3  Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund     23   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
ADMINISTRATOR CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $14.25        $14.08        $12.95        $10.78        $11.55   

Net investment income

    0.15        0.13        0.10        0.08 1      0.12 1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.43     1.14        1.58        2.87        0.28   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.28     1.27        1.68        2.95        0.40   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    (0.14     (0.11     (0.09     (0.14     (0.04

Net realized gains

    (1.32     (0.99     (0.46     (0.64     (1.13
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1.46     (1.10     (0.55     (0.78     (1.17

Net asset value, end of period

    $12.51        $14.25        $14.08        $12.95        $10.78   

Total return

    (1.58 )%      9.42     13.36     28.77     4.57

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.10     1.06     1.06     1.05     1.09

Net expenses

    0.95     0.95     0.95     0.95     0.95

Net investment income

    1.27     0.95     0.74     0.68     1.13

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    34     29     23     28     34

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $470,152        $529,293        $534,641        $515,012        $26,687   

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

24   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
INSTITUTIONAL CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $13.80        $13.67        $12.58        $10.48        $11.56   

Net investment income

    0.18        0.15        0.13        0.16        0.14 1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.41     1.11        1.53        2.73        0.24   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.23     1.26        1.66        2.89        0.38   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    (0.17     (0.14     (1.11     (0.15     (0.33

Net realized gains

    (1.32     (0.99     (0.46     (0.64     (1.13
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1.49     (1.13     (0.57     (0.79     (1.46

Net asset value, end of period

    $12.08        $13.80        $13.67        $12.58        $10.48   

Total return

    (1.27 )%      9.66     13.64     29.04     4.71

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    0.85     0.79     0.79     0.79     0.83

Net expenses

    0.70     0.70     0.70     0.73     0.82

Net investment income

    1.52     1.20     0.99     1.21     1.35

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    34     29     23     28     34

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $215,175        $255,565        $244,378        $221,128        $222,949   

 

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund     25   

1. ORGANIZATION

Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”), a Delaware statutory trust organized on March 10, 1999, is an open-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). As an investment company, the Trust follows the accounting and reporting guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946, Financial Services – Investment Companies. These financial statements report on the Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund (the “Fund”) which is a diversified series of the Trust.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The following significant accounting policies, which are consistently followed in the preparation of the financial statements of the Fund, are in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles which require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Securities valuation

All investments are valued each business day as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (generally 4 p.m. Eastern Time), although the Fund may deviate from this calculation time under unusual or unexpected circumstances.

Equity securities that are listed on a foreign or domestic exchange or market are valued at the official closing price or, if none, the last sales price. If no sale occurs on the principal exchange or market that day, the prior day’s price will be deemed “stale” and a fair value price will be determined in accordance with the Fund’s Valuation Procedures.

Investments in registered open-end investment companies are valued at net asset value. Interests in non-registered investment vehicles that are redeemable at net asset value are fair valued normally at net asset value.

Investments which are not valued using any of the methods discussed above are valued at their fair value, as determined in good faith by the Board of Trustees of the Fund. The Board of Trustees has established a Valuation Committee comprised of the Trustees and has delegated to it the authority to take any actions regarding the valuation of portfolio securities that the Valuation Committee deems necessary or appropriate, including determining the fair value of portfolio securities, unless the determination has been delegated to the Management Valuation Team of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”). The Board of Trustees retains the authority to make or ratify any valuation decisions or approve any changes to the Valuation Procedures as it deems appropriate. On a quarterly basis, the Board of Trustees receives reports on any valuation actions taken by the Valuation Committee or the Management Valuation Team which may include items for ratification.

Valuations of fair valued securities are compared to the next actual sales price when available, or other appropriate market values, to assess the continued appropriateness of the fair valuation methodologies used. These securities are fair valued on a day-to-day basis, taking into consideration changes to appropriate market information and any significant changes to the inputs considered in the valuation process until there is a readily available price provided on an exchange or by an independent pricing service. Valuations received from an independent pricing service or independent broker-dealer quotes are periodically validated by comparisons to most recent trades and valuations provided by other independent pricing services in addition to the review of prices by the manager and/or subadviser. Unobservable inputs used in determining fair valuations are identified based on the type of security, taking into consideration factors utilized by market participants in valuing the investment, knowledge about the issuer and the current market environment.

Security loans

The Fund may lend its securities from time to time in order to earn additional income in the form of fees or interest on securities received as collateral or the investment of any cash received as collateral. The Fund continues to receive interest or dividends on the securities loaned. The Fund receives collateral in the form of cash or securities with a value at least equal to the value of the securities on loan. The value of the loaned securities is determined at the close of each business day and any additional required collateral is delivered to the Fund on the next business day. In a securities lending transaction, the net asset value of the Fund will be affected by an increase or decrease in the value of the securities loaned and by an increase or decrease in the value of the instrument in which collateral is invested. The amount of securities lending activity undertaken by the Fund fluctuates from time to time. In the event of default or bankruptcy by the borrower, the Fund may be prevented from recovering the loaned securities or gaining access to the collateral or may experience delays or costs in doing so. In addition, the investment of any cash collateral received may lose all or part of its value. The Fund has the right under the lending agreement to recover the securities from the borrower on demand.


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26   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund   Notes to financial statements

The Fund lends its securities through an unaffiliated securities lending agent. Cash collateral received in connection with its securities lending transactions is invested in Securities Lending Cash Investments, LLC (the “Securities Lending Fund”). The Securities Lending Fund is exempt from registration under Section 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act and is managed by Funds Management and is subadvised by Wells Capital Management Incorporated (“WellsCap”), an affiliate of Funds Management and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company (“Wells Fargo”). Funds Management receives an advisory fee starting at 0.05% and declining to 0.01% as the average daily net assets of the Securities Lending Fund increase. All of the fees received by Funds Management are paid to WellsCap for its services as subadviser. The Securities Lending Fund seeks to provide a positive return compared to the daily Fed Funds Open rate by investing in high-quality, U.S. dollar-denominated short-term money market instruments. Securities Lending Fund investments are fair valued based upon the amortized cost valuation technique. Income earned from investment in the Securities Lending Fund is included in securities lending income on the Statement of Operations.

Security transactions and income recognition

Securities transactions are recorded on a trade date basis. Realized gains or losses are recorded on the basis of identified cost.

Dividend income is recognized on the ex-dividend date. Dividend income is recorded net of foreign taxes withheld where recovery of such taxes is not assured.

Distributions to shareholders

Distributions to shareholders from net investment income and net realized gains, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Such distributions are determined in conformity with federal income tax regulations, which may differ in amount or character from net investment income and realized gains recognized for purposes of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Federal and other taxes

The Fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company by distributing substantially all of its investment company taxable income and any net realized capital gains (after reduction for capital loss carryforwards) sufficient to relieve it from all, or substantially all, federal income taxes. Accordingly, no provision for federal income taxes was required.

The Fund’s income and federal excise tax returns and all financial records supporting those returns for the prior three fiscal years are subject to examination by the federal and Delaware revenue authorities. Management has analyzed the Fund’s tax positions taken on federal, state, and foreign tax returns for all open tax years and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability.

Reclassifications are made to the Fund’s capital accounts for permanent tax differences to reflect income and gains available for distribution (or available capital loss carryforwards) under federal income tax regulations. U.S. generally accepted accounting principles require that certain components of net assets be adjusted to reflect permanent differences between financial and tax reporting. These reclassifications have no effect on net assets or net asset values per share. At July 31, 2016, as a result of permanent book-to-tax differences, the following reclassification adjustments were made on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities:

 

Paid-in capital    Undistributed net
investment income
   Accumulated net
realized gains
on investments
$359    $(148,771)    $148,412

As of July 31, 2016, the Fund had capital loss carryforwards available to offset future net realized capital gains in the amount of $4,849,228 expiring in 2017.

Class allocations

The separate classes of shares offered by the Fund differ principally in applicable sales charges, distribution, shareholder servicing, and administration fees. Class specific expenses are charged directly to that share class. Investment income, common expenses, and realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments are allocated daily to each class of shares based on the relative proportion of net assets of each class.

3. FAIR VALUATION MEASUREMENTS

Fair value measurements of investments are determined within a framework that has established a fair value hierarchy based upon the various data inputs utilized in determining the value of the Fund’s investments. The three-level hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the


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Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund     27   

lowest priority to significant unobservable inputs (Level 3). The Fund’s investments are classified within the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The inputs are summarized into three broad levels as follows:

 

n   Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical securities

 

n   Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, use of amortized cost, etc.)

 

n   Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The inputs or methodologies used for valuing investments in securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

The following is a summary of the inputs used in valuing the Fund’s assets and liabilities as of July 31, 2016:

 

     Quoted prices
(Level 1)
     Other significant
observable inputs
(Level 2)
    

Significant
unobservable inputs

(Level 3)

     Total  

Assets

           

Investments in:

           

Common stocks

           

Consumer discretionary

   $ 65,187,436       $ 0       $ 0       $ 65,187,436   

Consumer staples

     107,271,578         0         0         107,271,578   

Energy

     87,769,421         0         0         87,769,421   

Financials

     177,149,638         0         0         177,149,638   

Health care

     119,741,748         0         0         119,741,748   

Industrials

     146,510,289         0         0         146,510,289   

Information technology

     203,942,662         0         0         203,942,662   

Materials

     15,504,815         0         0         15,504,815   

Telecommunication services

     19,944,165         0         0         19,944,165   

Utilities

     54,128,172         0         0         54,128,172   

Short-term investments

           

Investment companies

     39,814,811         0         0         39,814,811   

Investments measured at net asset value*

                                13,536,600   

Total assets

   $ 1,036,964,735       $ 0       $ 0       $ 1,050,501,335   

 

* Investments that are measured at fair value using the net asset value per share (or its equivalent) as a practical expedient have not been categorized in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value amount presented in the table is intended to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the amounts presented in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. The Fund’s investment in Securities Lending Cash Investments, LLC valued at $13,536,600 does not have a redemption period notice, can be redeemed daily and does not have any unfunded commitments.

The Fund recognizes transfers between levels within the fair value hierarchy at the end of the reporting period. At July 31, 2016, the Fund did not have any transfers into/out of Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3.

4. TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES

Management fee

Funds Management, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo, is the manager of the Fund and provides advisory and fund-level administrative services under an investment management agreement. Under the investment management agreement, Funds Management is responsible for, among other services, implementing the investment objectives and strategies of the Fund, supervising the subadviser, providing fund-level administrative services in connection with the Fund’s operations, and providing any other fund-level administrative services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. As compensation for its services under the investment management agreement, Funds Management is entitled to receive an annual management fee starting at 0.70% and declining to 0.505% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase. For the year ended July 31, 2016, the management fee was equivalent to an annual rate of 0.69% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.


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28   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund   Notes to financial statements

Funds Management has retained the services of a subadviser to provide daily portfolio management to the Fund. The fee for subadvisory services is borne by Funds Management. WellsCap is the subadviser to the Fund and is entitled to receive a fee from Funds Management at an annual rate starting at 0.35% and declining to 0.25% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase. Prior to July 1, 2016, Metropolitan West Capital Management, LLC (“MetWest”), an affiliate of Funds Management and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo, served as the subadviser to the Fund and received a fee for its services at the same rates. MetWest merged with WellsCap on July, 1, 2016 and WellsCap became the subadviser to the Fund.

Administration fees

Under a class-level administration agreement, Funds Management provides class-level administrative services to the Fund, which includes paying fees and expenses for services provided by the transfer agent, sub-transfer agents, omnibus account servicers and record-keepers. As compensation for its services under the class-level administration agreement, Funds Management receives an annual fee which is calculated based on the average daily net assets of each class as follows:

 

     Class-level
administration fee
 

Class A, Class B, Class C, Class R

     0.21

Class R4

     0.08   

Class R6

     0.03   

Administrator Class, Institutional Class

     0.13   

Funds Management has contractually waived and/or reimbursed management and administration fees to the extent necessary to maintain certain net operating expense ratios for the Fund. Waiver of fees and/or reimbursement of expenses by Funds Management were made first from fund level expenses on a proportionate basis and then from class specific expenses. Funds Management has committed through November 30, 2016 to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s expenses at 1.11% for Class A shares, 1.86% for Class B shares, 1.86% for Class C shares, 1.36% for Class R shares, 0.80% for class R4 shares, 0.65% for class R6 shares, 0.95% for Administrator Class shares and 0.70% for Institutional Class shares. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees.

Distribution fees

The Trust has adopted a distribution plan for Class B, Class C, and Class R shares of the Fund pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Distribution fees are charged to Class B, Class C, and Class R shares and paid to Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC (“Funds Distributor”), the principal underwriter, at an annual rate of 0.75% of the average daily net assets of Class B and Class C shares and 0.25% of the average daily net assets of Class R shares.

In addition, Funds Distributor is entitled to receive the front-end sales charge from the purchase of Class A shares and a contingent deferred sales charge on the redemption of certain Class A shares. Funds Distributor is also entitled to receive the contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of Class B and Class C shares. For the year ended July 31, 2016, Funds Distributor received $6,474 from the sale of Class A shares and $12 and $742 in contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of Class A and Class C shares, respectively.

Shareholder servicing fees

The Trust has entered into contracts with one or more shareholder servicing agents, whereby Class A, Class B, Class C, Class R and Administrator Class of the Fund are charged a fee at an annual rate of 0.25% of the average daily net assets of each respective class. Class R4 is charged a fee at an annual rate of 0.10% of its average daily net assets.

A portion of these total shareholder servicing fees were paid to affiliates of Wells Fargo.

5. INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

Purchases and sales of investments, excluding U.S. government obligations (if any) and short-term securities, for the year ended July 31, 2016 were $350,907,070 and $455,095,742, respectively.

The Fund may purchase or sell investment securities to other Wells Fargo funds under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. The procedures have been designed to ensure that these interfund transactions, which generally do not incur broker commissions, are effected at current market prices. Interfund trades are included within the respective purchases and sales amounts shown.


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Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund     29   

6. BANK BORROWINGS

The Trust (excluding the money market funds and certain other funds) and Wells Fargo Variable Trust are parties to a $200,000,000 revolving credit agreement whereby the Fund is permitted to use bank borrowings for temporary or emergency purposes, such as to fund shareholder redemption requests. Interest under the credit agreement is charged to the Fund based on a borrowing rate equal to the higher of the Federal Funds rate in effect on that day plus 1.25% or the overnight LIBOR rate in effect on that day plus 1.25%. In addition, an annual commitment fee equal to 0.20% of the unused balance is allocated to each participating fund. Prior to September 1, 2015, the revolving credit agreement amount was $150,000,000 and the annual commitment fee was equal to 0.10% of the unused balance which was allocated to each participating fund.

For the year ended July 31, 2016, there were no borrowings by the Fund under the agreement.

7. DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

The tax character of distributions paid during the years ended July 31, 2016 and July 31, 2015 were as follows:

 

     Year ended July 31  
     2016      2015  

Ordinary income

   $ 12,154,089       $ 12,000,998   

Long-term capital gain

     110,369,090         80,882,799   

As of July 31, 2016, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed
ordinary
income
  

Undistributed
long-term

gain

   Unrealized
gains
   Capital loss
carryforward
$7,212,314    $39,080,637    $140,260,482    $(4,849,228)

8. INDEMNIFICATION

Under the Trust’s organizational documents, the officers and Trustees have been granted certain indemnification rights against certain liabilities that may arise out of performance of their duties to the Trust. Additionally, in the normal course of business, the Trust may enter into contracts with service providers that contain a variety of indemnification clauses. The Trust’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is dependent on future claims that may be made against the Fund and, therefore, cannot be estimated.


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30   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund   Report of independent registered public accounting firm

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND SHAREHOLDERS OF WELLS FARGO FUNDS TRUST:

We have audited the accompanying statements of assets and liabilities, including the portfolio of investments, of the Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund (formerly known as Wells Fargo Advantage Intrinsic Value Fund) (the “Fund”), one of the funds constituting the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, as of July 31, 2016, and the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years or periods in the five-year period then ended. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of July 31, 2016, by correspondence with the custodian, or by other appropriate auditing procedures. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund as of July 31, 2016, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years or periods in the five-year period then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

 

LOGO

Boston, Massachusetts

September 23, 2016


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund     31   

TAX INFORMATION

For corporate shareholders, pursuant to Section 854 of the Internal Revenue Code, 100% of ordinary income dividends qualify for the corporate dividends-received deduction for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016.

Pursuant to Section 852 of the Internal Revenue Code, $110,369,090 was designated as a 20% rate gain distribution for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016.

Pursuant to Section 854 of the Internal Revenue Code, $12,154,089 of income dividends paid during the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016 has been designated as qualified dividend income (QDI).

PROXY VOTING INFORMATION

A description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities is available, upon request, by calling 1-800-222-8222, visiting our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available on the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com or by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov.

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION

The complete portfolio holdings for the Fund are publicly available monthly on the Fund’s website (wellsfargofunds.com), on a one-month delayed basis. In addition, top ten holdings information (excluding derivative positions) for the Fund is publicly available on the Fund’s website on a monthly, seven-day or more delayed basis. The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q, which is available by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. In addition, the Fund’s Form N-Q may be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC, and at regional offices in New York City, at 233 Broadway, and in Chicago, at 175 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 900. Information about the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.


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32   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund   Other information (unaudited)

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS

Each of the Trustees and Officers1 listed in the table below acts in identical capacities for each fund in the Wells Fargo family of funds, which consists of 139 mutual funds comprising the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, Wells Fargo Variable Trust, Wells Fargo Master Trust and four closed-end funds (collectively the “Fund Complex”). This table should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information2. The mailing address of each Trustee and Officer is 525 Market Street, 12th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105. Each Trustee and Officer serves an indefinite term, however, each Trustee serves such term until reaching the mandatory retirement age established by the Trustees.

Independent Trustees

 

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service*

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer   Current other public
company or
investment company
directorships
William R. Ebsworth (Born 1957)   Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 1984 to 2013, equities analyst, portfolio manager, research director and chief financial officer at Fidelity Management and Research Company in Boston, Tokyo, and Hong Kong and retired in 2013 as Chief Investment Officer of Fidelity Strategic Advisers, Inc. where he lead a team of investment professionals managing client assets. Prior thereto, Board member of Hong Kong Securities Clearing Co., Hong Kong Options Clearing Corp., the Thailand International Fund, Ltd., Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company, and Empire Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company. Mr. Ebsworth is a CFA® charterholder and an Adjunct Lecturer, Finance, at Babson College.   Asset Allocation Trust
Jane A. Freeman (Born 1953)   Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 2012 to 2014 and 1999 to 2008, Chief Financial Officer of Scientific Learning Corporation. From 2008 to 2012, Ms. Freeman provided consulting services related to strategic business projects. Prior to 1999, Portfolio Manager at Rockefeller & Co. and Scudder, Stevens & Clark. Board member of the Harding Loevner Funds from 1996 to 2014, serving as both Lead Independent Director and chair of the Audit Committee. Board member of the Russell Exchange Traded Funds Trust from 2011 to 2012 and the chair of the Audit Committee. Ms. Freeman is Chair of Taproot Foundation (non-profit organization), a Board Member of Ruth Bancroft Garden (non-profit organization) and an inactive chartered financial analyst.   Asset Allocation Trust
Peter G. Gordon (Born 1942)   Trustee, since 1998; Chairman, since 2005   Co-Founder, Retired Chairman, President and CEO of Crystal Geyser Water Company. Trustee Emeritus, Colby College.   Asset Allocation Trust
Isaiah Harris, Jr. (Born 1952)   Trustee, since 2009   Retired. Chairman of the Board of CIGNA Corporation since 2009, and Director since 2005. From 2003 to 2011, Director of Deluxe Corporation. Prior thereto, President and CEO of BellSouth Advertising and Publishing Corp. from 2005 to 2007, President and CEO of BellSouth Enterprises from 2004 to 2005 and President of BellSouth Consumer Services from 2000 to 2003. Emeritus member of the Iowa State University Foundation Board of Governors. Emeritus Member of the Advisory Board of Iowa State University School of Business. Advisory Board Member, Palm Harbor Academy (charter school). Advisory Board Member, Child Evangelism Fellowship (non-profit). Mr. Harris is a certified public accountant (inactive status).   CIGNA Corporation; Asset Allocation Trust
Judith M. Johnson (Born 1949)  

Trustee, since 2008;

Audit Committee Chairman, since 2008

  Retired. Prior thereto, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Minneapolis Employees Retirement Fund from 1996 to 2008. Ms. Johnson is an attorney, certified public accountant and a certified managerial accountant.   Asset Allocation Trust
David F. Larcker (Born 1950)   Trustee, since 2009   James Irvin Miller Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Director of the Corporate Governance Research Initiative and Senior Faculty of The Rock Center for Corporate Governance since 2006. From 2005 to 2008, Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Prior thereto, Ernst & Young Professor of Accounting at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania from 1985 to 2005.   Asset Allocation Trust


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund     33   

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service*

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer   Current other public
company or
investment company
directorships
Olivia S. Mitchell (Born 1953)   Trustee, since 2006   International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Professor, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania since 1993. Director of Wharton’s Pension Research Council and Boettner Center on Pensions & Retirement Research, and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Previously, Cornell University Professor from 1978 to 1993.   Asset Allocation Trust
Timothy J. Penny (Born 1951)   Trustee, since 1996   President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, a non-profit organization, since 2007 and Senior Fellow at the Humphrey Institute Policy Forum at the University of Minnesota since 1995. Member of the Board of Trustees of NorthStar Education Finance, Inc., a non-profit organization, since 2007.   Asset Allocation Trust
Michael S. Scofield (Born 1943)   Trustee, since 2010   Served on the Investment Company Institute’s Board of Governors and Executive Committee from 2008-2011 as well the Governing Council of the Independent Directors Council from 2006-2011 and the Independent Directors Council Executive Committee from 2008-2011. Chairman of the IDC from 2008-2010. Institutional Investor (Fund Directions) Trustee of Year in 2007. Trustee of the Evergreen Funds complex (and its predecessors) from 1984 to 2010. Chairman of the Evergreen Funds from 2000-2010. Former Trustee of the Mentor Funds. Retired Attorney, Law Offices of Michael S. Scofield.   Asset Allocation Trust

 

* Length of service dates reflect the Trustee’s commencement of service with the Trust’s predecessor entities, where applicable.

Officers

 

Name and

year of birth

  Position held and
length of service
  Principal occupations during past five years or longer    
Karla M. Rabusch (Born 1959)   President, since 2003   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2003.    
Jeremy DePalma1 (Born 1974)   Treasurer, since 2012   Senior Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Senior Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010 and head of the Fund Reporting and Control Team within Fund Administration from 2005 to 2010.    
C. David Messman (Born 1960)   Secretary, since 2000; Chief Legal Officer, since 2003   Senior Vice President and Secretary of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2001. Assistant General Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. since 2013 and Vice President and Managing Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. from 1996 to 2013.    
Michael Whitaker (Born 1967)   Chief Compliance Officer, since 2016*   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2016. Chief Compliance Officer of Fidelity’s Fixed Income Funds and Asset Allocation Funds from 2008 to 2016, Compliance Officer of FMR Co., Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments from 2007 to 2016.    
David Berardi (Born 1975)   Assistant Treasurer, since 2009   Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010. Manager of Fund Reporting and Control for Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2004 to 2010.    

 

 

1 Jeremy DePalma acts as Treasurer of 68 funds and Assistant Treasurer of 71 funds in the Fund Complex.

 

2 The Statement of Additional Information includes additional information about the Trustees and is available, without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-222-8222 or by visiting the website at wellsfargofunds.com.

 

* Michael Whitaker became Chief Compliance Officer effective May 16, 2016.


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34   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund   Other information (unaudited)

BOARD CONSIDERATION OF INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENTS:

Under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”) must determine annually whether to approve the continuation of the Trust’s investment management and sub-advisory agreements. In this regard, at an in-person meeting held on May 24-25, 2016 (the “Meeting”), the Board, all the members of which have no direct or indirect interest in the investment management and sub-advisory agreements and are not “interested persons” of the Trust, as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”), reviewed and approved for Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund (the “Fund”): (i) an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”); and (ii) an investment sub-advisory agreement (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”) with Metropolitan West Capital Management, LLC (the “Sub-Adviser”), an affiliate of Funds Management. The Management Agreement and the Sub-Advisory Agreement are collectively referred to as the “Advisory Agreements.”

At the Meeting, the Board considered the factors and reached the conclusions described below relating to the selection of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser and the approval of the Advisory Agreements. Prior to the Meeting, including at an in-person meeting in April 2016, the Trustees conferred extensively among themselves and with representatives of Funds Management about these matters. Also, the Board has adopted a team-based approach, with each team consisting of a sub-set of Trustees, to assist the full Board in the discharge of its duties in reviewing performance and other matters throughout the year. The Independent Trustees were assisted in their evaluation of the Advisory Agreements by independent legal counsel, from whom they received separate legal advice and with whom they met separately.

In providing information to the Board, Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser were guided by a detailed set of requests for information submitted to them by independent legal counsel on behalf of the Independent Trustees at the start of the Board’s annual contract renewal process earlier in 2016. In considering and approving the Advisory Agreements, the Trustees considered the information they believed relevant, including but not limited to the information discussed below. The Board considered not only the specific information presented in connection with the Meeting, but also the knowledge gained over time through interaction with Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser about various topics. In this regard, the Board reviewed reports of Funds Management at each of its quarterly meetings, which included, among other things, portfolio reviews and performance reports. In addition, the Board and the teams mentioned above confer with portfolio managers at various times throughout the year. The Board did not identify any particular information or consideration that was all-important or controlling, and each individual Trustee may have attributed different weights to various factors.

After its deliberations, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable. The Board considered the approval of the Advisory Agreements for the Fund as part of its consideration of agreements for funds across the complex, but its approvals were made on a fund-by-fund basis. The following summarizes a number of important, but not necessarily all, factors considered by the Board in support of its approvals.

Nature, extent and quality of services

The Board received and considered various information regarding the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under the Advisory Agreements. This information included a description of the investment advisory services and Fund-level administrative services covered by the Management Agreement, as well as, among other things, a summary of the background and experience of senior management of Funds Management, and the qualifications, background, tenure and responsibilities of each of the portfolio managers primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the Fund.

The Board evaluated the ability of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to attract and retain qualified investment professionals, including research, advisory and supervisory personnel. The Board further considered the compliance programs and compliance records of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser. In addition, the Board took into account the full range of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and its affiliates.

Fund performance and expenses

The Board considered the performance results for the Fund over various time periods ended December 31, 2015. The Board considered these results in comparison to the performance of funds in a universe that was determined by Broadridge Inc. (“Broadridge”) to be similar to the Fund (the “Universe”), and in comparison to the Fund’s benchmark index and to other comparative data. Broadridge is an independent provider of investment company data. The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the performance Universe.


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund     35   

The Board noted that the performance of the Fund (Class A) was in range of the average performance of the Universe for all periods under review except the three-year period under review. The Board also noted that the performance of the Fund was higher than its benchmark, the Russell 1000® Value Index, for all periods under review except the three- and five-year periods.

The Board received information concerning, and discussed factors contributing to, the underperformance of the Fund relative to the Universe and benchmark for the periods noted above. The Board took note of the explanations for the relative underperformance in these periods, including with respect to market factors and investment decisions that affected the Fund’s performance.

The Board also received and considered information regarding the Fund’s net operating expense ratios and their various components, including actual management fees, custodian and other non-management fees, and Rule 12b-1 and non-Rule 12b-1 shareholder service fees. The Board considered these ratios in comparison to the median ratios of funds in class-specific expense groups that were determined by Broadridge to be similar to the Fund (the “Groups”).

The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the expense Groups and an explanation of how funds comprising expense groups and their expense ratios may vary from year-to-year. Based on the Broadridge reports, the Board noted that the net operating expense ratios of the Fund were lower than or equal to the median net operating expense ratios of the expense Groups.

The Board took into account the Fund performance and expense information provided to it among the factors considered in deciding to re-approve the Advisory Agreements.

Investment management and sub-advisory fee rates

The Board reviewed and considered the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management under the Management Agreement, as well as the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management for class-level administrative services under a Class-Level Administration Agreement, which include class-level transfer agency and sub-transfer agency costs (collectively, the “Management Rates”). The Board also reviewed and considered the contractual investment sub-advisory fee rates that are payable by Funds Management to the Sub-Adviser for investment sub-advisory services.

Among other information reviewed by the Board was a comparison of the Fund’s Management Rates with the average contractual investment management fee rates of funds in the expense Groups at a common asset level as well as transfer agency costs of the funds in the expense Groups. The Board noted that the Management Rates of the Fund were lower than, in range of, or equal to the sum of these average rates for the Fund’s expense Groups for all share classes.

The Board also received and considered information about the portion of the total management fee that was retained by Funds Management after payment of the fee to the Sub-Adviser for sub-advisory services. In assessing the reasonableness of this amount, the Board received and evaluated information about the nature and extent of responsibilities retained and risks assumed by Funds Management and not delegated to or assumed by the Sub-Adviser, and about Funds Management’s on-going oversight services. However, given the affiliation between Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser, the Board ascribed limited relevance to the allocation of fees between them.

The Board also received and considered information about the nature and extent of services offered and fee rates charged by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to other types of clients with investment strategies similar to those of the Fund. In this regard, the Board received information about the significantly greater scope of services, and compliance, reporting and other legal burdens and risks of managing mutual funds compared with those associated with managing assets of non-mutual fund clients such as collective funds or institutional separate accounts.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management under the Management Agreement and to the Sub-Adviser under the Sub-Advisory Agreement was reasonable, in light of the services covered by the Advisory Agreements.

Profitability

The Board received and considered information concerning the profitability of Funds Management, as well as the profitability of Wells Fargo as a whole, from providing services to the Fund and the fund family as a whole. The Board also received and considered information concerning the profitability of the Sub-Adviser from providing services to the fund family as a whole, noting that the Sub-Adviser’s profitability information with respect to providing services to the Fund was subsumed in the Wells Fargo and Funds Management profitability analysis.


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36   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund   Other information (unaudited)

Funds Management reported on the methodologies and estimates used in calculating profitability. Among other things, the Board noted that the levels of profitability reported on a fund-by-fund basis varied widely, depending on factors such as the size and type of fund. Based on its review, the Board did not deem the profits reported by Funds Management or Wells Fargo from its services to the Fund to be at a level that would prevent it from approving the continuation of the Advisory Agreements.

Economies of scale

With respect to possible economies of scale, the Board noted the existence of breakpoints in the Fund’s management fee structure, which operate generally to reduce the Fund’s expense ratios as the Fund grows in size. It considered that, for a small fund or a fund that shrinks in size, breakpoints conversely can result in higher fee levels. The Board also considered that fee waiver and expense reimbursement arrangements and competitive fee rates at the outset are means of sharing potential economies of scale with shareholders of the Fund and the fund family as a whole. The Board considered Funds Management’s view that any analyses of potential economies of scale in managing a particular fund are inherently limited in light of the joint and common costs and investments that Funds Management incurs across the fund family as a whole.

The Board concluded that the Fund’s fee and expense arrangements, including contractual breakpoints, constituted a reasonable approach to sharing potential economies of scale with the Fund and its shareholders.

Other benefits to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser

The Board received and considered information regarding potential “fall-out” or ancillary benefits received by Funds Management and its affiliates, including the Sub-Adviser, as a result of their relationships with the Fund. Ancillary benefits could include, among others, benefits directly attributable to other relationships with the Fund and benefits potentially derived from an increase in Funds Management’s and the Sub-Adviser’s business as a result of their relationships with the Fund. The Board noted that various affiliates of Funds Management may receive distribution-related fees, shareholder servicing payments and sub-transfer agency fees in respect of shares sold or held through them and services provided.

The Board also reviewed information about soft dollar credits earned and utilized by the Sub-Adviser, fees earned by Funds Management from managing a private investment vehicle for the fund family’s securities lending collateral and commissions earned by an affiliated broker from portfolio transactions.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board did not find that any ancillary benefits received by Funds Management and its affiliates, including the Sub-Adviser, were unreasonable.

Conclusion

At the Meeting, after considering the above-described factors and based on its deliberations and its evaluation of the information described above, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable.


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List of abbreviations   Wells Fargo Intrinsic Value Fund     37   

The following is a list of common abbreviations for terms and entities that may have appeared in this report.

 

ACA —  ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation
ADR —  American depositary receipt
ADS —  American depositary shares
AGC —  Assured Guaranty Corporation
AGM —  Assured Guaranty Municipal
Ambac —  Ambac Financial Group Incorporated
AMT —  Alternative minimum tax
AUD —  Australian dollar
BAN —  Bond anticipation notes
BHAC —  Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corporation
BRL —  Brazilian real
CAB —  Capital appreciation bond
CAD —  Canadian dollar
CCAB —  Convertible capital appreciation bond
CDA —  Community Development Authority
CDO —  Collateralized debt obligation
CHF —  Swiss franc
COP —  Colombian peso
CLP —  Chilean peso
DKK —  Danish krone
DRIVER —  Derivative inverse tax-exempt receipts
DW&P —  Department of Water & Power
DWR —  Department of Water Resources
ECFA —  Educational & Cultural Facilities Authority
EDA —  Economic Development Authority
EDFA —  Economic Development Finance Authority
ETF —  Exchange-traded fund
EUR —  Euro
FDIC —  Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FFCB —  Federal Farm Credit Banks
FGIC —  Financial Guaranty Insurance Corporation
FHA —  Federal Housing Administration
FHLB —  Federal Home Loan Bank
FHLMC —  Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
FICO —  The Financing Corporation
FNMA —  Federal National Mortgage Association
FSA —  Farm Service Agency
GBP —  Great British pound
GDR —  Global depositary receipt
GNMA —  Government National Mortgage Association
GO —  General obligation
HCFR —  Healthcare facilities revenue
HEFA —  Health & Educational Facilities Authority
HEFAR —  Higher education facilities authority revenue
HFA —  Housing Finance Authority
HFFA —  Health Facilities Financing Authority
HKD —  Hong Kong dollar
HUD —  Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUF —  Hungarian forint
IDA —  Industrial Development Authority
IDAG —  Industrial Development Agency
IDR —  Indonesian rupiah
IEP —  Irish pound
JPY —  Japanese yen
KRW —  Republic of Korea won
LIBOR —  London Interbank Offered Rate
LIFER —  Long Inverse Floating Exempt Receipts
LIQ —  Liquidity agreement
LLC —  Limited liability company
LLLP —  Limited liability limited partnership
LLP —  Limited liability partnership
LOC —  Letter of credit
LP —  Limited partnership
MBIA —  Municipal Bond Insurance Association
MFHR —  Multifamily housing revenue
MSTR —  Municipal securities trust receipts
MTN —  Medium-term note
MUD —  Municipal Utility District
MXN —  Mexican peso
MYR —  Malaysian ringgit
National —  National Public Finance Guarantee Corporation
NGN —  Nigerian naira
NOK —  Norwegian krone
NZD —  New Zealand dollar
PCFA —  Pollution Control Financing Authority
PCL —  Public Company Limited
PCR —  Pollution control revenue
PFA —  Public Finance Authority
PFFA —  Public Facilities Financing Authority
PFOTER —  Puttable floating option tax-exempt receipts
plc —  Public limited company
PLN —  Polish zloty
PUTTER —  Puttable tax-exempt receipts
R&D —  Research & development
Radian —  Radian Asset Assurance
RAN —  Revenue anticipation notes
RDA —  Redevelopment Authority
RDFA —  Redevelopment Finance Authority
REIT —  Real estate investment trust
ROC —  Reset option certificates
RON —  Romanian lei
RUB —  Russian ruble
SAVRS —  Select auction variable rate securities
SBA —  Small Business Authority
SDR —  Swedish depositary receipt
SEK —  Swedish krona
SFHR —  Single-family housing revenue
SFMR —  Single-family mortgage revenue
SGD —  Singapore dollar
SPA —  Standby purchase agreement
SPDR —  Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts
SPEAR —  Short Puttable Exempt Adjustable Receipts
STRIPS —  Separate trading of registered interest and
           principal securities
TAN —  Tax anticipation notes
TBA —  To be announced
THB —  Thai baht
TIPS —  Treasury inflation-protected securities
TRAN —  Tax revenue anticipation notes
TRY —  Turkish lira
TTFA —  Transportation Trust Fund Authority
TVA —  Tennessee Valley Authority
ZAR —  South African rand
 


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LOGO

 

 

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For more information

More information about Wells Fargo Funds is available free upon request. To obtain literature, please write, email, visit the Fund’s website, or call:

Wells Fargo Funds

P.O. Box 8266

Boston, MA 02266-8266

Email: fundservice@wellsfargo.com

Website: wellsfargofunds.com

Individual investors: 1-800-222-8222

Retail investment professionals: 1-888-877-9275

Institutional investment professionals: 1-866-765-0778

 

This report and the financial statements contained herein are submitted for the general information of the shareholders of the Fund. If this report is used for promotional purposes, distribution of the report must be accompanied or preceded by a current prospectus. Before investing, please consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the investment. For a current prospectus and, if available, a summary prospectus, containing this information, call 1-800-222-8222 or visit the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com. Read the prospectus carefully before you invest or send money.

Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM) is a trade name used by the asset management businesses of Wells Fargo & Company. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, provides investment advisory and administrative services for Wells Fargo Funds. Other affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company provide subadvisory and other services for the funds. The funds are distributed by Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC, Member FINRA, an affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE

© 2016 Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. All rights reserved.

 

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245324 09-16

A207/AR207 07-16


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Annual Report

July 31, 2016

 

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Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund

 

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Table of Contents

Reduce clutter. Save trees.

Sign up for electronic delivery of prospectuses and shareholder reports at wellsfargo.com/advantagedelivery

Contents

 

 

 

Letter to shareholders

    2   

Performance highlights

    6   

Fund expenses

    10   

Portfolio of investments

    11   
Financial statements  

Statement of assets and liabilities

    14   

Statement of operations

    15   

Statement of changes in net assets

    16   

Financial highlights

    17   

Notes to financial statements

    23   

Report of independent registered public accounting firm

    28   

Other information

    29   

List of abbreviations

    35   

 

The views expressed and any forward-looking statements are as of July 31, 2016, unless otherwise noted, and are those of the Fund managers and/or Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. Discussions of individual securities, or the markets generally, or any Wells Fargo Fund are not intended as individual recommendations. Future events or results may vary significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. The views expressed are subject to change at any time in response to changing circumstances in the market. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC and the Fund disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any views expressed or forward-looking statements.

 

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE



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2   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

 

LOGO

Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period

 

 

Dear Valued Shareholder:

We are pleased to offer you this annual report for the Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016. During this period, which began August 1, 2015, U.S. and international stock markets experienced heightened volatility, with intermittent rebounds interspersed with sell-offs. The U.S. economy displayed resilience throughout the period, although growth was somewhat sluggish amid ongoing pressures that included slowing growth in China, a strengthening U.S. dollar, and uncertainty regarding interest-rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed); international economies faced deeper ongoing challenges. During June 2016, global markets became especially volatile as the U.K.’s vote over whether to leave the European Union (E.U.) approached. However, markets began recovering shortly after the U.K. voted to leave and rallied through July. Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period, as measured by the Russell 1000® Index.1 International markets generally declined as measured by the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index.2

In the third quarter of 2015, China’s slowdown took a toll on economies and markets worldwide.

U.S. stocks sagged during the quarter, experiencing the most volatility since 2011. Economic data released during the quarter suggested the U.S. economy remained solid but had lost some steam, burdened by the drag of the U.S. dollar’s strength coupled with global economic turmoil. The fact that the Fed left the federal funds interest rate unchanged at its September 2015 meeting surprised investors and fueled increased uncertainty about the U.S. economy’s stamina to remain healthy while facing the challenges of slowing growth in China and troubles elsewhere in the world. Outside the U.S., markets were even more volatile and delivered generally weaker quarterly results, also largely due to investors’ increasing anxiety over China’s weakened economy.

Despite ongoing concerns, U.S. stocks generally rose in the fourth quarter of 2015; international markets lagged.

While the broad U.S. stock market bounced back in the quarter, stock markets outside the U.S. failed to keep pace as economic concerns, including China’s ongoing slowdown, continued to affect many countries. U.S. economic data released during the quarter indicated the economy remained solid, although the strong U.S. dollar and weakness in international economies remained headwinds. In December, the Fed, as expected, raised its target interest rate by 25 basis points (bps; 100 bps equals 1.00%) after keeping it near zero for seven years. The move reflected confidence in the U.S. economy’s ability to stay healthy with less central-bank support. The Fed also clarified that future interest-rate increases would be gradual.

 

 

 

1  The Russell 1000® Index measures the performance of the 1,000 largest companies in the Russell 3000® Index, which represents approximately 92% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000® Index. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

2  Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index is a free-float-adjusted market-capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the United States and Canada. The MSCI EAFE Index consists of the following 21 developed markets country indexes: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. You cannot invest directly in an index.


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Letter to shareholders (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund     3   

In the first quarter of 2016, market volatility increased globally amid ongoing concerns.

Stock markets worldwide fluctuated widely in the first quarter of 2016. Most sold off sharply in the first six weeks of the year on concerns such as weak global growth, falling commodity prices, and uncertainty over the timing and impact of the Fed’s interest-rate increases. As the quarter progressed, fears abated somewhat and global markets generally rallied back. The U.S. economy ended the quarter on a positive note as much of the quarter’s data reflected resiliency. With ongoing uncertainties about global growth and financial markets, however, the Fed held off from raising the target interest rate during the quarter. Outside the U.S., the eurozone fell into deflation in February; in response, the European Central Bank announced an expansion of its stimulus program. In China, the government in March set a growth rate of 6.5% to 7.0% for 2016, an acknowledgment of weakening growth. In emerging markets, although central-bank stimulus and improved prices for oil and other commodities led to stock-market rallies in the quarter, many of these countries’ economies face credit downgrades due to challenges such as the likelihood of a stronger U.S. dollar, which would make dollar-denominated debt more expensive.

Worries over interest rates and the U.K.’s vote largely drove the markets during the second quarter of 2016.

U.S. stocks began the quarter in positive territory but started to lose steam in early May on worries that a possible June interest-rate increase by the Fed could hurt the market. In mid-May, stocks briefly plunged following comments by Fed officials noting that a June interest-rate increase remained on the table. But once investors had processed this information, stocks again rallied, finishing up for the month. The first three weeks of June brought heightened volatility, spurred largely by a disappointing jobs report and uncertainty over whether the U.K. would remain in the E.U. The U.K.’s Brexit vote on June 23 shocked countries in Europe and much of the rest of the world. Stock markets plummeted as investors worried that the U.K.’s departure from the E.U. would slow global growth and prolong the low-interest-rate environment. Following the initial rout, however, U.S. stocks rallied as investors seemed to decide that any negative effects would be more localized and not create a serious risk for global growth. By quarter-end, the broad U.S. stock market had moved back into positive territory.

Stocks generally posted positive results for July 2016.

U.S. stocks displayed the most momentum during the first two weeks of the month, buoyed partly by an unexpectedly favorable June jobs report that helped strengthen confidence in the U.S. economy. Also, investors perhaps felt that global central banks could extend stimulus measures in the wake of the Brexit vote. Although U.S. market momentum slowed during the second half of July, stocks ended in positive territory for the month. International stocks delivered positive monthly results as well.

    

 


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4   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

Don’t let short-term uncertainty derail long-term investment goals.

Periods of uncertainty can present challenges, but experience has taught us that maintaining long-term investment goals can be an effective way to plan for the future. To help you create a sound strategy based on your personal goals and risk tolerance, Wells Fargo Funds offers more than 100 mutual funds spanning a wide range of asset classes and investment styles. Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance. We encourage investors to know their investments and to understand that appropriate levels of risk-taking may unlock opportunities.

Thank you for choosing to invest in Wells Fargo Funds. We appreciate your confidence in us and remain committed to helping you meet your financial needs.

Sincerely,

 

LOGO

Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance.

 

 

 

 

For further information about your Fund, contact your investment professional, visit our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or call us directly at 1-800-222-8222. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


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6   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

Investment objective

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Manager

Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC

Subadviser

Golden Capital Management, LLC

Portfolio managers

John Campbell, CFA®

Jeff C. Moser, CFA®

Average annual total returns (%) as of July 31, 20161

 

        Including sales charge     Excluding sales charge     Expense ratios2 (%)  
    Inception date   1 year     5 year    

Since

inception

    1 year     5 year    

Since

inception

    Gross     Net3  
Class A (EGOAX)   12-17-2007     (8.73     11.07        4.99        (3.18     12.39        5.71        1.21        1.14   
Class C (EGOCX)   12-17-2007     (4.90     11.57        4.95        (3.90     11.57        4.95        1.96        1.89   
Class R (EGOHX)   9-30-2015                          (3.44     12.11        5.46        1.46        1.39   
Class R6 (EGORX)   9-30-2015                          (2.73     12.93        6.16        0.78        0.68   
Administrator Class (WFLLX)   7-16-2010                          (2.98     12.67        5.92        1.13        1.00   
Institutional Class (EGOIX)   12-17-2007                          (2.75     12.94        6.16        0.88        0.70   
S&P 500 Index4                            5.61        13.38        7.15                 

Figures quoted represent past performance, which is no guarantee of future results, and do not reflect taxes that a shareholder may pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Performance shown without sales charges would be lower if sales charges were reflected. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted, which assumes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. Current month-end performance is available on the Fund’s website, wellsfargofunds.com.

Index returns do not include transaction costs associated with buying and selling securities, any mutual fund fees or expenses, or any taxes. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

For Class A shares, the maximum front-end sales charge is 5.75%. For Class C shares, the maximum contingent deferred sales charge is 1.00%. Performance including a contingent deferred sales charge assumes the sales charge for the corresponding time period. Class R, Class R6, Administrator Class, and Institutional Class shares are sold without a front-end sales charge or contingent deferred sales charge.

Stock values fluctuate in response to the activities of individual companies and general market and economic conditions. Certain investment strategies tend to increase the total risk of an investment (relative to the broader market). The Fund is exposed to foreign investment risk and focused portfolio risk. Consult the Fund’s prospectus for additional information on these and other risks.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


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Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund     7   
Growth of $10,000 investment as of July 31, 20165
LOGO

 

 

 

1  Historical performance shown for Administrator Class shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of Institutional Class shares, adjusted to reflect higher expenses applicable to Administrator Class shares. Historical performance shown for Class R shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of Administrator Class shares, adjusted to reflect higher expenses applicable to Class R shares. Historical performance shown for Class R6 shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of Institutional Class shares, and adjusted to reflect higher expenses applicable to Class R6 shares. Historical performance shown for all classes of the Fund prior to July 19, 2010, is based on the performance of the Fund’s predecessor, Evergreen Golden Large Cap Core Fund.

 

2  Reflects the expense ratios as stated in the most recent prospectuses. The expense ratios shown are subject to change and may differ from the annualized expense ratios shown in the financial highlights of this report.

 

3  The manager has contractually committed through November 30, 2016, to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at the amounts shown. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Brokerage commissions, stamp duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense cap. Without this cap, the Fund’s returns would have been lower.

 

4  The S&P 500 Index consists of 500 stocks chosen for market size, liquidity, and industry group representation. It is a market-value weighted index with each stock’s weight in the index proportionate to its market value. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

5  The chart compares the performance of Class A shares since inception with the S&P 500 Index. The chart assumes a hypothetical investment of $10,000 in Class A shares and reflects all operating expenses and assumes the maximum initial sales charge of 5.75%.

 

6  The ten largest holdings, excluding cash and cash equivalents, are calculated based on the value of the investments divided by total net assets of the Fund. Holdings are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.

 

7  Amounts are calculated based on the total long-term investments of the Fund. These amounts are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.

 

8  P/E is the price of a share of a stock divided by earnings per share, usually calculated using the latest year’s earnings.


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8   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

MANAGER’S DISCUSSION

Fund highlights

n   The Fund underperformed its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016.

 

n   A number of issues contributed to the poor results, including stock selection, sector and industry exposures, and certain risk exposures.

 

n   Investors often tended to avoid risk and prefer less volatile and higher-yielding investments during the period, which challenged the Fund’s positioning.

 

Ten largest holdings (%) as of July 31, 20166  

NVIDIA Corporation

     3.00   

Linear Technology Corporation

     2.55   

Lowe’s Companies Incorporated

     2.54   

Pinnacle Foods Incorporated

     2.51   

Microsoft Corporation

     2.46   

The Home Depot Incorporated

     2.38   

DST Systems Incorporated

     2.32   

Centene Corporation

     2.27   

Comcast Corporation Class A

     2.27   

Aetna Incorporated

     2.26   

Macro themes played key roles in market movements and Fund results during the 12-month period.

Two macro themes in particular affected the markets and Fund performance: Oil prices enjoyed significant rebounds, and low interest rates drove many stock investors toward investments with higher dividend yields and away from investments perceived as higher risk.

Supply, demand, and production data created a bullish environment for oil prices during the period. The price per barrel of Brent crude oil rose 33% in the first six months of 2016, including a 23% increase during the second quarter of the year. While rising oil prices benefited companies involved in upstream oil activities, such as exploration and production, they were detrimental to companies involved

 

in downstream activities, such as refining. Also, stronger crude-oil prices positively influenced commodities-oriented stocks in general, especially those in the materials and capital goods industries. Within the energy sector, the Fund’s underweight to companies involved in upstream activities and overweight to companies involved in downstream activities, which were out of sync with the market, hindered performance over the period.

Interest rates significantly influenced U.S. stocks over the period. In addition to driving investors toward higher-yielding stocks, low interest rates led investors to generally favor stocks with lower volatility and to question the strength of the U.S. and global economies. These conditions contributed to a risk-off stock-market environment, which benefited sectors generally perceived as more defensive, such as utilities and consumer staples. The U.K.’s Brexit vote in late June 2016 further accentuated the market’s emphases on interest-rate expectations and dividend yield and led to increased uncertainty about global economic growth. The Fund’s underweights to the more defensive, slower-growth, higher-yielding consumer staples, utilities, and telecommunication services sectors detracted from performance relative to the S&P 500 Index.

 

Sector distribution as of July 31, 20167
LOGO

Companies with low price/earnings (P/E) ratios held back Fund performance.

Five stocks that were among the largest individual detractors from Fund performance—Western Refining, Incorporated; Magna International Incorporated; Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Incorporated; Voya Financial, Incorporated; and Skyworks Solutions, Incorporated—are companies in five different economic sectors that shared one thing in common during the period: low P/E ratios.8 The Fund’s positions in Western Refining, Magna International, Voya Financial, and Skyworks Solutions were eliminated during the reporting period. At the time of sale, the average P/E ratio for these four stocks, 10.1, was similar to the P/E ratio for Spirit AeroSystems as of

 

the end of the reporting period (Spirit AeroSystems was not sold from the Fund). By way of comparison, the P/E ratio for the S&P 500 Index at the end of the reporting period was slightly above 17. As these varying P/E ratios indicate, many companies were unrewarded for their relatively low valuations during the period.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


Table of Contents

 

Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund     9   

Our outlook remains optimistic.

Although this has been the weakest period of relative performance in the Fund’s history, it is not the first time we have experienced a significant period of underperformance. While the underperformance is painful in the moment, experience shows us that even the Fund’s weakest periods have not marred performance over the longer term. We have deep conviction in our investment process and believe in adhering to it. Sticking to our discipline does not mean we ignore what happens around us; we monitor the Fund, markets, economy, and political and other events around the world. We also continue to seek undervalued companies that have what we believe are superior earnings fundamentals and favorable investor sentiment, remaining true to our convictions for the benefit of Fund shareholders.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


Table of Contents

 

10   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund   Fund expenses (unaudited)

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments and contingent deferred sales charges (if any) on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees, distribution (12b-1) and/or shareholder servicing fees, and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the six-month period and held for the entire period from February 1, 2016 to July 31, 2016.

Actual expenses

The “Actual” line of the table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the “Actual” line under the heading entitled “Expenses paid during period” for your applicable class of shares to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical example for comparison purposes

The “Hypothetical” line of the table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads) and contingent deferred sales charges. Therefore, the “Hypothetical” line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

    

Beginning

account value

2-1-2016

    

Ending

account value

7-31-2016

    

Expenses

paid during

the period¹

    

Annualized net

expense ratio

 

Class A

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,085.37       $ 5.91         1.14

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,019.19       $ 5.73         1.14

Class C

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,081.45       $ 9.78         1.89

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,015.46       $ 9.47         1.89

Class R

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,083.57       $ 7.20         1.39

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,017.95       $ 6.97         1.39

Class R6

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,087.79       $ 3.53         0.68

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,021.48       $ 3.42         0.68

Administrator Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,085.84       $ 5.19         1.00

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,019.89       $ 5.02         1.00

Institutional Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,087.86       $ 3.64         0.70

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,021.38       $ 3.52         0.70

 

 

1  Expenses paid is equal to the annualized net expense ratio of each class multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the most recent fiscal half-year divided by the number of days in the fiscal year (to reflect the one-half-year period).


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund     11   

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  

Common Stocks: 99.77%

          

Consumer Discretionary: 16.01%

          
Auto Components: 1.99%           

Lear Corporation

          158,785       $ 18,014,158   
          

 

 

 
Automobiles: 3.09%           

Ford Motor Company

          810,899         10,265,981   

General Motors Company

          561,153         17,698,766   
             27,964,747   
          

 

 

 
Media: 2.27%           

Comcast Corporation Class A

          305,074         20,516,227   
          

 

 

 
Multiline Retail: 1.86%           

Target Corporation

          222,835         16,786,161   
          

 

 

 
Specialty Retail: 6.80%           

Foot Locker Incorporated

          284,379         16,954,676   

Lowe’s Companies Incorporated

          279,513         22,998,330   

The Home Depot Incorporated

          156,000         21,565,440   
             61,518,446   
          

 

 

 

Consumer Staples: 8.22%

          
Food & Staples Retailing: 5.71%           

CVS Health Corporation

          207,361         19,226,512   

Sysco Corporation

          350,726         18,164,100   

The Kroger Company

          417,088         14,260,239   
             51,650,851   
          

 

 

 
Food Products: 2.51%           

Pinnacle Foods Incorporated

          451,410         22,665,296   
          

 

 

 

Energy: 4.95%

          
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels: 4.95%           

Chevron Corporation

          169,594         17,379,993   

Exxon Mobil Corporation

          148,888         13,243,588   

Valero Energy Corporation

          271,520         14,195,066   
             44,818,647   
          

 

 

 

Financials: 12.91%

          
Banks: 5.65%           

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated

          1,554,362         14,766,439   

JPMorgan Chase & Company

          280,398         17,937,060   

SunTrust Banks Incorporated

          434,151         18,360,246   
             51,063,745   
          

 

 

 
Capital Markets: 1.72%           

Goldman Sachs Group Incorporated

          97,714         15,517,960   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

12   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund   Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  
Insurance: 5.54%           

AFLAC Incorporated

          247,913       $ 17,919,152   

Lincoln National Corporation

          389,059         16,990,207   

Prudential Financial Incorporated

          202,436         15,241,406   
             50,150,765   
          

 

 

 

Health Care: 17.93%

          
Biotechnology: 3.87%           

Amgen Incorporated

          111,473         19,176,700   

Gilead Sciences Incorporated

          199,001         15,814,609   
             34,991,309   
          

 

 

 
Health Care Providers & Services: 12.21%           

Aetna Incorporated

          177,190         20,414,060   

AmSurg Corporation †

          219,413         16,458,169   

Centene Corporation †

          290,945         20,526,170   

HCA Holdings Incorporated †

          211,917         16,345,158   

McKesson Corporation

          95,352         18,551,685   

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated

          126,803         18,158,190   
             110,453,432   
          

 

 

 
Pharmaceuticals: 1.85%           

Merck & Company Incorporated

          285,346         16,738,396   
          

 

 

 

Industrials: 9.15%

          
Aerospace & Defense: 5.95%           

Northrop Grumman Corporation

          89,455         19,378,637   

Orbital ATK Incorporated

          210,563         18,344,249   

Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Incorporated Class A †

          371,499         16,115,627   
             53,838,513   
          

 

 

 
Airlines: 3.20%           

Delta Air Lines Incorporated

          385,083         14,921,966   

Southwest Airlines Company

          378,408         14,004,880   
             28,926,846   
          

 

 

 

Information Technology: 22.01%

          
Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components: 3.71%           

CDW Corporation of Delaware

          428,118         18,379,106   

Jabil Circuit Incorporated

          746,515         15,191,580   
             33,570,686   
          

 

 

 
Internet Software & Services: 1.93%           

Alphabet Incorporated Class C †

          22,656         17,417,706   
          

 

 

 
IT Services: 2.32%           

DST Systems Incorporated

          170,096         20,977,940   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund     13   

      

 

 

Security name                Shares      Value  
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment: 7.43%          

Intel Corporation

         486,807       $ 16,970,092   

Linear Technology Corporation

         384,370         23,058,356   

NVIDIA Corporation

         475,620         27,157,900   
            67,186,348   
         

 

 

 
Software: 4.46%          

Electronic Arts Incorporated †

         237,479         18,124,397   

Microsoft Corporation

         392,603         22,252,738   
            40,377,135   
         

 

 

 
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals: 2.16%          

Apple Incorporated

         187,855         19,576,370   
         

 

 

 

Materials: 6.49%

         
Chemicals: 4.31%          

Air Products & Chemicals Incorporated

         134,433         20,086,979   

The Dow Chemical Company

         352,641         18,926,242   
            39,013,221   
         

 

 

 
Containers & Packaging: 2.18%          

Avery Dennison Corporation

         253,097         19,713,725   
         

 

 

 

Telecommunication Services: 2.10%

         
Diversified Telecommunication Services: 2.10%          

AT&T Incorporated

         438,473         18,981,496   
         

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks (Cost $788,715,495)

            902,430,126   
         

 

 

 
    Yield                      
Short-Term Investments: 0.46%          
Investment Companies: 0.46%          

Wells Fargo Government Money Market Fund Select Class (l)(u)

    0.32        4,155,161         4,155,161   
         

 

 

 

Total Short-Term Investments (Cost $4,155,161)

            4,155,161        
         

 

 

 

 

Total investments in securities (Cost $792,870,656) *     100.23        906,585,287   

Other assets and liabilities, net

    (0.23        (2,069,166
 

 

 

      

 

 

 
Total net assets     100.00      $ 904,516,121   
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-income-earning security

 

(l) The issuer of the security is an affiliated person of the Fund as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

(u) The rate represents the 7-day annualized yield at period end.

 

* Cost for federal income tax purposes is $795,590,386 and unrealized gains (losses) consists of:

 

Gross unrealized gains

   $ 133,813,730   

Gross unrealized losses

     (22,818,829
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized gains

   $ 110,994,901   

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

14   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund   Statement of assets and liabilities—July 31, 2016
         

Assets

 

Investments

 

In unaffiliated securities, at value (cost $788,715,495)

  $ 902,430,126   

In affiliated securities, at value (cost $4,155,161)

    4,155,161   
 

 

 

 

Total investments, at value (cost $792,870,656)

    906,585,287   

Receivable for investments sold

    217,826   

Receivable for Fund shares sold

    868,498   

Receivable for dividends

    888,871   

Prepaid expenses and other assets

    64,976   
 

 

 

 

Total assets

    908,625,458   
 

 

 

 

Liabilities

 

Payable for Fund shares redeemed

    3,336,916   

Management fee payable

    429,233   

Distribution fees payable

    46,286   

Administration fees payable

    129,240   

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

    167,662   
 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

    4,109,337   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 904,516,121   
 

 

 

 

NET ASSETS CONSIST OF

 

Paid-in capital

  $ 837,093,485   

Undistributed net investment income

    5,083,557   

Accumulated net realized losses on investments

    (51,375,552

Net unrealized gains on investments

    113,714,631   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 904,516,121   
 

 

 

 

COMPUTATION OF NET ASSET VALUE AND OFFERING PRICE PER SHARE

 

Net assets – Class A

  $ 359,971,350   

Shares outstanding – Class A1

    23,788,449   

Net asset value per share – Class A

    $15.13   

Maximum offering price per share – Class A2

    $16.05   

Net assets – Class C

  $ 71,512,352   

Shares outstanding – Class C1

    4,809,334   

Net asset value per share – Class C

    $14.87   

Net assets – Class R

  $ 26,231   

Shares outstanding – Class R1

    1,729   

Net asset value per share – Class R

    $15.17   

Net assets – Class R6

  $ 2,449,104   

Shares outstanding – Class R61

    160,732   

Net asset value per share – Class R6

    $15.24   

Net assets – Administrator Class

  $ 57,879,406   

Shares outstanding – Administrator Class1

    3,813,535   

Net asset value per share – Administrator Class

    $15.18   

Net assets – Institutional Class

  $ 412,677,678   

Shares outstanding – Institutional Class1

    27,094,649   

Net asset value per share – Institutional Class

    $15.23   

 

 

1  The Fund has an unlimited number of authorized shares.

 

2  Maximum offering price is computed as 100/94.25 of net asset value. On investments of $50,000 or more, the offering price is reduced.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Statement of operations—year ended July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund     15   
         

Investment income

 

Dividends (net of foreign withholding taxes of $17,592)

  $ 14,884,248   

Income from affiliated securities

    31,686   

Securities lending income, net

    5,707   
 

 

 

 

Total investment income

    14,921,641   
 

 

 

 

Expenses

 

Management fee

    5,401,830   

Administration fees

  

Class A

    679,455   

Class C

    144,245   

Class R

    45 1 

Class R6

    348 1 

Administrator Class

    115,133   

Institutional Class

    308,634   

Investor Class

    199,867 2 

Shareholder servicing fees

  

Class A

    806,522   

Class C

    171,720   

Class R

    53 1 

Administrator Class

    220,465   

Investor Class

    150,680 2 

Distribution fees

  

Class C

    515,159   

Class R

    53 1 

Custody and accounting fees

    57,332   

Professional fees

    46,374   

Registration fees

    161,709   

Shareholder report expenses

    102,373   

Trustees’ fees and expenses

    24,325   

Interest expense

    3,257   

Other fees and expenses

    11,609   
 

 

 

 

Total expenses

    9,121,188   

Less: Fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements

    (873,931
 

 

 

 

Net expenses

    8,247,257   
 

 

 

 

Net investment income

    6,674,384   
 

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAINS (LOSSES) ON INVESTMENTS

 

Net realized losses on investments

    (46,422,704

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    27,105,014   
 

 

 

 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (19,317,690
 

 

 

 

Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations

  $ (12,643,306
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from September 30, 2015 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2016

 

2  For the period from August 1, 2015 to October 23, 2015. Effective at the close of business on October 23, 2015, Investor Class shares were converted to Class A shares and are no longer offered by the Fund.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

16   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund   Statement of changes in net assets
     Year ended
July 31, 2016
    Year ended
July 31, 2015
 

Operations

       

Net investment income

    $ 6,674,384        $ 1,288,942   

Net realized gains (losses) on investments

      (46,422,704       23,591,082   

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

      27,105,014          11,901,160   
 

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

      (12,643,306       36,781,184   
 

 

 

 

Distributions to shareholders from

       

Net investment income

       

Class A

      (1,280,167       (183,035

Class R

      (136 )1        N/A   

Class R6

      (184 )1        N/A   

Administrator Class

      (617,773       (122,314

Institutional Class

      (732,443       (94,797

Investor Class

      0 2        (308,152

Net realized gains

       

Class A

      (3,571,260       0   

Class C

      (613,350       0   

Class R

      (222 )1        N/A   

Class R6

      (222 )1        N/A   

Administrator Class

      (908,858       0   

Institutional Class

      (831,664       0   
 

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

      (8,556,279       (708,298
 

 

 

 

Capital share transactions

    Shares          Shares     

Proceeds from shares sold

       

Class A

    25,918,673        399,364,361        5,820,072        89,378,472   

Class C

    2,898,348        42,984,877        3,114,897        47,430,665   

Class R

    1,706 1      25,000 1      N/A        N/A   

Class R6

    171,642 1      2,413,783 1      N/A        N/A   

Administrator Class

    4,428,450        66,283,791        5,744,427        89,108,080   

Institutional Class

    25,684,762        381,059,292        3,978,349        62,377,535   

Investor Class

    508,724 2      7,701,975 2      3,949,960        61,216,814   
 

 

 

 
      899,833,079          349,511,566   
 

 

 

 

Reinvestment of distributions

       

Class A

    311,622        4,725,942        11,869        173,408   

Class C

    32,452        481,595        0        0   

Class R

    23 1      358 1      N/A        N/A   

Class R6

    27 1      406 1      N/A        N/A   

Administrator Class

    99,938        1,525,664        8,331        122,042   

Institutional Class

    63,053        966,052        5,103        74,803   

Investor Class

    0 2      0 2      20,620        302,078   
 

 

 

 
      7,700,017          672,331   
 

 

 

 

Payment for shares redeemed

       

Class A

    (8,578,334     (125,072,291     (1,561,861     (24,219,042

Class C

    (1,521,640     (21,894,194     (323,242     (4,921,172

Class R6

    (10,937 )1      (158,688 )1      N/A        N/A   

Administrator Class

    (5,987,164     (87,751,181     (958,200     (14,722,079

Institutional Class

    (9,789,487     (144,146,531     (411,020     (6,506,688

Investor Class

    (18,604,700 )2      (290,535,816 )2      (1,941,756     (29,909,371
 

 

 

 
      (669,558,701       (80,278,352
 

 

 

 

Net asset value of shares issued in acquisition

       

Institutional Class

    7,161,519        103,887,609        0        0   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets resulting from capital share transactions

      341,862,004          269,905,545   
 

 

 

 

Total increase in net assets

      320,662,419          305,978,431   
 

 

 

 

Net assets

       

Beginning of period

      583,853,702          277,875,271   
 

 

 

 

End of period

    $ 904,516,121        $ 583,853,702   
 

 

 

 

Undistributed net investment income

    $ 5,083,557        $ 1,025,908   
 

 

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from September 30, 2015 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2016

 

2  For the period from August 1, 2015 to October 23, 2015. Effective at the close of business on October 23, 2015, Investor Class shares were converted to Class A shares and are no longer offered by the Fund.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund     17   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS A   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $15.81        $14.30        $12.13        $9.50        $8.75   

Net investment income

    0.10        0.06        0.06 1      0.07        0.06   

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.60     1.50        2.20        2.64        0.74   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.50     1.56        2.26        2.71        0.80   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    (0.05     (0.05     (0.09     (0.08     (0.05

Net realized gains

    (0.13     0.00        0.00        0.00        0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (0.18     (0.05     (0.09     (0.08     (0.05

Net asset value, end of period

    $15.13        $15.81        $14.30        $12.13        $9.50   

Total return2

    (3.18 )%      10.99     18.58     28.76     9.27

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.20     1.26     1.29     1.33     1.37

Net expenses

    1.14     1.14     1.14     1.14     1.14

Net investment income

    0.80     0.35     0.47     0.75     0.71

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    51     44     61     67     41

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $359,971        $97,041        $26,685        $15,267        $8,277   

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


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18   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS C   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $15.61        $14.17        $12.05        $9.45        $8.71   

Net investment income (loss)

    0.00 1      (0.06 )1      (0.01     (0.00 )2      (0.00 )2 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.61     1.50        2.15        2.62        0.74   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.61     1.44        2.14        2.62        0.74   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    0.00        0.00        (0.02     (0.02     0.00   

Net realized gains

    (0.13     0.00        0.00        0.00        0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (0.13     0.00        (0.02     (0.02     0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $14.87        $15.61        $14.17        $12.05        $9.45   

Total return3

    (3.90 )%      10.16     17.73     27.82     8.50

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.95     2.01     2.04     2.08     2.12

Net expenses

    1.89     1.89     1.89     1.89     1.89

Net investment income (loss)

    0.02     (0.38 )%      (0.30 )%      (0.01 )%      (0.04 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    51     44     61     67     41

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $71,512        $53,076        $8,624        $3,786        $2,041   

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Amount is less than $0.005.

 

3  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund     19   

(For a share outstanding throughout the period)

 

CLASS R  

Year ended

July 31 20161

 

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $14.66   

Net investment income

    0.06   

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    0.66   
 

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    0.72   

Distributions to shareholders from

 

Net investment income

    (0.08

Net realized gains

    (0.13
 

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (0.21

Net asset value, end of period

    $15.17   

Total return2

    4.90

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

 

Gross expenses

    1.46

Net expenses

    1.39

Net investment income

    0.52

Supplemental data

 

Portfolio turnover rate

    51

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $26   

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from September 30, 2015 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2016

 

2  Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

20   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout the period)

 

CLASS R6  

Year ended

July 31 20161

 

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $14.66   

Net investment income

    0.20   

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    0.62   
 

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    0.82   

Distributions to shareholders from

 

Net investment income

    (0.11

Net realized gains

    (0.13
 

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (0.24

Net asset value, end of period

    $15.24   

Total return2

    5.57

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

 

Gross expenses

    0.77

Net expenses

    0.68

Net investment income

    1.31

Supplemental data

 

Portfolio turnover rate

    51

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $2,449   

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from September 30, 2015 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2016

 

2  Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund     21   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
ADMINISTRATOR CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $15.87        $14.34        $12.16        $9.52        $8.77   

Net investment income

    0.15        0.10        0.09        0.10        0.09   

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.62     1.50        2.20        2.64        0.74   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.47     1.60        2.29        2.74        0.83   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    (0.09     (0.07     (0.11     (0.10     (0.08

Net realized gains

    (0.13     0.00        0.00        0.00        0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (0.22     (0.07     (0.11     (0.10     (0.08

Net asset value, end of period

    $15.18        $15.87        $14.34        $12.16        $9.52   

Total return

    (2.98 )%      11.28     18.83     29.12     9.61

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.12     1.11     1.11     1.14     1.16

Net expenses

    0.96     0.90     0.90     0.89     0.87

Net investment income

    0.95     0.61     0.63     1.00     0.97

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    51     44     61     67     41

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $57,879        $83,692        $6,849        $1,192        $522   

 

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


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22   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
INSTITUTIONAL CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $15.91        $14.35        $12.16        $9.52        $8.77   

Net investment income

    0.18 1      0.14 1      0.11 1      0.13 1      0.12   

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.62     1.50        2.21        2.63        0.73   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.44     1.64        2.32        2.76        0.85   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    (0.11     (0.08     (0.13     (0.12     (0.10

Net realized gains

    (0.13     0.00        0.00        0.00        0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (0.24     (0.08     (0.13     (0.12     (0.10

Net asset value, end of period

    $15.23        $15.91        $14.35        $12.16        $9.52   

Total return

    (2.75 )%      11.51     19.21     29.38     9.88

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    0.87     0.84     0.85     0.90     0.94

Net expenses

    0.70     0.66     0.66     0.66     0.66

Net investment income

    1.22     0.86     0.83     1.24     1.19

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    51     44     61     67     41

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $412,678        $63,235        $5,775        $537        $480   

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund     23   

1. ORGANIZATION

Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”), a Delaware statutory trust organized on March 10, 1999, is an open-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). As an investment company, the Trust follows the accounting and reporting guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946, Financial Services – Investment Companies. These financial statements report on the Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund (the “Fund”) which is a diversified series of the Trust.

Effective at the close of business on October 23, 2015, Investor Class shares became Class A shares in a tax-free conversion. Shareholders of Investor Class received Class A shares at a value equal to the value of their Investor Class shares immediately prior to the conversion. Investor Class shares are no longer offered by the Fund.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The following significant accounting policies, which are consistently followed in the preparation of the financial statements of the Fund, are in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles which require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Securities valuation

All investments are valued each business day as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (generally 4 p.m. Eastern Time), although the Fund may deviate from this calculation time under unusual or unexpected circumstances.

Equity securities that are listed on a foreign or domestic exchange or market are valued at the official closing price or, if none, the last sales price. If no sale occurs on the principal exchange or market that day, the prior day’s price will be deemed “stale” and a fair value price will be determined in accordance with the Fund’s Valuation Procedures.

Investments in registered open-end investment companies are valued at net asset value. Interests in non-registered investment vehicles that are redeemable at net asset value are fair valued normally at net asset value.

Investments which are not valued using any of the methods discussed above are valued at their fair value, as determined in good faith by the Board of Trustees of the Fund. The Board of Trustees has established a Valuation Committee comprised of the Trustees and has delegated to it the authority to take any actions regarding the valuation of portfolio securities that the Valuation Committee deems necessary or appropriate, including determining the fair value of portfolio securities, unless the determination has been delegated to the Management Valuation Team of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”). The Board of Trustees retains the authority to make or ratify any valuation decisions or approve any changes to the Valuation Procedures as it deems appropriate. On a quarterly basis, the Board of Trustees receives reports on any valuation actions taken by the Valuation Committee or the Management Valuation Team which may include items for ratification.

Valuations of fair valued securities are compared to the next actual sales price when available, or other appropriate market values, to assess the continued appropriateness of the fair valuation methodologies used. These securities are fair valued on a day-to-day basis, taking into consideration changes to appropriate market information and any significant changes to the inputs considered in the valuation process until there is a readily available price provided on an exchange or by an independent pricing service. Valuations received from an independent pricing service or independent broker-dealer quotes are periodically validated by comparisons to most recent trades and valuations provided by other independent pricing services in addition to the review of prices by the manager and/or subadviser. Unobservable inputs used in determining fair valuations are identified based on the type of security, taking into consideration factors utilized by market participants in valuing the investment, knowledge about the issuer and the current market environment.

Security loans

The Fund may lend its securities from time to time in order to earn additional income in the form of fees or interest on securities received as collateral or the investment of any cash received as collateral. The Fund continues to receive interest or dividends on the securities loaned. The Fund receives collateral in the form of cash or securities with a value at least equal to the value of the securities on loan. The value of the loaned securities is determined at the close of each business day and any additional required collateral is delivered to the Fund on the next business day. In a securities lending transaction, the net asset value of the Fund will be affected by an increase or decrease in the value of the securities loaned and by an increase or decrease in the value of the instrument in which collateral is invested. The amount of securities lending activity undertaken by the Fund fluctuates from time to time. In the event of default or bankruptcy by the


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24   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund   Notes to financial statements

borrower, the Fund may be prevented from recovering the loaned securities or gaining access to the collateral or may experience delays or costs in doing so. In addition, the investment of any cash collateral received may lose all or part of its value. The Fund has the right under the lending agreement to recover the securities from the borrower on demand.

The Fund lends its securities through an unaffiliated securities lending agent. Cash collateral received in connection with its securities lending transactions is invested in Securities Lending Cash Investments, LLC (the “Securities Lending Fund”). The Securities Lending Fund is exempt from registration under Section 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act and is managed by Funds Management and is subadvised by Wells Capital Management Incorporated (“WellsCap”), an affiliate of Funds Management and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company (“Wells Fargo”). Funds Management receives an advisory fee starting at 0.05% and declining to 0.01% as the average daily net assets of the Securities Lending Fund increase. All of the fees received by Funds Management are paid to WellsCap for its services as subadviser. The Securities Lending Fund seeks to provide a positive return compared to the daily Fed Funds Open rate by investing in high-quality, U.S. dollar-denominated short-term money market instruments. Securities Lending Fund investments are fair valued based upon the amortized cost valuation technique. Income earned from investment in the Securities Lending Fund is included in securities lending income on the Statement of Operations.

Security transactions and income recognition

Securities transactions are recorded on a trade date basis. Realized gains or losses are recorded on the basis of identified cost.

Dividend income is recognized on the ex-dividend date. Dividend income is recorded net of foreign taxes withheld where recovery of such taxes is not assured.

Distributions to shareholders

Distributions to shareholders from net investment income and net realized gains, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Such distributions are determined in conformity with federal income tax regulations, which may differ in amount or character from net investment income and realized gains recognized for purposes of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Federal and other taxes

The Fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company by distributing substantially all of its investment company taxable income and any net realized capital gains (after reduction for capital loss carryforwards) sufficient to relieve it from all, or substantially all, federal income taxes. Accordingly, no provision for federal income taxes was required.

The Fund’s income and federal excise tax returns and all financial records supporting those returns for the prior three fiscal years are subject to examination by the federal and Delaware revenue authorities. Management has analyzed the Fund’s tax positions taken on federal, state, and foreign tax returns for all open tax years and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability.

Reclassifications are made to the Fund’s capital accounts for permanent tax differences to reflect income and gains available for distribution (or available capital loss carryforwards) under federal income tax regulations. U.S. generally accepted accounting principles require that certain components of net assets be adjusted to reflect permanent differences between financial and tax reporting. These reclassifications have no effect on net assets or net asset values per share. At July 31, 2016, as a result of permanent book-to-tax differences, the following reclassification adjustments were made on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities:

 

Undistributed net
investment income
   Accumulated net
realized losses
on investments
$70    $(70)

Capital loss carryforwards that do not expire are required to be utilized prior to capital loss carryforwards that expire. As of July 31, 2016, capital loss carryforwards available to offset future net realized capital gains were as follows through the indicated expiration dates:

 

     No expiration
2017    Short-term    Long-term
$(309,497)    $(27,516,712)    $(20,816,155)


Table of Contents

 

Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund     25   

Class allocations

The separate classes of shares offered by the Fund differ principally in applicable sales charges, distribution, shareholder servicing, and administration fees. Class specific expenses are charged directly to that share class. Investment income, common expenses, and realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments are allocated daily to each class of shares based on the relative proportion of net assets of each class.

3. FAIR VALUATION MEASUREMENTS

Fair value measurements of investments are determined within a framework that has established a fair value hierarchy based upon the various data inputs utilized in determining the value of the Fund’s investments. The three-level hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to significant unobservable inputs (Level 3). The Fund’s investments are classified within the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The inputs are summarized into three broad levels as follows:

 

n   Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical securities

 

n   Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, use of amortized cost, etc.)

 

n   Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The inputs or methodologies used for valuing investments in securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

The following is a summary of the inputs used in valuing the Fund’s assets and liabilities as of July 31, 2016:

 

    

Quoted prices

(Level 1)

    

Other significant

observable inputs

(Level 2)

    

Significant

unobservable inputs

(Level 3)

     Total  

Assets

           

Investments in:

           

Common stocks

           

Consumer discretionary

   $ 144,799,739       $ 0       $ 0       $ 144,799,739   

Consumer staples

     74,316,147         0         0         74,316,147   

Energy

     44,818,647         0         0         44,818,647   

Financials

     116,732,470         0         0         116,732,470   

Health care

     162,183,137         0         0         162,183,137   

Industrials

     82,765,359         0         0         82,765,359   

Information technology

     199,106,185         0         0         199,106,185   

Materials

     58,726,946         0         0         58,726,946   

Telecommunication Services

     18,981,496         0         0         18,981,496   

Short-term investments

           

Investment companies

     4,155,161         0         0         4,155,161   

Total assets

   $ 906,585,287       $ 0       $ 0       $ 906,585,287   

The Fund recognizes transfers between levels within the fair value hierarchy at the end of the reporting period. At July 31, 2016, the Fund did not have any transfers into/out of Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3.

4. TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES

Management fee

Funds Management, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo, is the manager of the Fund and provides advisory and fund-level administrative services under an investment management agreement. Under the investment management agreement, Funds Management is responsible for, among other services, implementing the investment objectives and strategies of the Fund, supervising the subadviser, providing fund-level administrative services in connection with the Fund’s operations, and providing any other fund-level administrative services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. As compensation for its services under the investment management agreement, Funds


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26   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund   Notes to financial statements

Management is entitled to receive an annual management fee starting at 0.70% and declining to 0.505% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase. For the year ended July 31, 2016, the management fee was equivalent to an annual rate of 0.69% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.

Funds Management has retained the services of a subadviser to provide daily portfolio management to the Fund. The fee for subadvisory services is borne by Funds Management. Golden Capital Management, LLC, an affiliate of Funds Management, is the subadviser to the Fund and is entitled to receive a fee from Funds Management at an annual rate starting at 0.35% and declining to 0.30% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase.

Administration fees

Under a class-level administration agreement, Funds Management provides class-level administrative services to the Fund, which includes paying fees and expenses for services provided by the transfer agent, sub-transfer agents, omnibus account servicers and record-keepers. As compensation for its services under the class-level administration agreement, Funds Management receives an annual fee which is calculated based on the average daily net assets of each class as follows:

 

    

Class-level

administration fee

 

Class A, Class C, Class R

     0.21

Class R6

     0.03   

Administrator Class, Institutional Class

     0.13   

Investor Class

     0.32   

Funds Management has contractually waived and/or reimbursed management and administration fees to the extent necessary to maintain certain net operating expense ratios for the Fund. Waiver of fees and/or reimbursement of expenses by Funds Management were made first from fund level expenses on a proportionate basis and then from class specific expenses. Funds Management has committed through November 30, 2016 to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s expenses at 1.14% for Class A shares, 1.89% for Class C shares, 1.39% for Class R shares, 0.68% for Class R6 shares, 1.00% for Administrator Class shares, and 0.70% for Institutional Class shares. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Prior to December 1, 2015, the Fund’s expenses were capped at 0.90% for Administrator Class shares and 0.66% for Institutional Class shares.

Distribution fees

The Trust has adopted a distribution plan for Class C and Class R shares of the Fund pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Distribution fees are charged to Class C and Class R shares and paid to Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC (“Funds Distributor”), the principal underwriter, at an annual rate of 0.75% of the average daily net assets of Class C shares and 0.25% of the average daily net assets of Class R shares.

In addition, Funds Distributor is entitled to receive the front-end sales charge from the purchase of Class A shares and a contingent deferred sales charge on the redemption of certain Class A shares. Funds Distributor is also entitled to receive the contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of Class C shares. For the year ended July 31, 2016, Funds Distributor received $67,985 from the sale of Class A shares and $466 and $855 in contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of Class A and Class C shares, respectively

Shareholder servicing fees

The Trust has entered into contracts with one or more shareholder servicing agents, whereby Class A, Class C, Class R, Administrator Class, and Investor Class of the Fund are charged a fee at an annual rate of 0.25% of the average daily net assets of each respective class.

A portion of these total shareholder servicing fees were paid to affiliates of Wells Fargo.

5. INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

Purchases and sales of investments, excluding U.S. government obligations (if any) and short-term securities, for the year ended July 31, 2016 were $645,116,810 and $396,987,710, respectively.

The Fund may purchase or sell investment securities to other Wells Fargo funds under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. The procedures have been designed to ensure that these interfund transactions, which generally do not incur broker commissions, are effected at current market prices. Interfund trades are included within the respective purchases and sales amounts shown.

6. ACQUISITION

After the close of business on May 20, 2016, the Fund acquired the net assets of Golden Large Cap Core Fund. The purpose of the transaction was to combine two funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Shareholders holding


Table of Contents

 

Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund     27   

Institutional Class shares of Golden Large Cap Core Fund received Institutional Class shares of the Fund in the reorganization. The acquisition was accomplished by a tax-free exchange of all of the Institutional Class shares of Golden Large Cap Core Fund for 7,161,519 Institutional Class shares of the Fund valued at $103,887,609 at an exchange ratio of 0.90. The investment portfolio of Golden Large Cap Core Fund with a fair value of $101,587,245, identified cost of $91,037,630 and unrealized gains of $10,549,615 at May 20, 2016 were the principal assets acquired by the Fund. The aggregate net assets of Golden Large Cap Core Fund and the Fund immediately prior to the acquisition were $103,887,609 and $865,210,261, respectively. The aggregate net assets of the Fund immediately after the acquisition were $969,097,870. For financial reporting purposes, assets received and shares issued by the Fund were recorded at fair value; however, the cost basis of the investments received from Golden Large Cap Core Fund was carried forward to align ongoing reporting of the Fund’s realized and unrealized gains and losses with amounts distributable to shareholders for tax purposes.

Assuming the acquisition had been completed August 1, 2015, the beginning of the annual reporting period for the Fund, the pro forma results of operations for the year ended July 31, 2016 would have been:

 

Net investment income

   $ 7,679,055   

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

   $ (9,371,087

Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations

   $ (1,692,032

Because the combined investment portfolios have been managed as a single integrated portfolio since the acquisition was completed, it is not practicable to separate the amounts of revenue and earnings of Golden Large Cap Core Fund that have been included in the Fund’s Statement of Operations since May 21, 2016.

7. BANK BORROWINGS

The Trust (excluding the money market funds and certain other funds) and Wells Fargo Variable Trust are parties to a $200,000,000 revolving credit agreement whereby the Fund is permitted to use bank borrowings for temporary or emergency purposes, such as to fund shareholder redemption requests. Interest under the credit agreement is charged to the Fund based on a borrowing rate equal to the higher of the Federal Funds rate in effect on that day plus 1.25% or the overnight LIBOR rate in effect on that day plus 1.25%. In addition, an annual commitment fee equal to 0.20% of the unused balance is allocated to each participating fund. Prior to September 1, 2015, the revolving credit agreement amount was $150,000,000 and the annual commitment fee was equal to 0.10% of the unused balance which was allocated to each participating fund.

During the year ended July 31, 2016, the Fund had average borrowings outstanding of $196,205 at an average rate of 1.66% and paid interest in the amount of $3,257.

8. DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

The tax character of distributions paid during the years ended July 31, 2016 and July 31, 2015 were as follows:

 

     Year ended July 31  
     2016      2015  

Ordinary income

   $ 2,630,814       $ 708,298   

Long-term capital gain

     5,925,465         0   

As of July 31, 2016, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed

ordinary

income

  

Unrealized

gains

  

Capital loss

carryforward

$5,070,130    $110,994,901    $(48,642,364)

9. INDEMNIFICATION

Under the Trust’s organizational documents, the officers and Trustees have been granted certain indemnification rights against certain liabilities that may arise out of performance of their duties to the Trust. Additionally, in the normal course of business, the Trust may enter into contracts with service providers that contain a variety of indemnification clauses. The Trust’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is dependent on future claims that may be made against the Fund and, therefore, cannot be estimated.


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28   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund   Report of independent registered public accounting firm

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND SHAREHOLDERS OF WELLS FARGO FUNDS TRUST:

We have audited the accompanying statements of assets and liabilities, including the portfolio of investments, of the Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund (formerly known as Wells Fargo Advantage Large Cap Core Fund) (the “Fund”), one of the funds constituting the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, as of July 31, 2016, and the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years or periods in the five-year period then ended. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of July 31, 2016, by correspondence with the custodian, or by other appropriate auditing procedures. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund as of July 31, 2016, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years or periods in the five-year period then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

 

LOGO

Boston, Massachusetts

September 23, 2016


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund     29   

TAX INFORMATION

For corporate shareholders, pursuant to Section 854 of the Internal Revenue Code, 100% of ordinary income dividends qualify for the corporate dividends-received deduction for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016.

Pursuant to Section 852 of the Internal Revenue Code, $5,925,465 was designated as a 20% rate gain distribution for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016.

Pursuant to Section 854 of the Internal Revenue Code, $2,630,814 of income dividends paid during the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016 has been designated as qualified dividend income (QDI).

PROXY VOTING INFORMATION

A description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities is available, upon request, by calling 1-800-222-8222, visiting our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available on the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com or by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov.

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION

The complete portfolio holdings for the Fund are publicly available monthly on the Fund’s website (wellsfargofunds.com), on a one-month delayed basis. In addition, top ten holdings information (excluding derivative positions) for the Fund is publicly available on the Fund’s website on a monthly, seven-day or more delayed basis. The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q, which is available by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. In addition, the Fund’s Form N-Q may be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC, and at regional offices in New York City, at 233 Broadway, and in Chicago, at 175 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 900. Information about the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.


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30   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund   Other information (unaudited)

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS

Each of the Trustees and Officers1 listed in the table below acts in identical capacities for each fund in the Wells Fargo family of funds, which consists of 139 mutual funds comprising the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, Wells Fargo Variable Trust, Wells Fargo Master Trust and four closed-end funds (collectively the “Fund Complex”). This table should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information2. The mailing address of each Trustee and Officer is 525 Market Street, 12th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105. Each Trustee and Officer serves an indefinite term, however, each Trustee serves such term until reaching the mandatory retirement age established by the Trustees.

Independent Trustees

 

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service*

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer  

Current other public

company or

investment company

directorships

William R. Ebsworth
(Born 1957)
  Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 1984 to 2013, equities analyst, portfolio manager, research director and chief financial officer at Fidelity Management and Research Company in Boston, Tokyo, and Hong Kong and retired in 2013 as Chief Investment Officer of Fidelity Strategic Advisers, Inc. where he lead a team of investment professionals managing client assets. Prior thereto, Board member of Hong Kong Securities Clearing Co., Hong Kong Options Clearing Corp., the Thailand International Fund, Ltd., Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company, and Empire Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company. Mr. Ebsworth is a CFA® charterholder and an Adjunct Lecturer, Finance, at Babson College.   Asset Allocation Trust
Jane A. Freeman
(Born 1953)
  Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 2012 to 2014 and 1999 to 2008, Chief Financial Officer of Scientific Learning Corporation. From 2008 to 2012, Ms. Freeman provided consulting services related to strategic business projects. Prior to 1999, Portfolio Manager at Rockefeller & Co. and Scudder, Stevens & Clark. Board member of the Harding Loevner Funds from 1996 to 2014, serving as both Lead Independent Director and chair of the Audit Committee. Board member of the Russell Exchange Traded Funds Trust from 2011 to 2012 and the chair of the Audit Committee. Ms. Freeman is Chair of Taproot Foundation (non-profit organization), a Board Member of Ruth Bancroft Garden (non-profit organization) and an inactive chartered financial analyst.   Asset Allocation Trust
Peter G. Gordon
(Born 1942)
  Trustee, since 1998; Chairman, since 2005   Co-Founder, Retired Chairman, President and CEO of Crystal Geyser Water Company. Trustee Emeritus, Colby College.   Asset Allocation Trust
Isaiah Harris, Jr.
(Born 1952)
  Trustee, since 2009   Retired. Chairman of the Board of CIGNA Corporation since 2009, and Director since 2005. From 2003 to 2011, Director of Deluxe Corporation. Prior thereto, President and CEO of BellSouth Advertising and Publishing Corp. from 2005 to 2007, President and CEO of BellSouth Enterprises from 2004 to 2005 and President of BellSouth Consumer Services from 2000 to 2003. Emeritus member of the Iowa State University Foundation Board of Governors. Emeritus Member of the Advisory Board of Iowa State University School of Business. Advisory Board Member, Palm Harbor Academy (charter school). Advisory Board Member, Child Evangelism Fellowship (non-profit). Mr. Harris is a certified public accountant (inactive status).   CIGNA Corporation; Asset Allocation Trust
Judith M. Johnson
(Born 1949)
  Trustee, since 2008; Audit Committee Chairman, since 2008   Retired. Prior thereto, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Minneapolis Employees Retirement Fund from 1996 to 2008. Ms. Johnson is an attorney, certified public accountant and a certified managerial accountant.   Asset Allocation Trust
David F. Larcker
(Born 1950)
  Trustee, since 2009   James Irvin Miller Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Director of the Corporate Governance Research Initiative and Senior Faculty of The Rock Center for Corporate Governance since 2006. From 2005 to 2008, Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Prior thereto, Ernst & Young Professor of Accounting at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania from 1985 to 2005.   Asset Allocation Trust


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund     31   

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service*

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer  

Current other public

company or

investment company

directorships

Olivia S. Mitchell
(Born 1953)
  Trustee, since 2006   International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Professor, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania since 1993. Director of Wharton’s Pension Research Council and Boettner Center on Pensions & Retirement Research, and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Previously, Cornell University Professor from 1978 to 1993.   Asset Allocation Trust
Timothy J. Penny
(Born 1951)
  Trustee, since 1996   President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, a non-profit organization, since 2007 and Senior Fellow at the Humphrey Institute Policy Forum at the University of Minnesota since 1995. Member of the Board of Trustees of NorthStar Education Finance, Inc., a non-profit organization, since 2007.   Asset Allocation Trust
Michael S. Scofield
(Born 1943)
  Trustee, since 2010   Served on the Investment Company Institute’s Board of Governors and Executive Committee from 2008-2011 as well the Governing Council of the Independent Directors Council from 2006-2011 and the Independent Directors Council Executive Committee from 2008-2011. Chairman of the IDC from 2008-2010. Institutional Investor (Fund Directions) Trustee of Year in 2007. Trustee of the Evergreen Funds complex (and its predecessors) from 1984 to 2010. Chairman of the Evergreen Funds from 2000-2010. Former Trustee of the Mentor Funds. Retired Attorney, Law Offices of Michael S. Scofield.   Asset Allocation Trust

 

* Length of service dates reflect the Trustee’s commencement of service with the Trust’s predecessor entities, where applicable.

Officers

 

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer    
Karla M. Rabusch
(Born 1959)
  President, since 2003   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2003.    
Jeremy DePalma1
(Born 1974)
  Treasurer, since 2012   Senior Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Senior Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010 and head of the Fund Reporting and Control Team within Fund Administration from 2005 to 2010.    
C. David Messman
(Born 1960)
  Secretary, since 2000; Chief Legal Officer, since 2003   Senior Vice President and Secretary of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2001. Assistant General Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. since 2013 and Vice President and Managing Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. from 1996 to 2013.    
Michael Whitaker
(Born 1967)
  Chief Compliance Officer, since 2016*   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2016. Chief Compliance Officer of Fidelity’s Fixed Income Funds and Asset Allocation Funds from 2008 to 2016, Compliance Officer of FMR Co., Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments from 2007 to 2016.    
David Berardi
(Born 1975)
  Assistant Treasurer, since 2009   Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010. Manager of Fund Reporting and Control for Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2004 to 2010.    

 

 

1 Jeremy DePalma acts as Treasurer of 68 funds and Assistant Treasurer of 71 funds in the Fund Complex.

 

2 The Statement of Additional Information includes additional information about the Trustees and is available, without charge, upon request, by calling
1-800-222-8222 or by visiting the website at wellsfargofunds.com.

 

* Michael Whitaker became Chief Compliance Officer effective May 16, 2016.


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32   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund   Other information (unaudited)

BOARD CONSIDERATION OF INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENTS:

Under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”) must determine annually whether to approve the continuation of the Trust’s investment management and sub-advisory agreements. In this regard, at an in-person meeting held on May 24-25, 2016 (the “Meeting”), the Board, all the members of which have no direct or indirect interest in the investment management and sub-advisory agreements and are not “interested persons” of the Trust, as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”), reviewed and approved for Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund (the “Fund”): (i) an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”); and (ii) an investment sub-advisory agreement (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”) with Golden Capital Management, LLC (the “Sub-Adviser”), an affiliate of Funds Management. The Management Agreement and the Sub-Advisory Agreement are collectively referred to as the “Advisory Agreements.”

At the Meeting, the Board considered the factors and reached the conclusions described below relating to the selection of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser and the approval of the Advisory Agreements. Prior to the Meeting, including at an in-person meeting in April 2016, the Trustees conferred extensively among themselves and with representatives of Funds Management about these matters. Also, the Board has adopted a team-based approach, with each team consisting of a sub-set of Trustees, to assist the full Board in the discharge of its duties in reviewing performance and other matters throughout the year. The Independent Trustees were assisted in their evaluation of the Advisory Agreements by independent legal counsel, from whom they received separate legal advice and with whom they met separately.

In providing information to the Board, Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser were guided by a detailed set of requests for information submitted to them by independent legal counsel on behalf of the Independent Trustees at the start of the Board’s annual contract renewal process earlier in 2016. In considering and approving the Advisory Agreements, the Trustees considered the information they believed relevant, including but not limited to the information discussed below. The Board considered not only the specific information presented in connection with the Meeting, but also the knowledge gained over time through interaction with Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser about various topics. In this regard, the Board reviewed reports of Funds Management at each of its quarterly meetings, which included, among other things, portfolio reviews and performance reports. In addition, the Board and the teams mentioned above confer with portfolio managers at various times throughout the year. The Board did not identify any particular information or consideration that was all-important or controlling, and each individual Trustee may have attributed different weights to various factors.

After its deliberations, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable. The Board considered the approval of the Advisory Agreements for the Fund as part of its consideration of agreements for funds across the complex, but its approvals were made on a fund-by-fund basis. The following summarizes a number of important, but not necessarily all, factors considered by the Board in support of its approvals.

Nature, extent and quality of services

The Board received and considered various information regarding the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under the Advisory Agreements. This information included a description of the investment advisory services and Fund-level administrative services covered by the Management Agreement, as well as, among other things, a summary of the background and experience of senior management of Funds Management, and the qualifications, background, tenure and responsibilities of each of the portfolio managers primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the Fund.

The Board evaluated the ability of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to attract and retain qualified investment professionals, including research, advisory and supervisory personnel. The Board further considered the compliance programs and compliance records of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser. In addition, the Board took into account the full range of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and its affiliates.

Fund performance and expenses

The Board considered the performance results for the Fund over various time periods ended December 31, 2015. The Board considered these results in comparison to the performance of funds in a universe that was determined by Broadridge Inc. (“Broadridge”) to be similar to the Fund (the “Universe”), and in comparison to the Fund’s benchmark index and to other comparative data. Broadridge is an independent provider of investment company data. The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the performance Universe.


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund     33   

The Board noted that the performance of the Fund (Class A) was higher than the average performance of the Universe for all periods under review. The Board also noted that the performance of the Fund was higher than its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, for all periods under review except the one-year period.

The Board also received and considered information regarding the Fund’s net operating expense ratios and their various components, including actual management fees, custodian and other non-management fees, and Rule 12b-1 and non-Rule 12b-1 shareholder service fees. The Board considered these ratios in comparison to the median ratios of funds in class-specific expense groups that were determined by Broadridge to be similar to the Fund (the “Groups”). The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the expense Groups and an explanation of how funds comprising expense groups and their expense ratios may vary from year-to-year. Based on the Broadridge reports, the Board noted that the net operating expense ratios of the Fund were lower than the median net operating expense ratios of the expense Groups.

The Board took into account the Fund performance and expense information provided to it among the factors considered in deciding to re-approve the Advisory Agreements.

Investment management and sub-advisory fee rates

The Board reviewed and considered the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management under the Management Agreement, as well as the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management for class-level administrative services under a Class-Level Administration Agreement, which include class-level transfer agency and sub-transfer agency costs (collectively, the “Management Rates”). The Board also reviewed and considered the contractual investment sub-advisory fee rates that are payable by Funds Management to the Sub-Adviser for investment sub-advisory services.

Among other information reviewed by the Board was a comparison of the Fund’s Management Rates with the average contractual investment management fee rates of funds in the expense Groups at a common asset level as well as transfer agency costs of the funds in the expense Groups. The Board noted that the Management Rates of the Fund were lower than or in range of the sum of these average rates for the Fund’s expense Groups for all share classes.

The Board also received and considered information about the portion of the total management fee that was retained by Funds Management after payment of the fee to the Sub-Adviser for sub-advisory services. In assessing the reasonableness of this amount, the Board received and evaluated information about the nature and extent of responsibilities retained and risks assumed by Funds Management and not delegated to or assumed by the Sub-Adviser, and about Funds Management’s on-going oversight services. However, given the affiliation between Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser, the Board ascribed limited relevance to the allocation of fees between them.

The Board also received and considered information about the nature and extent of services offered and fee rates charged by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to other types of clients with investment strategies similar to those of the Fund. In this regard, the Board received information about the significantly greater scope of services, and compliance, reporting and other legal burdens and risks of managing mutual funds compared with those associated with managing assets of non-mutual fund clients such as collective funds or institutional separate accounts.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management under the Management Agreement and to the Sub-Adviser under the Sub-Advisory Agreement was reasonable, in light of the services covered by the Advisory Agreements.

Profitability

The Board received and considered information concerning the profitability of Funds Management, as well as the profitability of Wells Fargo as a whole, from providing services to the Fund and the fund family as a whole. The Board also received and considered information concerning the profitability of the Sub-Adviser, if any, from providing services to the fund family as a whole, noting that the Sub-Adviser’s profitability information with respect to providing services to the Fund was subsumed in the Wells Fargo and Funds Management profitability analysis.

Funds Management reported on the methodologies and estimates used in calculating profitability. Among other things, the Board noted that the levels of profitability reported on a fund-by-fund basis varied widely, depending on factors such as the size and type of fund. Based on its review, the Board did not deem the profits reported by Funds Management or Wells Fargo from its services to the Fund to be at a level that would prevent it from approving the continuation of the Advisory Agreements.


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34   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund   Other information (unaudited)

Economies of scale

With respect to possible economies of scale, the Board noted the existence of breakpoints in the Fund’s management fee structure, which operate generally to reduce the Fund’s expense ratios as the Fund grows in size. It considered that, for a small fund or a fund that shrinks in size, breakpoints conversely can result in higher fee levels. The Board also considered that fee waiver and expense reimbursement arrangements and competitive fee rates at the outset are means of sharing potential economies of scale with shareholders of the Fund and the fund family as a whole. The Board considered Funds Management’s view that any analyses of potential economies of scale in managing a particular fund are inherently limited in light of the joint and common costs and investments that Funds Management incurs across the fund family as a whole.

The Board concluded that the Fund’s fee and expense arrangements, including contractual breakpoints, constituted a reasonable approach to sharing potential economies of scale with the Fund and its shareholders.

Other benefits to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser

The Board received and considered information regarding potential “fall-out” or ancillary benefits received by Funds Management and its affiliates, including the Sub-Adviser, as a result of their relationships with the Fund. Ancillary benefits could include, among others, benefits directly attributable to other relationships with the Fund and benefits potentially derived from an increase in Funds Management’s and the Sub-Adviser’s business as a result of their relationships with the Fund. The Board noted that various affiliates of Funds Management may receive distribution-related fees, shareholder servicing payments and sub-transfer agency fees in respect of shares sold or held through them and services provided.

The Board also reviewed information about soft dollar credits earned and utilized by the Sub-Adviser, fees earned by Funds Management from managing a private investment vehicle for the fund family’s securities lending collateral and commissions earned by an affiliated broker from portfolio transactions.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board did not find that any ancillary benefits received by Funds Management and its affiliates, including the Sub-Adviser, were unreasonable.

Conclusion

At the Meeting, after considering the above-described factors and based on its deliberations and its evaluation of the information described above, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable.


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List of abbreviations   Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund     35   

The following is a list of common abbreviations for terms and entities that may have appeared in this report.

 

ACA —  ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation
ADR —  American depositary receipt
ADS —  American depositary shares
AGC —  Assured Guaranty Corporation
AGM —  Assured Guaranty Municipal
Ambac —  Ambac Financial Group Incorporated
AMT —  Alternative minimum tax
AUD —  Australian dollar
BAN —  Bond anticipation notes
BHAC —  Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corporation
BRL —  Brazilian real
CAB —  Capital appreciation bond
CAD —  Canadian dollar
CCAB —  Convertible capital appreciation bond
CDA —  Community Development Authority
CDO —  Collateralized debt obligation
CHF —  Swiss franc
COP —  Colombian peso
CLP —  Chilean peso
DKK —  Danish krone
DRIVER —  Derivative inverse tax-exempt receipts
DW&P —  Department of Water & Power
DWR —  Department of Water Resources
ECFA —  Educational & Cultural Facilities Authority
EDA —  Economic Development Authority
EDFA —  Economic Development Finance Authority
ETF —  Exchange-traded fund
EUR —  Euro
FDIC —  Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FFCB —  Federal Farm Credit Banks
FGIC —  Financial Guaranty Insurance Corporation
FHA —  Federal Housing Administration
FHLB —  Federal Home Loan Bank
FHLMC —  Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
FICO —  The Financing Corporation
FNMA —  Federal National Mortgage Association
FSA —  Farm Service Agency
GBP —  Great British pound
GDR —  Global depositary receipt
GNMA —  Government National Mortgage Association
GO —  General obligation
HCFR —  Healthcare facilities revenue
HEFA —  Health & Educational Facilities Authority
HEFAR —  Higher education facilities authority revenue
HFA —  Housing Finance Authority
HFFA —  Health Facilities Financing Authority
HKD —  Hong Kong dollar
HUD —  Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUF —  Hungarian forint
IDA —  Industrial Development Authority
IDAG —  Industrial Development Agency
IDR —  Indonesian rupiah
IEP —  Irish pound
JPY —  Japanese yen
KRW —  Republic of Korea won
LIBOR —  London Interbank Offered Rate
LIFER —  Long Inverse Floating Exempt Receipts
LIQ —  Liquidity agreement
LLC —  Limited liability company
LLLP —  Limited liability limited partnership
LLP —  Limited liability partnership
LOC —  Letter of credit
LP —  Limited partnership
MBIA —  Municipal Bond Insurance Association
MFHR —  Multifamily housing revenue
MSTR —  Municipal securities trust receipts
MTN —  Medium-term note
MUD —  Municipal Utility District
MXN —  Mexican peso
MYR —  Malaysian ringgit
National —  National Public Finance Guarantee Corporation
NGN —  Nigerian naira
NOK —  Norwegian krone
NZD —  New Zealand dollar
PCFA —  Pollution Control Financing Authority
PCL —  Public Company Limited
PCR —  Pollution control revenue
PFA —  Public Finance Authority
PFFA —  Public Facilities Financing Authority
PFOTER —  Puttable floating option tax-exempt receipts
plc —  Public limited company
PLN —  Polish zloty
PUTTER —  Puttable tax-exempt receipts
R&D —  Research & development
Radian —  Radian Asset Assurance
RAN —  Revenue anticipation notes
RDA —  Redevelopment Authority
RDFA —  Redevelopment Finance Authority
REIT —  Real estate investment trust
ROC —  Reset option certificates
RON —  Romanian lei
RUB —  Russian ruble
SAVRS —  Select auction variable rate securities
SBA —  Small Business Authority
SDR —  Swedish depositary receipt
SEK —  Swedish krona
SFHR —  Single-family housing revenue
SFMR —  Single-family mortgage revenue
SGD —  Singapore dollar
SPA —  Standby purchase agreement
SPDR —  Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts
SPEAR —  Short Puttable Exempt Adjustable Receipts
STRIPS —  Separate trading of registered interest and
           principal securities
TAN —  Tax anticipation notes
TBA —  To be announced
THB —  Thai baht
TIPS —  Treasury inflation-protected securities
TRAN —  Tax revenue anticipation notes
TRY —  Turkish lira
TTFA —  Transportation Trust Fund Authority
TVA —  Tennessee Valley Authority
ZAR —  South African rand
 


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For more information

More information about Wells Fargo Funds is available free upon request. To obtain literature, please write, email, visit the Fund’s website, or call:

Wells Fargo Funds

P.O. Box 8266

Boston, MA 02266-8266

Email: fundservice@wellsfargo.com

Website: wellsfargofunds.com

Individual investors: 1-800-222-8222

Retail investment professionals: 1-888-877-9275

Institutional investment professionals: 1-866-765-0778

 

This report and the financial statements contained herein are submitted for the general information of the shareholders of the Fund. If this report is used for promotional purposes, distribution of the report must be accompanied or preceded by a current prospectus. Before investing, please consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the investment. For a current prospectus and, if available, a summary prospectus, containing this information, call
1-800-222-8222 or visit the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com. Read the prospectus carefully before you invest or send money.

Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM) is a trade name used by the asset management businesses of Wells Fargo & Company. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, provides investment advisory and administrative services for Wells Fargo Funds. Other affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company provide subadvisory and other services for the funds. The funds are distributed by Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC, Member FINRA, an affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE

© 2016 Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. All rights reserved.

 

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245325 09-16

A208/AR208 07-16


Table of Contents

Annual Report

July 31, 2016

 

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Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund

 

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Table of Contents

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Sign up for electronic delivery of prospectuses and shareholder reports at wellsfargo.com/advantagedelivery

Contents

 

 

 

Letter to shareholders

    2   

Performance highlights

    6   

Fund expenses

    10   

Portfolio of investments

    11   
Financial statements  

Statement of assets and liabilities

    15   

Statement of operations

    16   

Statement of changes in net assets

    17   

Financial highlights

    18   

Notes to financial statements

    25   

Report of independent registered public accounting firm

    30   

Other information

    31   

List of abbreviations

    37   

 

The views expressed and any forward-looking statements are as of July 31, 2016, unless otherwise noted, and are those of the Fund managers and/or Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. Discussions of individual securities, or the markets generally, or any Wells Fargo Fund are not intended as individual recommendations. Future events or results may vary significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. The views expressed are subject to change at any time in response to changing circumstances in the market. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC and the Fund disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any views expressed or forward-looking statements.

 

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE



Table of Contents

 

2   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

 

LOGO

Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period

 

 

Dear Valued Shareholder:

We are pleased to offer you this annual report for the Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016. During this period, which began August 1, 2015, U.S. and international stock markets experienced heightened volatility, with intermittent rebounds interspersed with sell-offs. The U.S. economy displayed resilience throughout the period, although growth was somewhat sluggish amid ongoing pressures that included slowing growth in China, a strengthening U.S. dollar, and uncertainty regarding interest-rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed); international economies faced deeper ongoing challenges. During June 2016, global markets became especially volatile as the U.K.’s vote over whether to leave the European Union (E.U.) approached. However, markets began recovering shortly after the U.K. voted to leave and rallied through July. Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period, as measured by the Russell 1000® Index.1 International markets generally declined as measured by the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index.2

In the third quarter of 2015, China’s slowdown took a toll on economies and markets worldwide.

U.S. stocks sagged during the quarter, experiencing the most volatility since 2011. Economic data released during the quarter suggested the U.S. economy remained solid but had lost some steam, burdened by the drag of the U.S. dollar’s strength coupled with global economic turmoil. The fact that the Fed left the federal funds interest rate unchanged at its September 2015 meeting surprised investors and fueled increased uncertainty about the U.S. economy’s stamina to remain healthy while facing the challenges of slowing growth in China and troubles elsewhere in the world. Outside the U.S., markets were even more volatile and delivered generally weaker quarterly results, also largely due to investors’ increasing anxiety over China’s weakened economy.

Despite ongoing concerns, U.S. stocks generally rose in the fourth quarter of 2015; international markets lagged.

While the broad U.S. stock market bounced back in the quarter, stock markets outside the U.S. failed to keep pace as economic concerns, including China’s ongoing slowdown, continued to affect many countries. U.S. economic data released during the quarter indicated the economy remained solid, although the strong U.S. dollar and weakness in international economies remained headwinds. In December, the Fed, as expected, raised its target interest rate by 25 basis points (bps; 100 bps equals 1.00%) after keeping it near zero for seven years. The move reflected confidence in the U.S. economy’s ability to stay healthy with less central-bank support. The Fed also clarified that future interest-rate increases would be gradual.

 

 

 

1  The Russell 1000® Index measures the performance of the 1,000 largest companies in the Russell 3000® Index, which represents approximately 92% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000® Index. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

2  Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index is a free-float-adjusted market-capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the United States and Canada. The MSCI EAFE Index consists of the following 21 developed markets country indexes: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. You cannot invest directly in an index.


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Letter to shareholders (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund     3   

In the first quarter of 2016, market volatility increased globally amid ongoing concerns.

Stock markets worldwide fluctuated widely in the first quarter of 2016. Most sold off sharply in the first six weeks of the year on concerns such as weak global growth, falling commodity prices, and uncertainty over the timing and impact of the Fed’s interest-rate increases. As the quarter progressed, fears abated somewhat and global markets generally rallied back. The U.S. economy ended the quarter on a positive note as much of the quarter’s data reflected resiliency. With ongoing uncertainties about global growth and financial markets, however, the Fed held off from raising the target interest rate during the quarter. Outside the U.S., the eurozone fell into deflation in February; in response, the European Central Bank announced an expansion of its stimulus program. In China, the government in March set a growth rate of 6.5% to 7.0% for 2016, an acknowledgment of weakening growth. In emerging markets, although central-bank stimulus and improved prices for oil and other commodities led to stock-market rallies in the quarter, many of these countries’ economies face credit downgrades due to challenges such as the likelihood of a stronger U.S. dollar, which would make dollar-denominated debt more expensive.

Worries over interest rates and the U.K.’s vote largely drove the markets during the second quarter of 2016.

U.S. stocks began the quarter in positive territory but started to lose steam in early May on worries that a possible June interest-rate increase by the Fed could hurt the market. In mid-May, stocks briefly plunged following comments by Fed officials noting that a June interest-rate increase remained on the table. But once investors had processed this information, stocks again rallied, finishing up for the month. The first three weeks of June brought heightened volatility, spurred largely by a disappointing jobs report and uncertainty over whether the U.K. would remain in the E.U. The U.K.’s Brexit vote on June 23 shocked countries in Europe and much of the rest of the world. Stock markets plummeted as investors worried that the U.K.’s departure from the E.U. would slow global growth and prolong the low-interest-rate environment. Following the initial rout, however, U.S. stocks rallied as investors seemed to decide that any negative effects would be more localized and not create a serious risk for global growth. By quarter-end, the broad U.S. stock market had moved back into positive territory.

Stocks generally posted positive results for July 2016.

U.S. stocks displayed the most momentum during the first two weeks of the month, buoyed partly by an unexpectedly favorable June jobs report that helped strengthen confidence in the U.S. economy. Also, investors perhaps felt that global central banks could extend stimulus measures in the wake of the Brexit vote. Although U.S. market momentum slowed during the second half of July, stocks ended in positive territory for the month. International stocks delivered positive monthly results as well.

    

 


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4   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

Don’t let short-term uncertainty derail long-term investment goals.

Periods of uncertainty can present challenges, but experience has taught us that maintaining long-term investment goals can be an effective way to plan for the future. To help you create a sound strategy based on your personal goals and risk tolerance, Wells Fargo Funds offers more than 100 mutual funds spanning a wide range of asset classes and investment styles. Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance. We encourage investors to know their investments and to understand that appropriate levels of risk-taking may unlock opportunities.

Thank you for choosing to invest in Wells Fargo Funds. We appreciate your confidence in us and remain committed to helping you meet your financial needs.

Sincerely,

 

LOGO

Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

 

 

Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance.

 

 

 

 

 

For further information about your Fund, contact your investment professional, visit our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or call us directly at 1-800-222-8222. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


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6   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

Investment objective

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Manager

Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC

Subadviser

Wells Capital Management Incorporated

Portfolio managers

Joseph Eberhardy, CFA®, CPA

Thomas Ognar, CFA®

Bruce Olson, CFA®

Average annual total returns (%) as of July 31, 20161

 

        Including sales charge     Excluding sales charge     Expense ratios2 (%)  
    Inception date   1 year     5 year     10 year     1 year     5 year     10 year     Gross     Net3  
Class A (STAFX)   7-30-2010     (7.47     9.38        7.90        (1.83     10.69        8.54        1.15        1.07   
Class C (STOFX)   7-30-2010     (3.56     9.87        7.76        (2.56     9.87        7.76        1.90        1.82   
Class R (STMFX)   6-15-2012                          (2.08     10.43        8.33        1.40        1.32   
Class R4 (SLGRX)   11-30-2012                          (1.54     11.06        8.76        0.87        0.80   
Class R6 (STFFX)   11-30-2012                          (1.39     11.18        8.81        0.72        0.65   
Administrator Class (STDFX)   7-30-2010                          (1.71     10.84        8.62        1.07        0.95   
Institutional Class (STNFX)   7-30-2010                          (1.49     11.12        8.79        0.82        0.75   
Russell 1000® Growth Index4                            4.35        13.62        9.50                 

Figures quoted represent past performance, which is no guarantee of future results, and do not reflect taxes that a shareholder may pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Performance shown without sales charges would be lower if sales charges were reflected. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted, which assumes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. Current month-end performance is available on the Fund’s website, wellsfargofunds.com.

Index returns do not include transaction costs associated with buying and selling securities, any mutual fund fees or expenses, or any taxes. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

For Class A shares, the maximum front-end sales charge is 5.75%. For Class C shares, the maximum contingent deferred sales charge is 1.00%. Performance including a contingent deferred sales charge assumes the sales charge for the corresponding time period. Class R, Class R4, Class R6, Administrator Class, and Institutional Class shares are sold without a front-end sales charge or contingent deferred sales charge.

Stock values fluctuate in response to the activities of individual companies and general market and economic conditions. Certain investment strategies tend to increase the total risk of an investment (relative to the broader market). The Fund is exposed to foreign investment risk. Consult the Fund’s prospectus for additional information on these and other risks.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


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Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund     7   
Growth of $10,000 investment as of July 31, 20165
LOGO

 

 

 

 

 

 

1  Historical performance shown for Class A, Administrator Class, and Institutional Class shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of the former Investor Class shares, and includes the higher expenses applicable to the former Investor Class shares. If these expenses had not been included, returns would be higher. Historical performance shown for Class C shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of the former Investor Class shares, adjusted to reflect the higher expenses applicable to Class C shares. Historical performance shown for Class R shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of the former Investor Class shares, adjusted to reflect the higher expenses applicable to Class R shares. Historical performance shown for Class R4 shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of Institutional Class shares, adjusted to reflect the higher expenses applicable to Class R4 shares. Historical performance shown for Class R6 shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of Institutional Class shares, and includes the higher expenses applicable to Institutional Class shares. If these expenses had not been included, returns would be higher.

 

2  Reflects the expense ratios as stated in the most recent prospectuses. The expense ratios shown are subject to change and may differ from the annualized expense ratios shown in the financial highlights of this report.

 

3  The manager has contractually committed through November 30, 2016, to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at the amounts shown. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Brokerage commissions, stamp duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense cap. Without this cap, the Fund’s returns would have been lower.

 

4  The Russell 1000® Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

5  The chart compares the performance of Class A shares for the most recent ten years with the Russell 1000® Growth Index. The chart assumes a hypothetical investment of $10,000 in Class A shares and reflects all operating expenses and assumes the maximum initial sales charge of 5.75%.

 

6  The ten largest holdings, excluding cash and cash equivalents, are calculated based on the value of the investments divided by total net assets of the Fund. Holdings are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.

 

7  Amounts are calculated based on the total long-term investments of the Fund. These amounts are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.


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8   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

MANAGER’S DISCUSSION

Fund highlights

n   The Fund underperformed its benchmark, the Russell 1000® Growth Index, for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016.

 

n   Holdings within the health care and information technology (IT) sectors contributed to the Fund’s underperformance for the period. An underweight to slower-growing stocks in the consumer staples sector also detracted from results as investors sought higher-yielding stocks.

 

n   The market environment often was influenced by investor sentiment rather than by fundamentals during the period, which presented a general challenge for our emphasis on adding value through bottom-up stock selection.

The ongoing low-interest-rate environment drove investors’ demand for dividend yield, hindering Fund results.

Faced with the prospect of historically low interest rates and, in some countries, negative interest rates, investors continued to seek alternative sources of income via dividend-paying stocks. Stocks paying a dividend yield larger than 2% contributed disproportionately to the total return of the Russell 1000® Growth Index for the period. Due to its focus on faster-growing stocks, the Fund tends to be significantly underweight dividend-paying stocks compared with the index; this characteristic significantly contributed to the Fund’s underperformance for the period. While investors’ preference for dividend yield challenged our investment process at times during the period, it also led to historically attractive relative valuations for faster-growing stocks, which could bode well for future Fund performance.

 

Ten largest holdings (%) as of July 31, 20166  

Facebook Incorporated Class A

     5.36   

Amazon.com Incorporated

     4.03   

Dollar Tree Incorporated

     3.61   

Microsoft Corporation

     3.58   

Alphabet Incorporated Class A

     3.56   

Alphabet Incorporated Class C

     2.72   

Costco Wholesale Corporation

     2.70   

Visa Incorporated Class A

     2.62   

MasterCard Incorporated Class A

     2.60   

O’Reilly Automotive Incorporated

     2.33   

Results from the Fund’s health care and IT holdings detracted from performance.

Within health care, biotechnology holdings detracted notably over the period. Although these companies tended to experience solid demand for existing medical solutions, their stocks suffered significant declines in the first half of 2016. Multiple factors drove the share-price weakness, including the negative effects of ongoing political rhetoric concerning potential drug-pricing controls and less-robust fundamental outlooks for several companies.

Within the IT sector, several holdings with significant market opportunities within faster-growing areas, such as cloud services, data analytics, and network security,

 

displayed weakness. Although these holdings generally delivered solid growth fundamentals, they experienced significant volatility as investors reacted to global economic uncertainties. At times during the period, investors preferred select mega-cap IT stocks, often at the expense of many small- and mid-cap IT companies that were actively reinvesting in their businesses to expand their market share.

Select holdings within the consumer discretionary and energy sectors contributed positively to performance.

Within the consumer discretionary sector, the Fund benefited from solid performance by holdings with strong secular growth. Several top performers effectively executed on self-help initiatives that boosted company profit margins and contributed to higher same-store sales. Retail companies focused on the lower-end consumer continued to perform well as their business models tend to be more resistant to the pressures of Amazon.com, Incorporated, and other online retailers. Specialty retailers focused on a specific market segment also delivered positive results in the Amazon-dominated retail field. Among the Fund’s energy holdings, exploration and production company Concho Resources Incorporated, which has fracking operations in the Permian Basin, delivered favorable results as oil prices rallied off their February 2016 lows.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


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Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund     9   
Sector distribution as of July 31, 20167
LOGO

We continue to focus on consistently implementing our process.

Over the course of the 12-month period, we made modest adjustments to the Fund to potentially capitalize on opportunities and position for the future. Using our bottom-up research process, we added IT companies that met our criteria for robust, sustainable growth that appears underappreciated by the market. We funded these purchases primarily with the proceeds from sales of holdings in the consumer discretionary sector.

Given the abundant political and economic headlines dominating the media in the U.S. and worldwide, we expect to see continued market volatility heading into the summer of 2016 and likely through the U.S. general

 

election in November 2016. As this volatility occurs, we intend to take advantage of potential opportunities as the valuation gaps of the companies held within the Fund widen and contract. We maintain strong conviction for the rapidly growing companies within the portfolio; many holdings have been trading at or near multiyear-low valuations relative to the broad market. Our investment strategy—seeking robust growth companies with sustainable business models that are underappreciated by investors—should position us, going forward, to take advantage of opportunities within the market for the benefit of Fund shareholders.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


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10   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund   Fund expenses (unaudited)

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments and contingent deferred sales charges (if any) on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees, distribution (12b-1) and/or shareholder servicing fees, and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the six-month period and held for the entire period from February 1, 2016 to July 31, 2016.

Actual expenses

The “Actual” line of the table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the “Actual” line under the heading entitled “Expenses paid during period” for your applicable class of shares to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical example for comparison purposes

The “Hypothetical” line of the table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads) and contingent deferred sales charges. Therefore, the “Hypothetical” line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

    

Beginning

account value

2-1-2016

    

Ending

account value

7-31-2016

    

Expenses

paid during

the period¹

    

Annualized net

expense ratio

 

Class A

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,094.34       $ 5.57         1.07

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,019.54       $ 5.37         1.07

Class C

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,090.19       $ 9.46         1.82

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,015.81       $ 9.12         1.82

Class R

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,092.96       $ 6.87         1.32

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,018.30       $ 6.62         1.32

Class R4

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,096.01       $ 4.17         0.80

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,020.89       $ 4.02         0.80

Class R6

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,096.74       $ 3.39         0.65

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,021.63       $ 3.27         0.65

Administrator Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,095.04       $ 4.95         0.95

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,020.14       $ 4.77         0.95

Institutional Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,095.90       $ 3.91         0.75

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,021.13       $ 3.77         0.75

 

 

1 Expenses paid is equal to the annualized net expense ratio of each class multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the most recent fiscal half-year divided by the number of days in the fiscal year (to reflect the one-half-year period).


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Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund     11   

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  

Common Stocks: 98.67%

          

Consumer Discretionary: 25.80%

          
Auto Components: 0.29%           

Delphi Automotive plc

          59,470       $ 4,033,255   
          

 

 

 
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure: 3.47%           

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Incorporated

          319,960         7,419,872   

Marriott International Incorporated Class A «

          157,440         11,288,448   

Starbucks Corporation

          509,300         29,564,865   
     48,273,185   
          

 

 

 
Internet & Catalog Retail: 4.74%           

Amazon.com Incorporated †

          73,900         56,076,059   

The Priceline Group Incorporated †

          7,340         9,914,945   
     65,991,004   
          

 

 

 
Media: 1.50%           

The Walt Disney Company

          216,900         20,811,555   
          

 

 

 
Multiline Retail: 3.60%           

Dollar Tree Incorporated †

          521,090         50,175,756   
          

 

 

 
Specialty Retail: 7.58%           

CarMax Incorporated Ǡ

          120,360         7,012,174   

O’Reilly Automotive Incorporated †

          111,800         32,492,434   

The Home Depot Incorporated

          234,840         32,464,282   

Tractor Supply Company

          270,010         24,746,417   

ULTA Salon, Cosmetics and Fragrance Incorporated †

          33,380         8,719,190   
     105,434,497   
          

 

 

 
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods: 4.62%           

Nike Incorporated Class B

          523,740         29,067,570   

Under Armour Incorporated Class A «

          270,970         10,692,476   

VF Corporation

          394,130         24,605,536   
     64,365,582   
          

 

 

 

Consumer Staples: 6.64%

          
Food & Staples Retailing: 4.42%           

Costco Wholesale Corporation

          224,940         37,614,467   

CVS Health Corporation

          257,660         23,890,235   
     61,504,702   
          

 

 

 
Household Products: 0.68%           

Colgate-Palmolive Company

          126,360         9,404,975   
          

 

 

 
Personal Products: 1.54%           

The Estee Lauder Companies Incorporated Class A

          231,420         21,498,918   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


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12   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund   Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  

Energy: 2.01%

          
Energy Equipment & Services: 0.45%           

Schlumberger Limited

          77,480       $ 6,238,690   
          

 

 

 
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels: 1.56%           

Concho Resources Incorporated †

          175,280         21,769,776   
          

 

 

 

Financials: 0.20%

          
Capital Markets: 0.20%           

TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation

          91,120         2,766,403   
          

 

 

 

Health Care: 14.14%

          
Biotechnology: 7.23%           

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Incorporated †

          215,070         27,658,002   

Amgen Incorporated

          12,000         2,064,360   

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Incorporated †

          153,180         15,229,156   

Celgene Corporation †

          227,380         25,509,762   

Incyte Corporation †

          53,460         4,822,627   

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Incorporated †

          38,850         16,515,912   

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated †

          91,370         8,862,890   
     100,662,709   
          

 

 

 
Health Care Equipment & Supplies: 2.85%           

Danaher Corporation

          149,930         12,210,299   

Medtronic plc

          312,650         27,397,520   
     39,607,819   
          

 

 

 
Health Care Technology: 1.45%           

Cerner Corporation †

          323,070         20,156,337   
          

 

 

 
Life Sciences Tools & Services: 0.37%           

Quintiles Transnational Holdings Incorporated †

          67,360         5,229,830   
          

 

 

 
Pharmaceuticals: 2.24%           

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

          317,680         23,765,641   

Zoetis Incorporated

          145,910         7,364,078   
     31,129,719   
          

 

 

 

Industrials: 7.26%

          
Aerospace & Defense: 0.77%           

The Boeing Company

          80,080         10,703,493   
          

 

 

 
Airlines: 0.99%           

Southwest Airlines Company

          372,313         13,779,304   
          

 

 

 
Electrical Equipment: 0.62%           

Rockwell Automation Incorporated

          75,000         8,580,000   
          

 

 

 
Industrial Conglomerates: 1.53%           

3M Company

          119,560         21,324,722   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund     13   

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  
Machinery: 0.26%           

Fortive Corporation †

          74,960       $ 3,613,822   
          

 

 

 
Road & Rail: 3.09%           

Kansas City Southern

          153,160         14,720,208   

Union Pacific Corporation

          304,440         28,328,142   
     43,048,350   
          

 

 

 

Information Technology: 39.15%

          
Communications Equipment: 1.17%           

Palo Alto Networks Incorporated †

          124,190         16,255,229   
          

 

 

 
Internet Software & Services: 11.63%           

Alphabet Incorporated Class A †

          62,530         49,482,490   

Alphabet Incorporated Class C †

          49,270         37,878,283   

Facebook Incorporated Class A †

          601,630         74,566,022   
     161,926,795   
          

 

 

 
IT Services: 8.36%           

Accenture plc Class A

          177,410         20,013,622   

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation Class A †

          155,640         8,947,744   

MasterCard Incorporated Class A

          380,400         36,229,296   

PayPal Holdings Incorporated †

          394,360         14,685,966   

Visa Incorporated Class A

          467,480         36,486,814   
     116,363,442   
          

 

 

 
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment: 6.24%           

Broadcom Limited

          155,380         25,168,451   

Microchip Technology Incorporated «

          520,040         28,935,026   

QUALCOMM Incorporated

          68,450         4,283,601   

Texas Instruments Incorporated

          407,260         28,406,385   
     86,793,463   
          

 

 

 
Software: 10.24%           

Activision Blizzard Incorporated

          186,000         7,469,760   

Adobe Systems Incorporated †

          218,700         21,401,982   

Microsoft Corporation

          879,950         49,875,566   

Mobileye NV †

          45,630         2,186,133   

Red Hat Incorporated †

          170,280         12,820,381   

Salesforce.com Incorporated †

          288,700         23,615,660   

ServiceNow Incorporated †

          171,810         12,872,005   

Splunk Incorporated †

          197,170         12,331,012   
     142,572,499   
          

 

 

 
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals: 1.51%           

Apple Incorporated

          201,200         20,967,052   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

14   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund   Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016

      

 

 

Security name                Shares      Value  

Materials: 3.47%

         
Chemicals: 3.47%          

Ecolab Incorporated

         236,860       $ 28,039,487   

Praxair Incorporated

         173,320         20,198,713   
     48,238,200   
         

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks (Cost $855,949,807)

  

     1,373,221,083   
         

 

 

 
    Yield                      
Short-Term Investments: 4.03%          
Investment Companies: 4.03%          

Securities Lending Cash Investments LLC (l)(r)(u)

    0.50        39,207,100         39,207,100   

Wells Fargo Government Money Market Fund Select Class (l)(u)

    0.32           16,831,628         16,831,628   

Total Short-Term Investments (Cost $56,038,728)

            56,038,728   
         

 

 

 

 

Total investments in securities (Cost $911,988,535) *     102.70        1,429,259,811   

Other assets and liabilities, net

    (2.70        (37,571,300
 

 

 

      

 

 

 
Total net assets     100.00      $ 1,391,688,511   
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

« All or a portion of this security is on loan.

 

Non-income-earning security

 

(l) The issuer of the security is an affiliated person of the Fund as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

(r) The investment is a non-registered investment vehicle purchased with cash collateral received from securities on loan.

 

(u) The rate represents the 7-day annualized yield at period end.

 

* Cost for federal income tax purposes is $913,879,466 and unrealized gains (losses) consists of:

 

Gross unrealized gains

   $ 526,221,303   

Gross unrealized losses

     (10,840,958
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized gains

   $ 515,380,345   

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Statement of assets and liabilities—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund     15   
         

Assets

 

Investments

 

In unaffiliated securities (including $38,112,159 of securities loaned), at value (cost $855,949,807)

  $ 1,373,221,083   

In affiliated securities, at value (cost $56,038,728)

    56,038,728   
 

 

 

 

Total investments, at value (cost $911,988,535)

    1,429,259,811   

Receivable for investments sold

    6,786,832   

Receivable for Fund shares sold

    865,246   

Receivable for dividends

    543,396   

Receivable for securities lending income

    22,174   

Prepaid expenses and other assets

    60,675   
 

 

 

 

Total assets

    1,437,538,134   
 

 

 

 

Liabilities

 

Payable for investments purchased

    3,951,192   

Payable for Fund shares redeemed

    1,471,169   

Payable upon receipt of securities loaned

    39,207,100   

Management fee payable

    708,921   

Distribution fees payable

    13,664   

Administration fees payable

    180,160   

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

    317,417   
 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

    45,849,623   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 1,391,688,511   
 

 

 

 

NET ASSETS CONSIST OF

 

Paid-in capital

  $ 841,664,040   

Overdistributed net investment income

    (25,370

Accumulated net realized gains on investments

    32,778,565   

Net unrealized gains on investments

    517,271,276   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 1,391,688,511   
 

 

 

 

COMPUTATION OF NET ASSET VALUE AND OFFERING PRICE PER SHARE

 

Net assets – Class A

  $ 576,501,554   

Shares outstanding – Class A1

    12,519,808   

Net asset value per share – Class A

    $46.05   

Maximum offering price per share – Class A2

    $48.86   

Net assets – Class C

  $ 18,876,866   

Shares outstanding – Class C1

    430,183   

Net asset value per share – Class C

    $43.88   

Net assets – Class R

  $ 8,218,316   

Shares outstanding – Class R1

    180,622   

Net asset value per share – Class R

    $45.50   

Net assets – Class R4

  $ 8,399,688   

Share outstanding – Class R41

    179,921   

Net asset value per share – Class R4

    $46.69   

Net assets – Class R6

  $ 225,805,288   

Shares outstanding – Class R61

    4,823,047   

Net asset value per share – Class R6

    $46.82   

Net assets – Administrator Class

  $ 237,576,677   

Shares outstanding – Administrator Class1

    5,129,545   

Net asset value per share – Administrator Class

    $46.32   

Net assets – Institutional Class

  $ 316,310,122   

Shares outstanding – Institutional Class1

    6,767,018   

Net asset value per share – Institutional Class

    $46.74   

 

 

1  The Fund has an unlimited number of authorized shares.

 

2  Maximum offering price is computed as 100/94.25 of net asset value. On investments of $50,000 or more, the offering price is reduced.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

16   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund   Statement of operations—year ended July 31, 2016
         

Investment income

 

Dividends (net of foreign withholding taxes of $2,320)

  $ 15,562,652   

Securities lending income, net

    212,487   

Income from affiliated securities

    48,348   
 

 

 

 

Total investment income

    15,823,487   
 

 

 

 

Expenses

 

Management fee

    9,978,513   

Administration fees

 

Class A

    1,028,499   

Class C

    42,027   

Class R

    21,838   

Class R4

    5,839   

Class R6

    44,588   

Administrator Class

    306,498   

Institutional Class

    599,663   

Investor Class

    334,829 1 

Shareholder servicing fees

 

Class A

    1,224,403   

Class C

    50,033   

Class R

    25,997   

Class R4

    7,299   

Administrator Class

    589,191   

Investor Class

    261,244 1 

Distribution fees

 

Class C

    150,098   

Class R

    25,997   

Custody and accounting fees

    80,195   

Professional fees

    43,149   

Registration fees

    113,138   

Shareholder report expenses

    112,567   

Trustees’ fees and expenses

    25,010   

Other fees and expenses

    31,453   
 

 

 

 

Total expenses

    15,102,068   

Less: Fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements

    (1,642,326
 

 

 

 

Net expenses

    13,459,742   
 

 

 

 

Net investment income

    2,363,745   
 

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAINS (LOSSES) ON INVESTMENTS

 

Net realized gains on investments

    44,634,435   

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (80,144,617
 

 

 

 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (35,510,182
 

 

 

 

Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations

  $ (33,146,437
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from August 1, 2015 to October 23, 2015. Effective at the close of business on October 23, 2015, Investor Class shares were converted to Class A shares and are no longer offered by the Fund.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Statement of changes in net assets   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund     17   
    

Year ended

July 31, 2016

   

Year ended

July 31, 2015

 

Operations

     

Net investment income

    $ 2,363,745        $ 2,126,502   

Net realized gains on investments

      44,634,435          86,753,919   

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

      (80,144,617       129,352,284   
 

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

      (33,146,437       218,232,705   
 

 

 

 

Distributions to shareholders from

     

Net investment income

       

Class A

      (8,533       0   

Class R4

      (26,255       0   

Class R6

      (542,444       (5,386

Administrator Class

      (399,214       0   

Institutional Class

      (2,359,767       (392,482

Net realized gains

       

Class A

      (33,357,991       (9,083,839

Class C

      (1,130,136       (1,024,179

Class R

      (642,814       (537,456

Class R4

      (366,120       (95,079

Class R6

      (5,970,675       (286,515

Administrator Class

      (12,858,667       (10,809,644

Institutional Class

      (26,507,074       (26,749,730

Investor Class

      0 1        (21,002,277
 

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

      (84,169,690       (69,986,587
 

 

 

 

Capital share transactions

    Shares          Shares     

Proceeds from shares sold

       

Class A

    10,423,557        507,133,935        604,229        28,340,904   

Class C

    94,075        4,156,298        91,683        4,185,001   

Class R

    93,883        4,246,909        83,403        3,934,240   

Class R4

    47,194        2,095,908        109,342        5,395,990   

Class R6

    2,853,291        127,876,221        2,237,120        108,798,050   

Administrator Class

    871,378        39,477,413        1,113,913        52,906,429   

Institutional Class

    1,620,978        73,346,308        1,575,447        75,088,702   

Investor Class

    88,699 1      4,159,389 1      770,891        36,000,565   
 

 

 

 
      762,492,381          314,649,881   
 

 

 

 

Reinvestment of distributions

       

Class A

    689,341        31,248,057        162,603        7,413,043   

Class C

    21,233        921,496        17,563        774,161   

Class R

    5,901        264,733        4,111        186,032   

Class R4

    8,508        392,375        2,062        95,079   

Class R6

    140,783        6,513,119        6,321        291,901   

Administrator Class

    290,191        13,252,210        235,753        10,802,180   

Institutional Class

    541,392        25,023,933        511,339        23,607,785   

Investor Class

    0 1      0 1      448,656        20,413,846   
 

 

 

 
      77,615,923          63,584,027   
 

 

 

 

Payment for shares redeemed

       

Class A

    (2,316,847     (103,461,789     (1,728,758     (81,675,715

Class C

    (164,112     (7,122,729     (147,803     (6,761,459

Class R

    (165,274     (7,268,281     (114,456     (5,361,082

Class R4

    (19,211     (894,912     (14,494     (712,377

Class R6

    (509,940     (23,062,787     (34,221     (1,666,642

Administrator Class

    (1,299,777     (59,103,069     (1,474,270     (70,446,514

Institutional Class

    (6,030,432     (274,102,744     (4,464,060     (215,627,720

Investor Class

    (9,823,525 )1      (479,180,351 )1      (1,815,052     (85,116,561
 

 

 

 
      (954,196,662       (467,368,070
 

 

 

 

Net decrease in net assets resulting from capital share transactions

      (114,088,358       (89,134,162
 

 

 

 

Total increase (decrease) in net assets

      (231,404,485       59,111,956   
 

 

 

 

Net assets

   

Beginning of period

      1,623,092,996          1,563,981,040   
 

 

 

 

End of period

    $ 1,391,688,511        $ 1,623,092,996   
 

 

 

 

Undistributed (overdistributed) net investment income

    $ (25,370     $ 1,032,532   
 

 

 

 

 

 

1 For the period from August 1, 2015 to October 23, 2015. Effective at the close of business on October 23, 2015, Investor Class shares were converted to Class A shares and are no longer offered by the Fund.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

18   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS A   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $49.55        $45.30        $39.73        $32.92        $31.62   

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.03 )1      (0.01 )1      (0.06     0.04        (0.12 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.92     6.33        7.01        6.81        1.42   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.95     6.32        6.95        6.85        1.30   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    (0.00 )2      0.00        0.00        (0.04     0.00   

Net realized gains

    (2.55     (2.07     (1.38     0.00        0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (2.55     (2.07     (1.38     (0.04     0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $46.05        $49.55        $45.30        $39.73        $32.92   

Total return3

    (1.83 )%      14.35     17.69     20.84     4.08

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.16     1.20     1.22     1.23     1.24

Net expenses

    1.07     1.07     1.07     1.07     1.10

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.06 )%      (0.02 )%      (0.17 )%      0.09     (0.37 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    31     26     35     57     46

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $576,502        $184,504        $212,273        $131,616        $75,149   

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Amount is less than $0.005.

 

3  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund     19   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS C   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $47.68        $43.99        $38.90        $32.43        $31.38   

Net investment loss

    (0.32 )1      (0.42     (0.33     (0.20     (0.37 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.93     6.18        6.80        6.67        1.42   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (1.25     5.76        6.47        6.47        1.05   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (2.55     (2.07     (1.38     0.00        0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $43.88        $47.68        $43.99        $38.90        $32.43   

Total return2

    (2.56 )%      13.47     16.81     19.95     3.31

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.91     1.95     1.97     1.98     1.99

Net expenses

    1.82     1.82     1.82     1.82     1.84

Net investment loss

    (0.75 )%      (0.77 )%      (0.89 )%      (0.65 )%      (1.16 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    31     26     35     57     46

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $18,877        $22,839        $22,767        $17,748        $11,829   

 

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

20   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS R   2016     2015     2014     2013     20121  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $49.11        $45.03        $39.59        $32.86        $32.91   

Net investment loss

    (0.10 )2      (0.16     (0.15     (0.06 )2      (0.05 )2 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.96     6.31        6.97        6.80        0.00 3 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (1.06     6.15        6.82        6.74        (0.05

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    0.00        0.00        0.00        (0.01     0.00   

Net realized gains

    (2.55     (2.07     (1.38     0.00        0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (2.55     (2.07     (1.38     (0.01     0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $45.50        $49.11        $45.03        $39.59        $32.86   

Total return4

    (2.08 )%      14.05     17.42     20.53     (0.15 )% 

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.41     1.45     1.47     1.47     1.47

Net expenses

    1.32     1.32     1.32     1.32     1.32

Net investment loss

    (0.23 )%      (0.28 )%      (0.41 )%      (0.16 )%      (0.95 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    31     26     35     57     46

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $8,218        $12,086        $12,295        $8,149        $5,065   

 

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from June 15, 2012 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2012

 

2  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

3  Amount is less than $0.005.

 

4  Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund     21   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS R4   2016     2015     2014     20131  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $50.23        $45.76        $40.05        $34.26   

Net investment income

    0.13        0.07        0.08        0.09   

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.95     6.47        7.11        5.81   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.82     6.54        7.19        5.90   

Distributions to shareholders from

       

Net investment income

    (0.17     0.00        (0.10     (0.11

Net realized gains

    (2.55     (2.07     (1.38     0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (2.72     (2.07     (1.48     (0.11

Net asset value, end of period

    $46.69        $50.23        $45.76        $40.05   

Total return2

    (1.54 )%      14.69     18.07     17.37

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

       

Gross expenses

    0.88     0.87     0.89     0.87

Net expenses

    0.78     0.75     0.75     0.75

Net investment income

    0.27     0.17     0.17     0.39

Supplemental data

       

Portfolio turnover rate

    31     26     35     57

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $8,400        $7,205        $2,129        $12   

 

 

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from November 30, 2012 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2013

 

2  Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

22   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS R6   2016     2015     2014     20131  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $50.34        $45.82        $40.11        $34.26   

Net investment income

    0.22        0.07 2      0.12        0.15   

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.97     6.56        7.11        5.82   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.75     6.63        7.23        5.97   

Distributions to shareholders from

       

Net investment income

    (0.22     (0.04     (0.14     (0.12

Net realized gains

    (2.55     (2.07     (1.38     0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (2.77     (2.11     (1.52     (0.12

Net asset value, end of period

    $46.82        $50.34        $45.82        $40.11   

Total return3

    (1.39 )%      14.88     18.25     17.48

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

       

Gross expenses

    0.73     0.72     0.74     0.75

Net expenses

    0.64     0.60     0.60     0.60

Net investment income

    0.39     0.13     0.29     0.26

Supplemental data

       

Portfolio turnover rate

    31     26     35     57

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $225,805        $117,741        $5,942        $2,278   

 

 

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from November 30, 2012 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2013

 

2  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

3  Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund     23   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
ADMINISTRATOR CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $49.84        $45.50        $39.86        $33.02        $31.67   

Net investment income (loss)

    0.05        0.05        (0.01     0.09 1      (0.06 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.94     6.36        7.04        6.83        1.41   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.89     6.41        7.03        6.92        1.35   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    (0.08     0.00        (0.01     (0.08     0.00   

Net realized gains

    (2.55     (2.07     (1.38     0.00        0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (2.63     (2.07     (1.39     (0.08     0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $46.32        $49.84        $45.50        $39.86        $33.02   

Total return

    (1.71 )%      14.48     17.84     21.00     4.26

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.08     1.05     1.06     1.07     1.08

Net expenses

    0.95     0.95     0.95     0.95     0.95

Net investment income (loss)

    0.12     0.10     (0.02 )%      0.24     (0.17 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    31     26     35     57     46

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $237,577        $262,535        $245,364        $208,053        $75,099   

 

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


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24   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
INSTITUTIONAL CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $50.30        $45.80        $40.11        $33.16        $31.73   

Net investment income (loss)

    0.17 1      0.19 1      0.11        0.20        (0.08 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.96     6.41        7.09        6.86        1.51   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.79     6.60        7.20        7.06        1.43   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    (0.22     (0.03     (0.13     (0.11     0.00   

Net realized gains

    (2.55     (2.07     (1.38     0.00        0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (2.77     (2.10     (1.51     (0.11     0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $46.74        $50.30        $45.80        $40.11        $33.16   

Total return

    (1.49 )%      14.82     18.16     21.34     4.47

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    0.83     0.78     0.79     0.79     0.80

Net expenses

    0.71     0.65     0.65     0.69     0.75

Net investment income (loss)

    0.37     0.40     0.28     0.53     (0.25 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    31     26     35     57     46

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $316,310        $534,975        $596,006        $508,853        $601,684   

 

 

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund     25   

1. ORGANIZATION

Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”), a Delaware statutory trust organized on March 10, 1999, is an open-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). As an investment company, the Trust follows the accounting and reporting guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946, Financial Services – Investment Companies. These financial statements report on the Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund (the “Fund”) which is a diversified series of the Trust.

Effective at the close of business on October 23, 2015, Investor Class shares became Class A shares in a tax-free conversion. Shareholders of Investor Class received Class A shares at a value equal to the value of their Investor Class shares immediately prior to the conversion. Investor Class shares are no longer offered by the Fund.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The following significant accounting policies, which are consistently followed in the preparation of the financial statements of the Fund, are in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles which require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Securities valuation

All investments are valued each business day as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (generally 4 p.m. Eastern Time), although the Fund may deviate from this calculation time under unusual or unexpected circumstances.

Equity securities that are listed on a foreign or domestic exchange or market are valued at the official closing price or, if none, the last sales price. If no sale occurs on the principal exchange or market that day, the prior day’s price will be deemed “stale” and a fair value price will be determined in accordance with the Fund’s Valuation Procedures.

Investments in registered open-end investment companies are valued at net asset value. Interests in non-registered investment vehicles that are redeemable at net asset value are fair valued normally at net asset value.

Investments which are not valued using any of the methods discussed above are valued at their fair value, as determined in good faith by the Board of Trustees of the Fund. The Board of Trustees has established a Valuation Committee comprised of the Trustees and has delegated to it the authority to take any actions regarding the valuation of portfolio securities that the Valuation Committee deems necessary or appropriate, including determining the fair value of portfolio securities, unless the determination has been delegated to the Management Valuation Team of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”). The Board of Trustees retains the authority to make or ratify any valuation decisions or approve any changes to the Valuation Procedures as it deems appropriate. On a quarterly basis, the Board of Trustees receives reports on any valuation actions taken by the Valuation Committee or the Management Valuation Team which may include items for ratification.

Valuations of fair valued securities are compared to the next actual sales price when available, or other appropriate market values, to assess the continued appropriateness of the fair valuation methodologies used. These securities are fair valued on a day-to-day basis, taking into consideration changes to appropriate market information and any significant changes to the inputs considered in the valuation process until there is a readily available price provided on an exchange or by an independent pricing service. Valuations received from an independent pricing service or independent broker-dealer quotes are periodically validated by comparisons to most recent trades and valuations provided by other independent pricing services in addition to the review of prices by the manager and/or subadviser. Unobservable inputs used in determining fair valuations are identified based on the type of security, taking into consideration factors utilized by market participants in valuing the investment, knowledge about the issuer and the current market environment.

Security loans

The Fund may lend its securities from time to time in order to earn additional income in the form of fees or interest on securities received as collateral or the investment of any cash received as collateral. The Fund continues to receive interest or dividends on the securities loaned. The Fund receives collateral in the form of cash or securities with a value at least equal to the value of the securities on loan. The value of the loaned securities is determined at the close of each business day and any additional required collateral is delivered to the Fund on the next business day. In a securities lending transaction, the net asset value of the Fund will be affected by an increase or decrease in the value of the securities loaned and by an increase or decrease in the value of the instrument in which collateral is invested. The amount of securities lending activity undertaken by the Fund fluctuates from time to time. In the event of default or bankruptcy


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26   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund   Notes to financial statements

by the borrower, the Fund may be prevented from recovering the loaned securities or gaining access to the collateral or may experience delays or costs in doing so. In addition, the investment of any cash collateral received may lose all or part of its value. The Fund has the right under the lending agreement to recover the securities from the borrower on demand.

The Fund lends its securities through an unaffiliated securities lending agent. Cash collateral received in connection with its securities lending transactions is invested in Securities Lending Cash Investments, LLC (the “Securities Lending Fund”). The Securities Lending Fund is exempt from registration under Section 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act and is managed by Funds Management and is subadvised by Wells Capital Management Incorporated (“WellsCap”), an affiliate of Funds Management and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company (“Wells Fargo”). Funds Management receives an advisory fee starting at 0.05% and declining to 0.01% as the average daily net assets of the Securities Lending Fund increase. All of the fees received by Funds Management are paid to WellsCap for its services as subadviser. The Securities Lending Fund seeks to provide a positive return compared to the daily Fed Funds Open rate by investing in high-quality, U.S. dollar-denominated short-term money market instruments. Securities Lending Fund investments are fair valued based upon the amortized cost valuation technique. Income earned from investment in the Securities Lending Fund is included in securities lending income on the Statement of Operations.

Security transactions and income recognition

Securities transactions are recorded on a trade date basis. Realized gains or losses are recorded on the basis of identified cost.

Dividend income is recognized on the ex-dividend date. Dividend income is recorded net of foreign taxes withheld where recovery of such taxes is not assured.

Distributions to shareholders

Distributions to shareholders from net investment income and net realized gains, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Such distributions are determined in conformity with federal income tax regulations, which may differ in amount or character from net investment income and realized gains recognized for purposes of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Federal and other taxes

The Fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company by distributing substantially all of its investment company taxable income and any net realized capital gains (after reduction for capital loss carryforwards) sufficient to relieve it from all, or substantially all, federal income taxes. Accordingly, no provision for federal income taxes was required.

The Fund’s income and federal excise tax returns and all financial records supporting those returns for the prior three fiscal years are subject to examination by the federal and Delaware revenue authorities. Management has analyzed the Fund’s tax positions taken on federal, state, and foreign tax returns for all open tax years and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability.

Reclassifications are made to the Fund’s capital accounts for permanent tax differences to reflect income and gains available for distribution (or available capital loss carryforwards) under federal income tax regulations. U.S. generally accepted accounting principles require that certain components of net assets be adjusted to reflect permanent differences between financial and tax reporting. These reclassifications have no effect on net assets or net asset values per share. At July 31, 2016, as a result of permanent book-to-tax differences, the following reclassification adjustments were made on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities:

 

Overdistributed net
investment income
   Accumulated net
realized gains
on investments
$(85,434)    $85,434

Class allocations

The separate classes of shares offered by the Fund differ principally in applicable sales charges, distribution, shareholder servicing, and administration fees. Class specific expenses are charged directly to that share class. Investment income, common expenses, and realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments are allocated daily to each class of shares based on the relative proportion of net assets of each class.


Table of Contents

 

Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund     27   

3. FAIR VALUATION MEASUREMENTS

Fair value measurements of investments are determined within a framework that has established a fair value hierarchy based upon the various data inputs utilized in determining the value of the Fund’s investments. The three-level hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to significant unobservable inputs (Level 3). The Fund’s investments are classified within the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The inputs are summarized into three broad levels as follows:

 

n   Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical securities

 

n   Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, use of amortized cost, etc.)

 

n   Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The inputs or methodologies used for valuing investments in securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

The following is a summary of the inputs used in valuing the Fund’s assets and liabilities as of July 31, 2016:

 

     Quoted prices
(Level 1)
     Other significant
observable inputs
(Level 2)
    

Significant
unobservable inputs

(Level 3)

     Total  

Assets

           

Investments in:

           

Common stocks

           

Consumer discretionary

   $ 359,084,834       $ 0       $ 0       $ 359,084,834   

Consumer staples

     92,408,595         0         0         92,408,595   

Energy

     28,008,466         0         0         28,008,466   

Financials

     2,766,403         0         0         2,766,403   

Health care

     196,786,414         0         0         196,786,414   

Industrials

     101,049,691         0         0         101,049,691   

Information technology

     544,878,480         0         0         544,878,480   

Materials

     48,238,200         0         0         48,238,200   

Short-term investments

           

Investment companies

     16,831,628         0         0         16,831,628   

Investments measured at net asset value*

                                39,207,100   

Total assets

   $ 1,390,052,711       $ 0       $ 0       $ 1,429,259,811   

 

* Investments that are measured at fair value using the net asset value per share (or its equivalent) as a practical expedient have not been categorized in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value amount presented in the table is intended to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the amounts presented in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. The Fund’s investment in Securities Lending Cash Investments, LLC valued at $39,207,100 does not have a redemption period notice, can be redeemed daily and does not have any unfunded commitments.

The Fund recognizes transfers between levels within the fair value hierarchy at the end of the reporting period. At July 31, 2016, the Fund did not have any transfers into/out of Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3.

4. TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES

Management fee

Funds Management, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo, is the manager of the Fund and provides advisory and fund-level administrative services under an investment management agreement. Under the investment management agreement, Funds Management is responsible for, among other services, implementing the investment objectives and strategies of the Fund, supervising the subadviser, providing fund-level administrative services in connection with the Fund’s operations, and providing any other fund-level administrative services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. As compensation for its services under the investment management agreement, Funds Management is entitled to receive an annual management fee starting at 0.70% and declining to 0.505% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase. For the year ended July 31, 2016, the management fee was equivalent to an annual rate of 0.68% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.


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28   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund   Notes to financial statements

Funds Management has retained the services of a subadviser to provide daily portfolio management to the Fund. The fee for subadvisory services is borne by Funds Management. WellsCap is the subadviser to the Fund and is entitled to receive a fee from Funds Management at an annual rate starting at 0.30% and declining to 0.20% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase.

Administration fees

Under a class-level administration agreement, Funds Management provides class-level administrative services to the Fund, which includes paying fees and expenses for services provided by the transfer agent, sub-transfer agents, omnibus account servicers and record-keepers. As compensation for its services under the class-level administration agreement, Funds Management receives an annual fee which is calculated based on the average daily net assets of each class as follows:

 

     Class-level
administration fee
 

Class A, Class C, Class R

     0.21

Class R4

     0.08   

Class R6

     0.03   

Administrator Class, Institutional Class

     0.13   

Investor Class

     0.32   

Funds Management has contractually waived and/or reimbursed management and administration fees to the extent necessary to maintain certain net operating expense ratios for the Fund. Waiver of fees and/or reimbursement of expenses by Funds Management were made first from fund level expenses on a proportionate basis and then from class specific expenses. Funds Management has committed through November 30, 2016 to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s expenses at 1.07% for Class A shares, 1.82% for Class C shares, 1.32% for Class R shares, 0.80% for Class R4 shares, 0.65% for Class R6 shares, 0.95% for Administrator Class shares, and 0.75% for Institutional Class shares. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Prior to December 1, 2015, the Fund’s expenses were capped at 0.75% for Class R4 shares, 0.60% for Class R6 shares, and 0.65% for Institutional Class shares.

Distribution fees

The Trust has adopted a distribution plan for Class C and Class R shares of the Fund pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Distribution fees are charged to Class C and Class R shares and paid to Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC (“Funds Distributor”), the principal underwriter, at an annual rate of 0.75% of the average daily net assets of Class C shares and 0.25% of the average daily net assets of Class R shares.

In addition, Funds Distributor is entitled to receive the front-end sales charge from the purchase of Class A shares and a contingent deferred sales charge on the redemption of certain Class A shares. Funds Distributor is also entitled to receive the contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of Class C shares. For the year ended July 31, 2016, Funds Distributor received $13,126 from the sale of Class A shares.

Shareholder servicing fees

The Trust has entered into contracts with one or more shareholder servicing agents, whereby Class A, Class C, Class R, Administrator Class, and Investor Class of the Fund are charged a fee at an annual rate of 0.25% of the average daily net assets of each respective class. Class R4 is charged a fee at an annual rate of 0.10% of its average daily net assets.

A portion of these total shareholder servicing fees were paid to affiliates of Wells Fargo.

5. INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

Purchases and sales of investments, excluding U.S. government obligations (if any) and short-term securities, for the year ended July 31, 2016 were $451,530,718 and $654,534,625, respectively.

The Fund may purchase or sell investment securities to other Wells Fargo funds under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. The procedures have been designed to ensure that these interfund transactions, which generally do not incur broker commissions, are effected at current market prices. Interfund trades are included within the respective purchases and sales amounts shown.


Table of Contents

 

Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund     29   

6. BANK BORROWINGS

The Trust (excluding the money market funds and certain other funds) and Wells Fargo Variable Trust are parties to a $200,000,000 revolving credit agreement whereby the Fund is permitted to use bank borrowings for temporary or emergency purposes, such as to fund shareholder redemption requests. Interest under the credit agreement is charged to the Fund based on a borrowing rate equal to the higher of the Federal Funds rate in effect on that day plus 1.25% or the overnight LIBOR rate in effect on that day plus 1.25%. In addition, an annual commitment fee equal to 0.20% of the unused balance is allocated to each participating fund. Prior to September 1, 2015, the revolving credit agreement amount was $150,000,000 and the annual commitment fee was equal to 0.10% of the unused balance which was allocated to each participating fund.

For the year ended July 31, 2016, there were no borrowings by the Fund under the agreement.

7. DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

The tax character of distributions paid during the years ended July 31, 2016 and July 31, 2015 were as follows:

 

     Year ended July 31  
     2016      2015  

Ordinary income

   $ 3,172,894       $ 6,459,928   

Long-term capital gain

     80,996,796         63,526,659   

As of July 31, 2016, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed

long-term

gain

  

Unrealized

gains

$34,669,485    $515,380,345

8. CONCENTRATION RISK

Concentration risks result from exposure to a limited number of sectors. A fund that invests a substantial portion of their assets in any sector may be more affected by changes in that sector than would be a fund whose investments are not heavily weighted in any sector.

9. INDEMNIFICATION

Under the Trust’s organizational documents, the officers and Trustees have been granted certain indemnification rights against certain liabilities that may arise out of performance of their duties to the Trust. Additionally, in the normal course of business, the Trust may enter into contracts with service providers that contain a variety of indemnification clauses. The Trust’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is dependent on future claims that may be made against the Fund and, therefore, cannot be estimated.


Table of Contents

 

30   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund   Report of independent registered public accounting firm

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND SHAREHOLDERS OF WELLS FARGO FUNDS TRUST:

We have audited the accompanying statements of assets and liabilities, including the portfolio of investments, of the Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund (formerly known as Wells Fargo Advantage Large Cap Growth Fund) (the “Fund”), one of the funds constituting the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, as of July 31, 2016, and the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years or periods in the five-year period then ended. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of July 31, 2016, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers, or by other appropriate auditing procedures. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund as of July 31, 2016, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years or periods in the five-year period then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

 

LOGO

Boston, Massachusetts

September 23, 2016


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund     31   

TAX INFORMATION

For corporate shareholders, pursuant to Section 854 of the Internal Revenue Code, 100% of ordinary income dividends qualify for the corporate dividends-received deduction for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016.

Pursuant to Section 852 of the Internal Revenue Code, $80,996,796 was designated as a 20% rate gain distribution for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016.

Pursuant to Section 854 of the Internal Revenue Code, $3,172,894 of income dividends paid during the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016 has been designated as qualified dividend income (QDI).

PROXY VOTING INFORMATION

A description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities is available, upon request, by calling 1-800-222-8222, visiting our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available on the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com or by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov.

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION

The complete portfolio holdings for the Fund are publicly available monthly on the Fund’s website (wellsfargofunds.com), on a one-month delayed basis. In addition, top ten holdings information (excluding derivative positions) for the Fund is publicly available on the Fund’s website on a monthly, seven-day or more delayed basis. The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q, which is available by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. In addition, the Fund’s Form N-Q may be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC, and at regional offices in New York City, at 233 Broadway, and in Chicago, at 175 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 900. Information about the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.


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32   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund   Other information (unaudited)

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS

Each of the Trustees and Officers1 listed in the table below acts in identical capacities for each fund in the Wells Fargo family of funds, which consists of 139 mutual funds comprising the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, Wells Fargo Variable Trust, Wells Fargo Master Trust and four closed-end funds (collectively the “Fund Complex”). This table should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information2. The mailing address of each Trustee and Officer is 525 Market Street, 12th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105. Each Trustee and Officer serves an indefinite term, however, each Trustee serves such term until reaching the mandatory retirement age established by the Trustees.

Independent Trustees

 

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service*

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer   Current other
public company or
investment company
directorships
William R. Ebsworth
(Born 1957)
  Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 1984 to 2013, equities analyst, portfolio manager, research director and chief financial officer at Fidelity Management and Research Company in Boston, Tokyo, and Hong Kong and retired in 2013 as Chief Investment Officer of Fidelity Strategic Advisers, Inc. where he lead a team of investment professionals managing client assets. Prior thereto, Board member of Hong Kong Securities Clearing Co., Hong Kong Options Clearing Corp., the Thailand International Fund, Ltd., Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company, and Empire Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company. Mr. Ebsworth is a CFA® charterholder and an Adjunct Lecturer, Finance, at Babson College.   Asset Allocation Trust
Jane A. Freeman
(Born 1953)
  Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 2012 to 2014 and 1999 to 2008, Chief Financial Officer of Scientific Learning Corporation. From 2008 to 2012, Ms. Freeman provided consulting services related to strategic business projects. Prior to 1999, Portfolio Manager at Rockefeller & Co. and Scudder, Stevens & Clark. Board member of the Harding Loevner Funds from 1996 to 2014, serving as both Lead Independent Director and chair of the Audit Committee. Board member of the Russell Exchange Traded Funds Trust from 2011 to 2012 and the chair of the Audit Committee. Ms. Freeman is Chair of Taproot Foundation (non-profit organization), a Board Member of Ruth Bancroft Garden (non-profit organization) and an inactive chartered financial analyst.   Asset Allocation Trust
Peter G. Gordon
(Born 1942)
  Trustee, since 1998; Chairman, since 2005   Co-Founder, Retired Chairman, President and CEO of Crystal Geyser Water Company. Trustee Emeritus, Colby College.   Asset Allocation Trust
Isaiah Harris, Jr.
(Born 1952)
  Trustee, since 2009   Retired. Chairman of the Board of CIGNA Corporation since 2009, and Director since 2005. From 2003 to 2011, Director of Deluxe Corporation. Prior thereto, President and CEO of BellSouth Advertising and Publishing Corp. from 2005 to 2007, President and CEO of BellSouth Enterprises from 2004 to 2005 and President of BellSouth Consumer Services from 2000 to 2003. Emeritus member of the Iowa State University Foundation Board of Governors. Emeritus Member of the Advisory Board of Iowa State University School of Business. Advisory Board Member, Palm Harbor Academy (charter school). Advisory Board Member, Child Evangelism Fellowship (non-profit). Mr. Harris is a certified public accountant (inactive status).   CIGNA Corporation; Asset Allocation Trust
Judith M. Johnson
(Born 1949)
  Trustee, since 2008; Audit Committee Chairman, since 2008   Retired. Prior thereto, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Minneapolis Employees Retirement Fund from 1996 to 2008. Ms. Johnson is an attorney, certified public accountant and a certified managerial accountant.   Asset Allocation Trust
David F. Larcker
(Born 1950)
  Trustee, since 2009   James Irvin Miller Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Director of the Corporate Governance Research Initiative and Senior Faculty of The Rock Center for Corporate Governance since 2006. From 2005 to 2008, Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Prior thereto, Ernst & Young Professor of Accounting at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania from 1985 to 2005.   Asset Allocation Trust


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund     33   

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service*

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer   Current other
public company or
investment company
directorships
Olivia S. Mitchell
(Born 1953)
  Trustee, since 2006   International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Professor, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania since 1993. Director of Wharton’s Pension Research Council and Boettner Center on Pensions & Retirement Research, and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Previously, Cornell University Professor from 1978 to 1993.   Asset Allocation Trust
Timothy J. Penny
(Born 1951)
  Trustee, since 1996   President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, a non-profit organization, since 2007 and Senior Fellow at the Humphrey Institute Policy Forum at the University of Minnesota since 1995. Member of the Board of Trustees of NorthStar Education Finance, Inc., a non-profit organization, since 2007.   Asset Allocation Trust
Michael S. Scofield
(Born 1943)
  Trustee, since 2010   Served on the Investment Company Institute’s Board of Governors and Executive Committee from 2008-2011 as well the Governing Council of the Independent Directors Council from 2006-2011 and the Independent Directors Council Executive Committee from 2008-2011. Chairman of the IDC from 2008-2010. Institutional Investor (Fund Directions) Trustee of Year in 2007. Trustee of the Evergreen Funds complex (and its predecessors) from 1984 to 2010. Chairman of the Evergreen Funds from 2000-2010. Former Trustee of the Mentor Funds. Retired Attorney, Law Offices of Michael S. Scofield.   Asset Allocation Trust

 

* Length of service dates reflect the Trustee’s commencement of service with the Trust’s predecessor entities, where applicable.

Officers

 

Name and

year of birth

  Position held and
length of service
  Principal occupations during past five years or longer    
Karla M. Rabusch (Born 1959)   President, since 2003   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2003.    
Jeremy DePalma1 (Born 1974)   Treasurer, since 2012   Senior Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Senior Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010 and head of the Fund Reporting and Control Team within Fund Administration from 2005 to 2010.    
C. David Messman (Born 1960)   Secretary, since 2000; Chief Legal Officer, since 2003   Senior Vice President and Secretary of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2001. Assistant General Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. since 2013 and Vice President and Managing Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. from 1996 to 2013.    
Michael Whitaker (Born 1967)   Chief Compliance Officer, since 2016*   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2016. Chief Compliance Officer of Fidelity’s Fixed Income Funds and Asset Allocation Funds from 2008 to 2016, Compliance Officer of FMR Co., Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments from 2007 to 2016.    

David Berardi

(Born 1975)

  Assistant Treasurer, since 2009   Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010. Manager of Fund Reporting and Control for Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2004 to 2010.    

 

 

 

1 Jeremy DePalma acts as Treasurer of 68 funds and Assistant Treasurer of 71 funds in the Fund Complex.

 

2 The Statement of Additional Information includes additional information about the Trustees and is available, without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-222-8222 or by visiting the website at wellsfargofunds.com.

 

* Michael Whitaker became Chief Compliance Officer effective May 16, 2016.


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34   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund   Other information (unaudited)

BOARD CONSIDERATION OF INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENTS:

Under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”) must determine annually whether to approve the continuation of the Trust’s investment management and sub-advisory agreements. In this regard, at an in-person meeting held on May 24-25, 2016 (the “Meeting”), the Board, all the members of which have no direct or indirect interest in the investment management and sub-advisory agreements and are not “interested persons” of the Trust, as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”), reviewed and approved for Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund (the “Fund”): (i) an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”); and (ii) an investment sub-advisory agreement (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”) with Wells Capital Management Incorporated (the “Sub-Adviser”), an affiliate of Funds Management. The Management Agreement and the Sub-Advisory Agreement are collectively referred to as the “Advisory Agreements.”

At the Meeting, the Board considered the factors and reached the conclusions described below relating to the selection of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser and the approval of the Advisory Agreements. Prior to the Meeting, including at an in-person meeting in April 2016, the Trustees conferred extensively among themselves and with representatives of Funds Management about these matters. Also, the Board has adopted a team-based approach, with each team consisting of a sub-set of Trustees, to assist the full Board in the discharge of its duties in reviewing performance and other matters throughout the year. The Independent Trustees were assisted in their evaluation of the Advisory Agreements by independent legal counsel, from whom they received separate legal advice and with whom they met separately.

In providing information to the Board, Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser were guided by a detailed set of requests for information submitted to them by independent legal counsel on behalf of the Independent Trustees at the start of the Board’s annual contract renewal process earlier in 2016. In considering and approving the Advisory Agreements, the Trustees considered the information they believed relevant, including but not limited to the information discussed below. The Board considered not only the specific information presented in connection with the Meeting, but also the knowledge gained over time through interaction with Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser about various topics. In this regard, the Board reviewed reports of Funds Management at each of its quarterly meetings, which included, among other things, portfolio reviews and performance reports. In addition, the Board and the teams mentioned above confer with portfolio managers at various times throughout the year. The Board did not identify any particular information or consideration that was all-important or controlling, and each individual Trustee may have attributed different weights to various factors.

After its deliberations, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable. The Board considered the approval of the Advisory Agreements for the Fund as part of its consideration of agreements for funds across the complex, but its approvals were made on a fund-by-fund basis. The following summarizes a number of important, but not necessarily all, factors considered by the Board in support of its approvals.

Nature, extent and quality of services

The Board received and considered various information regarding the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under the Advisory Agreements. This information included a description of the investment advisory services and Fund-level administrative services covered by the Management Agreement, as well as, among other things, a summary of the background and experience of senior management of Funds Management, and the qualifications, background, tenure and responsibilities of each of the portfolio managers primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the Fund.

The Board evaluated the ability of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to attract and retain qualified investment professionals, including research, advisory and supervisory personnel. The Board further considered the compliance programs and compliance records of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser. In addition, the Board took into account the full range of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and its affiliates.

Fund performance and expenses

The Board considered the performance results for the Fund over various time periods ended December 31, 2015. The Board considered these results in comparison to the performance of funds in a universe that was determined by Broadridge Inc. (“Broadridge”) to be similar to the Fund (the “Universe”), and in comparison to the Fund’s benchmark index and to other comparative data. Broadridge is an independent provider of investment company data. The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the performance Universe.


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund     35   

The Board noted that the performance of the Fund (Class A) was lower than the average performance of the Universe for all periods under review except the five and ten-year periods under review. The Board also noted that the performance of the Fund was lower than its benchmark, the Russell 1000® Growth Index, for all periods under review.

The Board received information concerning, and discussed factors contributing to, the underperformance of the Fund relative to the Universe and benchmark for the periods noted above. The Board took note of the explanations for the relative underperformance in these periods, including with respect to market factors and investment decisions that affected the Fund’s performance and of recent outperformance relative to the Universe.

The Board also received and considered information regarding the Fund’s net operating expense ratios and their various components, including actual management fees, custodian and other non-management fees, and Rule 12b-1 and non-Rule 12b-1 shareholder service fees. The Board considered these ratios in comparison to the median ratios of funds in class-specific expense groups that were determined by Broadridge to be similar to the Fund (the “Groups”). The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the expense Groups and an explanation of how funds comprising expense groups and their expense ratios may vary from year-to-year. Based on the Broadridge reports, the Board noted that the net operating expense ratios of the Fund were lower than the median net operating expense ratios of the expense Groups.

The Board took into account the Fund performance and expense information provided to it among the factors considered in deciding to re-approve the Advisory Agreements.

Investment management and sub-advisory fee rates

The Board reviewed and considered the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management under the Management Agreement, as well as the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management for class-level administrative services under a Class-Level Administration Agreement, which include class-level transfer agency and sub-transfer agency costs (collectively, the “Management Rates”). The Board also reviewed and considered the contractual investment sub-advisory fee rates that are payable by Funds Management to the Sub-Adviser for investment sub-advisory services.

Among other information reviewed by the Board was a comparison of the Fund’s Management Rates with the average contractual investment management fee rates of funds in the expense Groups at a common asset level as well as transfer agency costs of the funds in the expense Groups. The Board noted that the Management Rates of the Fund were lower than or equal to the sum of these average rates for the Fund’s expense Groups for all share classes.

The Board also received and considered information about the portion of the total management fee that was retained by Funds Management after payment of the fee to the Sub-Adviser for sub-advisory services. In assessing the reasonableness of this amount, the Board received and evaluated information about the nature and extent of responsibilities retained and risks assumed by Funds Management and not delegated to or assumed by the Sub-Adviser, and about Funds Management’s on-going oversight services. However, given the affiliation between Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser, the Board ascribed limited relevance to the allocation of fees between them.

The Board also received and considered information about the nature and extent of services offered and fee rates charged by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to other types of clients with investment strategies similar to those of the Fund. In this regard, the Board received information about the significantly greater scope of services, and compliance, reporting and other legal burdens and risks of managing mutual funds compared with those associated with managing assets of non-mutual fund clients such as collective funds or institutional separate accounts.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management under the Management Agreement and to the Sub-Adviser under the Sub-Advisory Agreement was reasonable, in light of the services covered by the Advisory Agreements.

Profitability

The Board received and considered information concerning the profitability of Funds Management, as well as the profitability of Wells Fargo as a whole, from providing services to the Fund and the fund family as a whole. The Board also received and considered information concerning the profitability of the Sub-Adviser from providing services to the fund family as a whole, noting that the Sub-Adviser’s profitability information with respect to providing services to the Fund was subsumed in the Wells Fargo and Funds Management profitability analysis.

Funds Management reported on the methodologies and estimates used in calculating profitability. Among other things, the Board noted that the levels of profitability reported on a fund-by-fund basis varied widely, depending on factors such


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36   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund   Other information (unaudited)

as the size and type of fund. Based on its review, the Board did not deem the profits reported by Funds Management or Wells Fargo from its services to the Fund to be at a level that would prevent it from approving the continuation of the Advisory Agreements.

Economies of scale

With respect to possible economies of scale, the Board noted the existence of breakpoints in the Fund’s management fee structure, which operate generally to reduce the Fund’s expense ratios as the Fund grows in size. It considered that, for a small fund or a fund that shrinks in size, breakpoints conversely can result in higher fee levels. The Board also considered that fee waiver and expense reimbursement arrangements and competitive fee rates at the outset are means of sharing potential economies of scale with shareholders of the Fund and the fund family as a whole. The Board considered Funds Management’s view that any analyses of potential economies of scale in managing a particular fund are inherently limited in light of the joint and common costs and investments that Funds Management incurs across the fund family as a whole.

The Board concluded that the Fund’s fee and expense arrangements, including contractual breakpoints, constituted a reasonable approach to sharing potential economies of scale with the Fund and its shareholders.

Other benefits to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser

The Board received and considered information regarding potential “fall-out” or ancillary benefits received by Funds Management and its affiliates, including the Sub-Adviser, as a result of their relationships with the Fund. Ancillary benefits could include, among others, benefits directly attributable to other relationships with the Fund and benefits potentially derived from an increase in Funds Management’s and the Sub-Adviser’s business as a result of their relationships with the Fund. The Board noted that various affiliates of Funds Management may receive distribution-related fees, shareholder servicing payments and sub-transfer agency fees in respect of shares sold or held through them and services provided.

The Board also reviewed information about soft dollar credits earned and utilized by the Sub-Adviser, fees earned by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser from managing a private investment vehicle for the fund family’s securities lending collateral and commissions earned by an affiliated broker from portfolio transactions.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board did not find that any ancillary benefits received by Funds Management and its affiliates, including the Sub-Adviser, were unreasonable.

Conclusion

At the Meeting, after considering the above-described factors and based on its deliberations and its evaluation of the information described above, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable.


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List of abbreviations   Wells Fargo Large Cap Growth Fund     37   

The following is a list of common abbreviations for terms and entities that may have appeared in this report.

 

ACA —  ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation
ADR —  American depositary receipt
ADS —  American depositary shares
AGC —  Assured Guaranty Corporation
AGM —  Assured Guaranty Municipal
Ambac —  Ambac Financial Group Incorporated
AMT —  Alternative minimum tax
AUD —  Australian dollar
BAN —  Bond anticipation notes
BHAC —  Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corporation
BRL —  Brazilian real
CAB —  Capital appreciation bond
CAD —  Canadian dollar
CCAB —  Convertible capital appreciation bond
CDA —  Community Development Authority
CDO —  Collateralized debt obligation
CHF —  Swiss franc
COP —  Colombian peso
CLP —  Chilean peso
DKK —  Danish krone
DRIVER —  Derivative inverse tax-exempt receipts
DW&P —  Department of Water & Power
DWR —  Department of Water Resources
ECFA —  Educational & Cultural Facilities Authority
EDA —  Economic Development Authority
EDFA —  Economic Development Finance Authority
ETF —  Exchange-traded fund
EUR —  Euro
FDIC —  Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FFCB —  Federal Farm Credit Banks
FGIC —  Financial Guaranty Insurance Corporation
FHA —  Federal Housing Administration
FHLB —  Federal Home Loan Bank
FHLMC —  Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
FICO —  The Financing Corporation
FNMA —  Federal National Mortgage Association
FSA —  Farm Service Agency
GBP —  Great British pound
GDR —  Global depositary receipt
GNMA —  Government National Mortgage Association
GO —  General obligation
HCFR —  Healthcare facilities revenue
HEFA —  Health & Educational Facilities Authority
HEFAR —  Higher education facilities authority revenue
HFA —  Housing Finance Authority
HFFA —  Health Facilities Financing Authority
HKD —  Hong Kong dollar
HUD —  Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUF —  Hungarian forint
IDA —  Industrial Development Authority
IDAG —  Industrial Development Agency
IDR —  Indonesian rupiah
IEP —  Irish pound
JPY —  Japanese yen
KRW —  Republic of Korea won
LIBOR —  London Interbank Offered Rate
LIFER —  Long Inverse Floating Exempt Receipts
LIQ —  Liquidity agreement
LLC —  Limited liability company
LLLP —  Limited liability limited partnership
LLP —  Limited liability partnership
LOC —  Letter of credit
LP —  Limited partnership
MBIA —  Municipal Bond Insurance Association
MFHR —  Multifamily housing revenue
MSTR —  Municipal securities trust receipts
MTN —  Medium-term note
MUD —  Municipal Utility District
MXN —  Mexican peso
MYR —  Malaysian ringgit
National —  National Public Finance Guarantee Corporation
NGN —  Nigerian naira
NOK —  Norwegian krone
NZD —  New Zealand dollar
PCFA —  Pollution Control Financing Authority
PCL —  Public Company Limited
PCR —  Pollution control revenue
PFA —  Public Finance Authority
PFFA —  Public Facilities Financing Authority
PFOTER —  Puttable floating option tax-exempt receipts
plc —  Public limited company
PLN —  Polish zloty
PUTTER —  Puttable tax-exempt receipts
R&D —  Research & development
Radian —  Radian Asset Assurance
RAN —  Revenue anticipation notes
RDA —  Redevelopment Authority
RDFA —  Redevelopment Finance Authority
REIT —  Real estate investment trust
ROC —  Reset option certificates
RON —  Romanian lei
RUB —  Russian ruble
SAVRS —  Select auction variable rate securities
SBA —  Small Business Authority
SDR —  Swedish depositary receipt
SEK —  Swedish krona
SFHR —  Single-family housing revenue
SFMR —  Single-family mortgage revenue
SGD —  Singapore dollar
SPA —  Standby purchase agreement
SPDR —  Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts
SPEAR —  Short Puttable Exempt Adjustable Receipts
STRIPS —  Separate trading of registered interest and
           principal securities
TAN —  Tax anticipation notes
TBA —  To be announced
THB —  Thai baht
TIPS —  Treasury inflation-protected securities
TRAN —  Tax revenue anticipation notes
TRY —  Turkish lira
TTFA —  Transportation Trust Fund Authority
TVA —  Tennessee Valley Authority
ZAR —  South African rand
 


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LOGO

 

 

LOGO

For more information

More information about Wells Fargo Funds is available free upon request. To obtain literature, please write, email, visit the Fund’s website, or call:

Wells Fargo Funds

P.O. Box 8266

Boston, MA 02266-8266

Email: fundservice@wellsfargo.com

Website: wellsfargofunds.com

Individual investors: 1-800-222-8222

Retail investment professionals: 1-888-877-9275

Institutional investment professionals: 1-866-765-0778

 

This report and the financial statements contained herein are submitted for the general information of the shareholders of the Fund. If this report is used for promotional purposes, distribution of the report must be accompanied or preceded by a current prospectus. Before investing, please consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the investment. For a current prospectus and, if available, a summary prospectus, containing this information, call 1-800-222-8222 or visit the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com. Read the prospectus carefully before you invest or send money.

Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM) is a trade name used by the asset management businesses of Wells Fargo & Company. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, provides investment advisory and administrative services for Wells Fargo Funds. Other affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company provide subadvisory and other services for the funds. The funds are distributed by Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC, Member FINRA, an affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE

© 2016 Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. All rights reserved.

 

LOGO     

245326 09-16

A209/AR209 07-16


Table of Contents

Annual Report

July 31, 2016

 

LOGO

 

Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund

 

LOGO

 

 

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Table of Contents

Reduce clutter. Save trees.

Sign up for electronic delivery of prospectuses and shareholder reports at wellsfargo.com/advantagedelivery

Contents

 

 

 

Letter to shareholders

    2   

Performance highlights

    6   

Fund expenses

    10   

Portfolio of investments

    11   
Financial statements  

Statement of assets and liabilities

    16   

Statement of operations

    17   

Statement of changes in net assets

    18   

Financial highlights

    19   

Notes to financial statements

    23   

Report of independent registered public accounting firm

    28   

Other information

    29   

List of abbreviations

    35   

 

The views expressed and any forward-looking statements are as of July 31, 2016, unless otherwise noted, and are those of the Fund managers and/or Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. Discussions of individual securities, or the markets generally, or any Wells Fargo Fund are not intended as individual recommendations. Future events or results may vary significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. The views expressed are subject to change at any time in response to changing circumstances in the market. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC and the Fund disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any views expressed or forward-looking statements.

 

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE



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2   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

 

LOGO

Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period

 

 

Dear Valued Shareholder:

We are pleased to offer you this annual report for the Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016. During this period, which began August 1, 2015, U.S. and international stock markets experienced heightened volatility, with intermittent rebounds interspersed with sell-offs. The U.S. economy displayed resilience throughout the period, although growth was somewhat sluggish amid ongoing pressures that included slowing growth in China, a strengthening U.S. dollar, and uncertainty regarding interest-rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed); international economies faced deeper ongoing challenges. During June 2016, global markets became especially volatile as the U.K.’s vote over whether to leave the European Union (E.U.) approached. However, markets began recovering shortly after the U.K. voted to leave and rallied through July. Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period, as measured by the Russell 1000® Index.1 International markets generally declined as measured by the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index.2

In the third quarter of 2015, China’s slowdown took a toll on economies and markets worldwide.

U.S. stocks sagged during the quarter, experiencing the most volatility since 2011. Economic data released during the quarter suggested the U.S. economy remained solid but had lost some steam, burdened by the drag of the U.S. dollar’s strength coupled with global economic turmoil. The fact that the Fed left the federal funds interest rate unchanged at its September 2015 meeting surprised investors and fueled increased uncertainty about the U.S. economy’s stamina to remain healthy while facing the challenges of slowing growth in China and troubles elsewhere in the world. Outside the U.S., markets were even more volatile and delivered generally weaker quarterly results, also largely due to investors’ increasing anxiety over China’s weakened economy.

Despite ongoing concerns, U.S. stocks generally rose in the fourth quarter of 2015; international markets lagged.

While the broad U.S. stock market bounced back in the quarter, stock markets outside the U.S. failed to keep pace as economic concerns, including China’s ongoing slowdown, continued to affect many countries. U.S. economic data released during the quarter indicated the economy remained solid, although the strong U.S. dollar and weakness in international economies remained headwinds. In December, the Fed, as expected, raised its target interest rate by 25 basis points (bps; 100 bps equals 1.00%) after keeping it near zero for seven years. The move reflected confidence in the U.S. economy’s ability to stay healthy with less central-bank support. The Fed also clarified that future interest-rate increases would be gradual.

 

 

 

1  The Russell 1000® Index measures the performance of the 1,000 largest companies in the Russell 3000® Index, which represents approximately 92% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000® Index. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

2  Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index is a free-float-adjusted market-capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the United States and Canada. The MSCI EAFE Index consists of the following 21 developed markets country indexes: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. You cannot invest directly in an index.


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Letter to shareholders (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund     3   

In the first quarter of 2016, market volatility increased globally amid ongoing concerns.

Stock markets worldwide fluctuated widely in the first quarter of 2016. Most sold off sharply in the first six weeks of the year on concerns such as weak global growth, falling commodity prices, and uncertainty over the timing and impact of the Fed’s interest-rate increases. As the quarter progressed, fears abated somewhat and global markets generally rallied back. The U.S. economy ended the quarter on a positive note as much of the quarter’s data reflected resiliency. With ongoing uncertainties about global growth and financial markets, however, the Fed held off from raising the target interest rate during the quarter. Outside the U.S., the eurozone fell into deflation in February; in response, the European Central Bank announced an expansion of its stimulus program. In China, the government in March set a growth rate of 6.5% to 7.0% for 2016, an acknowledgment of weakening growth. In emerging markets, although central-bank stimulus and improved prices for oil and other commodities led to stock-market rallies in the quarter, many of these countries’ economies face credit downgrades due to challenges such as the likelihood of a stronger U.S. dollar, which would make dollar-denominated debt more expensive.

Worries over interest rates and the U.K.’s vote largely drove the markets during the second quarter of 2016.

U.S. stocks began the quarter in positive territory but started to lose steam in early May on worries that a possible June interest-rate increase by the Fed could hurt the market. In mid-May, stocks briefly plunged following comments by Fed officials noting that a June interest-rate increase remained on the table. But once investors had processed this information, stocks again rallied, finishing up for the month. The first three weeks of June brought heightened volatility, spurred largely by a disappointing jobs report and uncertainty over whether the U.K. would remain in the E.U. The U.K.’s Brexit vote on June 23 shocked countries in Europe and much of the rest of the world. Stock markets plummeted as investors worried that the U.K.’s departure from the E.U. would slow global growth and prolong the low-interest-rate environment. Following the initial rout, however, U.S. stocks rallied as investors seemed to decide that any negative effects would be more localized and not create a serious risk for global growth. By quarter-end, the broad U.S. stock market had moved back into positive territory.

Stocks generally posted positive results for July 2016.

U.S. stocks displayed the most momentum during the first two weeks of the month, buoyed partly by an unexpectedly favorable June jobs report that helped strengthen confidence in the U.S. economy. Also, investors perhaps felt that global central banks could extend stimulus measures in the wake of the Brexit vote. Although U.S. market momentum slowed during the second half of July, stocks ended in positive territory for the month. International stocks delivered positive monthly results as well.

    

 


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4   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

Don’t let short-term uncertainty derail long-term investment goals.

Periods of uncertainty can present challenges, but experience has taught us that maintaining long-term investment goals can be an effective way to plan for the future. To help you create a sound strategy based on your personal goals and risk tolerance, Wells Fargo Funds offers more than 100 mutual funds spanning a wide range of asset classes and investment styles. Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance. We encourage investors to know their investments and to understand that appropriate levels of risk-taking may unlock opportunities.

Thank you for choosing to invest in Wells Fargo Funds. We appreciate your confidence in us and remain committed to helping you meet your financial needs.

Sincerely,

 

LOGO

Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance.

 

 

 

 

For further information about your Fund, contact your investment professional, visit our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or call us directly at 1-800-222-8222. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


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6   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

Investment objective

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Manager

Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC

Subadviser

Phocas Financial Corporation

Portfolio managers

Stephen L. Block, CFA®

William F.K. Schaff, CFA®

Average annual total returns (%) as of July 31, 20161

 

        Including sales charge     Excluding sales charge     Expense ratios2 (%)  
    Inception date   1 year     5 year     10 year     1 year     5 year     10 year     Gross     Net3  
Class A (WLCAX)   3-31-2008     (6.66     8.42        4.57        (0.98     9.71        5.20        1.23        1.10   
Class C (WFLVX)   3-31-2008     (2.68     8.90        4.45        (1.68     8.90        4.45        1.98        1.85   
Administrator Class (WWIDX)   12-31-2001                          (0.79     9.97        5.50        1.15        0.98   
Institutional Class (WLCIX)   3-31-2008                          (0.54     10.22        5.68        0.90        0.75   
Russell 1000® Value Index4                            5.38        12.75        6.18                 

Figures quoted represent past performance, which is no guarantee of future results, and do not reflect taxes that a shareholder may pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Performance shown without sales charges would be lower if sales charges were reflected. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted, which assumes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. Current month-end performance is available on the Fund’s website, wellsfargofunds.com.

Index returns do not include transaction costs associated with buying and selling securities, any mutual fund fees or expenses, or any taxes. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

For Class A shares, the maximum front-end sales charge is 5.75%. For Class C shares, the maximum contingent deferred sales charge is 1.00%. Performance including a contingent deferred sales charge assumes the sales charge for the corresponding time period. Administrator Class and Institutional Class shares are sold without a front-end sales charge or contingent deferred sales charge.

Stock values fluctuate in response to the activities of individual companies and general market and economic conditions. Certain investment strategies tend to increase the total risk of an investment (relative to the broader market). The Fund is exposed to foreign investment risk and focused portfolio risk. Consult the Fund’s prospectus for additional information on these and other risks.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


Table of Contents

 

Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund     7   
Growth of $10,000 investment as of July 31, 20165
LOGO

 

 

 

 

 

1  Historical performance shown for Class A shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of the former Investor Class shares, and includes the higher expenses applicable to the former Investor Class shares (except during those periods in which the expenses of Class A shares would have been higher than those of the former Investor Class shares). If these expenses had not been included, returns would be higher. Historical performance shown for Class C shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of the former Investor Class shares, adjusted to reflect the higher expenses applicable to Class C shares. Historical performance shown for Institutional Class shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of the former Investor Class shares and includes the higher expenses applicable to the former Investor Class shares. If these expenses had not been included, returns would be higher. Historical performance shown for all classes of the Fund prior to March 21, 2008 does not reflect the Fund’s current investment objective and strategies.

 

2  Reflects the expense ratios as stated in the most recent prospectuses. The expense ratios shown are subject to change and may differ from the annualized expense ratios shown in the financial highlights of this report.

 

3  The manager has contractually committed through November 30, 2016, to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at the amounts shown. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Brokerage commissions, stamp duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense cap. Without this cap, the Fund’s returns would have been lower.

 

4  The Russell 1000® Value Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

5  The chart compares the performance of Class A shares for the most recent ten years with the Russell 1000® Value Index. The chart assumes a hypothetical investment of $10,000 in Class A shares and reflects all operating expenses and assumes the maximum initial sales charge of 5.75%.

 

6  The ten largest holdings, excluding cash and cash equivalents, are calculated based on the value of the investments divided by total net assets of the Fund. Holdings are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.

 

7  Amounts are calculated based on the total long-term investments of the Fund. These amounts are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.


Table of Contents

 

8   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

MANAGER’S DISCUSSION

Fund highlights

n   The Fund underperformed its benchmark, the Russell 1000® Value Index, for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016.

 

n   The Fund’s underperformance was primarily due to weak relative performance in the energy, health care, and information technology (IT) sectors. The energy sector was weighed down by weak performance from companies that are highly exposed to the price of oil and gas. Allergan, Incorporated; HCA Holdings, Incorporated; and Cigna Corporation were underperformers in the health care sector while fears of a slowdown from Apple Incorporated and the auto sector weighed on performance from Skyworks Solutions, Incorporated, and NXP Semiconductors N.V. in the IT sector.

 

n   Holdings in the financials sector aided relative results. The Fund especially benefited from its holdings of real estate investment trusts (REITs), which found favor from yield-seeking investors.

Unfavorable stock selection was primarily responsible for the Fund’s underperformance.

In our opinion, attempting to pick the best-performing sectors is an inconsistent and unrewarding approach to investing. We therefore do not attempt to overweight or underweight economic sectors relative to the benchmark. Instead, we focus on owning securities across all sectors that we believe are fundamentally undervalued. The Fund’s performance is generally driven by stock selection rather than sector allocation, and this reporting period was no exception.

In the health care sector, Allergan plc was a notably weak performer. This pharmaceutical company did quite well specializing in eye care, the central nervous system, and dermatology, and it was in the process of selling its generic drug business. Unfortunately, investors likened it to another quite troubled specialty pharmaceutical company—unfairly, in our view—and Allergan’s stock suffered. In the consumer discretionary sector, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Limited continued to post record company results. However, investors weren’t in the mood to buy a stock with exposure to such travel-related fears as the Zika virus and terrorism in Europe, as well as to such headwinds as rising fuel prices and a strong U.S. dollar. Our research indicates that none of these issues significantly affected Norwegian Cruise Line’s business, but in the short-term perception can trump reality.

Among contributors, the Fund benefited from holding several REITs in the financials sector. Historically, REITs have been higher-yielding stocks and benefited from investor interest in dividend-paying stocks against a backdrop of low interest rates. Alexandra Real Estate Equities, Incorporated, was a notable REIT contributor. Alexandra Real Estate’s business of providing medical office space to the biotechnology industry showed rapid growth and solid profitability. In the health care sector, Baxalta Incorporated was a strong performer during the one-year period. It was spun out of Baxter International Incorporated in June 2015 only to be acquired by Shire plc in May 2016.

By design, the Fund’s exposure to the various economic sectors were mostly in line with the benchmark. The Fund had a lower allocation to utilities due to the lofty valuations in that sector, while the Fund’s allocation to consumer discretionary was somewhat larger than the benchmark.

 

Ten largest holdings (%) as of July 31, 20166  

Exxon Mobil Corporation

     3.13   

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Incorporated

     2.59   

JPMorgan Chase & Company

     2.51   

CVS Health Corporation

     2.49   

NCR Corporation

     1.98   

Pfizer Incorporated

     1.95   

American International Group Incorporated

     1.92   

Great Plains Energy Incorporated

     1.85   

Bank of America Corporation

     1.74   

Stanley Black & Decker Incorporated

     1.73   

We continued to find attractive opportunities throughout the reporting period.

The Fund’s fiscal year started off with a bang as fears of a slowing Chinese economy and of higher interest rates spooked investors, starting off a precipitous decline for the equity markets in August 2015. Such situations have been occurring more frequently and often suit our investment strategy well—we buy companies with solid business prospects that trade at significant discounts to their peers. The sell-off afforded us the opportunity to buy companies like waste hauler Progressive Waste Solutions Limited (which was subsequently acquired by Waste Connections, Incorporated), industrial tools and security provider Stanley Black & Decker, Incorporated; industrial equipment

 

maker Curtiss-Wright Corporation; and construction and industrial products provider HD Supply Holdings, Incorporated. We also had the opportunity to increase our exposure to certain financials stocks like Bank of America Corporation, Citigroup Incorporated, and CIT Group Incorporated. We believe these companies should benefit significantly from restructuring actions, and there is also the potential for higher interest rates to boost their profit margins.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


Table of Contents

 

Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund     9   
Sector distribution as of July 31, 20167

LOGO

We remain committed to our investment strategy and process.

Over the next 6 to 12 months, we expect more slow growth around the globe. Britain’s decision to leave the European Union may have repercussions by the end of the Fund’s fiscal year, but this is expected to play out slowly and the effects are still unknown. Offsetting this factor is a recovering Europe, possibly foreshadowing better profits for multinationals with significant exposure to the region. China’s economy isn’t worsening but isn’t improving either, and the outlook for the country remains murky. The last few months of the fiscal year saw strong outperformance from traditionally defensive sectors, as well as from defensive and high-dividend-paying stocks.

 

Because the valuations on these stocks have gotten quite stretched, we don’t believe they will continue to outperform in the near future. Instead, we believe companies that offer good future business prospects but whose stocks are trading at steep discounts will begin to entice investors once again.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


Table of Contents

 

10   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund   Fund expenses (unaudited)

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments and contingent deferred sales charges (if any) on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees, distribution (12b-1) and/or shareholder servicing fees, and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the six-month period and held for the entire period from February 1, 2016 to July 31, 2016.

Actual expenses

The “Actual” line of the table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the “Actual” line under the heading entitled “Expenses paid during period” for your applicable class of shares to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical example for comparison purposes

The “Hypothetical” line of the table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads) and contingent deferred sales charges. Therefore, the “Hypothetical” line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

     Beginning
account value
2-1-2016
     Ending
account value
7-31-2016
     Expenses
paid during
the period¹
     Annualized net
expense ratio
 

Class A

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,126.12       $ 5.81         1.10

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,019.39       $ 5.52         1.10

Class C

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,121.66       $ 9.76         1.85

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,015.66       $ 9.27         1.85

Administrator Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,126.22       $ 5.18         0.98

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,019.99       $ 4.92         0.98

Institutional Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,127.98       $ 3.97         0.75

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,021.13       $ 3.77         0.75

 

 

 

 

 

1 Expenses paid is equal to the annualized net expense ratio of each class multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the most recent fiscal half-year divided by the number of days in the fiscal year (to reflect the one-half-year period).


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund     11   

    

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  

Common Stocks: 97.22%

  

        

Consumer Discretionary: 7.53%

          
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure: 1.30%            

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Limited †

          78,429       $ 3,341,075   
          

 

 

 
Household Durables: 1.18%           

Harman International Industries Incorporated

          36,627         3,026,855   
          

 

 

 
Leisure Products: 1.28%           

Mattel Incorporated

          98,217         3,278,483   
          

 

 

 
Media: 1.20%           

Scripps Networks Interactive Incorporated Class A

          46,387         3,064,325   
          

 

 

 
Specialty Retail: 1.61%           

Signet Jewelers Limited

          25,839         2,271,506   

Williams-Sonoma Incorporated

          34,189         1,848,941   
     4,120,447   
          

 

 

 
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods: 0.96%           

Skechers U.S.A. Incorporated Class A †

          102,072         2,451,769   
          

 

 

 

Consumer Staples: 7.90%

          
Beverages: 0.91%           

Coca-Cola European Partners plc

          62,588         2,336,410   
          

 

 

 
Food & Staples Retailing: 2.49%           

CVS Health Corporation

          68,885         6,387,017   
          

 

 

 
Food Products: 2.20%           

ConAgra Foods Incorporated

          54,538         2,550,197   

TreeHouse Foods Incorporated †

          29,847         3,079,912   
     5,630,109   
          

 

 

 
Household Products: 1.29%           

The Procter & Gamble Company

          38,469         3,292,562   
          

 

 

 
Personal Products: 1.01%           

Herbalife Limited Ǡ

          38,079         2,589,753   
          

 

 

 

Energy: 11.60%

          
Energy Equipment & Services: 1.24%           

Baker Hughes Incorporated

          42,092         2,013,260   

Noble Corporation plc «

          157,667         1,163,582   
     3,176,842   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

12   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund   Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016

    

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels: 10.36%           

Chevron Corporation

          35,502       $ 3,638,245   

ConocoPhillips

          88,758         3,623,102   

Exxon Mobil Corporation

          90,002         8,005,678   

Kinder Morgan Incorporated

          211,292         4,295,566   

Noble Energy Incorporated

          110,426         3,944,417   

Valero Energy Corporation

          57,930         3,028,580   
     26,535,588   
          

 

 

 

Financials: 26.39%

          
Banks: 10.32%           

Bank of America Corporation

          307,122         4,450,198   

BOK Financial Corporation «

          61,918         4,038,911   

CIT Group Incorporated

          59,130         2,043,533   

Citigroup Incorporated

          97,377         4,266,086   

First Republic Bank

          37,062         2,656,234   

FNB Corporation PA

          213,213         2,547,895   

JPMorgan Chase & Company

          100,385         6,421,628   
             26,424,485   
          

 

 

 
Capital Markets: 3.20%           

Affiliated Managers Group Incorporated †

          16,312         2,394,275   

Ameriprise Financial Incorporated

          26,790         2,567,554   

Goldman Sachs Group Incorporated

          20,387         3,237,659   
             8,199,488   
          

 

 

 
Insurance: 6.91%           

American International Group Incorporated

          90,286         4,915,170   

Arthur J. Gallagher & Company

          66,402         3,266,314   

Chubb Limited

          22,279         2,790,668   

Endurance Specialty Holdings Limited

          35,710         2,415,067   

MetLife Incorporated

          100,814         4,308,790   
             17,696,009   
          

 

 

 
REITs: 5.96%           

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Incorporated

          59,003         6,626,037   

Prologis Incorporated

          57,028         3,107,456   

VEREIT Incorporated

          308,932         3,416,788   

Vornado Realty Trust

          19,720         2,117,928   
             15,268,209   
          

 

 

 

Health Care: 10.76%

          
Biotechnology: 0.85%           

AbbVie Incorporated

          32,851         2,175,722   
          

 

 

 
Health Care Providers & Services: 1.75%           

Cigna Corporation

          17,476         2,253,705   

HCA Holdings Incorporated †

          28,786         2,220,264   
             4,473,969   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund     13   

    

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  
Pharmaceuticals: 8.16%           

Allergan plc †

          13,794       $ 3,489,192   

Johnson & Johnson

          24,005         3,006,146   

Mallinckrodt plc †

          49,385         3,325,586   

Merck & Company Incorporated

          52,041         3,052,725   

Pfizer Incorporated

          135,575         5,001,362   

Shire plc ADR

          15,585         3,025,360   
             20,900,371   
          

 

 

 

Industrials: 10.83%

          
Aerospace & Defense: 2.25%           

Curtiss-Wright Corporation

          36,617         3,258,547   

Raytheon Company

          17,973         2,507,773   
     5,766,320   
          

 

 

 
Airlines: 0.57%           

United Continental Holdings Incorporated †

          30,974         1,452,371   
          

 

 

 
Electrical Equipment: 0.92%           

Eaton Corporation plc

          37,299         2,365,130   
          

 

 

 
Industrial Conglomerates: 1.65%           

General Electric Company

          135,741         4,226,975   
          

 

 

 
Machinery: 1.73%           

Stanley Black & Decker Incorporated

          36,477         4,439,251   
          

 

 

 
Professional Services: 0.86%           

Robert Half International Incorporated

          59,978         2,191,596   
          

 

 

 
Road & Rail: 1.67%           

Hertz Global Holdings Incorporated †

          32,480         1,581,126   

Norfolk Southern Corporation

          30,051         2,697,979   
     4,279,105   
          

 

 

 
Trading Companies & Distributors: 1.18%           

HD Supply Holdings Incorporated †

          72,973         2,640,893   

Herc Holdings Incorporated

          10,826         382,699   
     3,023,592   
          

 

 

 

Information Technology: 10.15%

          
Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components: 1.88%           

Synnex Corporation

          25,414         2,554,869   

TE Connectivity Limited

          37,335         2,250,554   
     4,805,423   
          

 

 

 
Internet Software & Services: 1.42%           

Alphabet Incorporated Class C †

          4,727         3,634,070   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

14   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund   Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016

    

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  
IT Services: 1.03%           

Alliance Data Systems Corporation †

          11,423       $ 2,645,795   
          

 

 

 
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment: 2.35%           

NXP Semiconductors NV †

          45,771         3,848,883   

Skyworks Solutions Incorporated

          32,975         2,177,010   
     6,025,893   
          

 

 

 
Software: 0.59%           

Citrix Systems Incorporated †

          16,785         1,496,047   
          

 

 

 
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals: 2.88%           

Apple Incorporated

          22,163         2,309,606   

NCR Corporation †

          153,872         5,073,160   
     7,382,766   
          

 

 

 

Materials: 3.35%

          
Chemicals: 1.86%           

Cabot Corporation

          37,503         1,826,021   

FMC Corporation

          61,891         2,942,298   
             4,768,319   
          

 

 

 
Containers & Packaging: 1.49%           

Crown Holdings Incorporated †

          53,806         2,850,104   

WestRock Company

          22,407         961,484   
             3,811,588   
          

 

 

 

Telecommunication Services: 2.41%

          
Diversified Telecommunication Services: 2.41%           

AT&T Incorporated

          71,214         3,082,854   

Verizon Communications Incorporated

          55,538         3,077,361   
             6,160,215   
          

 

 

 

Utilities: 6.30%

          
Electric Utilities: 5.14%           

Duke Energy Corporation

          47,730         4,085,211   

Great Plains Energy Incorporated

          158,712         4,726,443   

The Southern Company

          81,273         4,348,106   
             13,159,760   
          

 

 

 
Gas Utilities: 1.16%           

Atmos Energy Corporation

          37,368         2,981,593   
          

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks (Cost $200,998,030)

             248,985,297   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund     15   

    

 

 

Security name   Yield            Shares      Value  

Short-Term Investments: 4.47%

         
Investment Companies: 4.47%          

Securities Lending Cash Investments, LLC (l)(r)(u)

    0.50        6,621,300       $ 6,621,300   

Wells Fargo Government Money Market Fund Select Class (l)(u)

    0.32           4,823,016         4,823,016   

Total Short-Term Investments (Cost $11,444,316)

            11,444,316        
         

 

 

 

 

Total investments in securities (Cost $212,442,346) *     101.69        260,429,613   

Other assets and liabilities, net

    (1.69        (4,325,611
 

 

 

      

 

 

 
Total net assets     100.00      $ 256,104,002   
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-income-earning security

 

« All or a portion of this security is on loan.

 

(l) The issuer of the security is an affiliated person of the Fund as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

(r) The investment is a non-registered investment vehicle purchased with cash collateral received from securities on loan.

 

(u) The rate represents the 7-day annualized yield at period end.

 

* Cost for federal income tax purposes is $216,401,943 and unrealized gains (losses) consists of:

 

Gross unrealized gains

   $ 53,301,012   

Gross unrealized losses

     (9,273,342
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized gains

   $ 44,027,670   

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

16   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund   Statement of assets and liabilities—July 31, 2016
         

Assets

 

Investments

 

In unaffiliated securities (including $6,429,729 of securities loaned), at value (cost $200,998,030)

  $ 248,985,297   

In affiliated securities, at value (cost $11,444,316)

    11,444,316   
 

 

 

 

Total investments, at value (cost $212,442,346)

    260,429,613   

Receivable for investments sold

    6,162,497   

Receivable for Fund shares sold

    9,024   

Receivable for dividends

    344,137   

Receivable for securities lending income

    1,845   

Prepaid expenses and other assets

    49,026   
 

 

 

 

Total assets

    266,996,142   
 

 

 

 

Liabilities

 

Payable for investments purchased

    3,845,974   

Payable for Fund shares redeemed

    140,210   

Payable upon receipt of securities loaned

    6,621,300   

Management fee payable

    118,772   

Distribution fee payable

    2,380   

Administration fees payable

    42,954   

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

    120,550   
 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

    10,892,140   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 256,104,002   
 

 

 

 

NET ASSETS CONSIST OF

 

Paid-in capital

  $ 215,526,392   

Overdistributed net investment income

    (11,855

Accumulated net realized losses on investments

    (7,397,802

Net unrealized gains on investments

    47,987,267   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 256,104,002   
 

 

 

 

COMPUTATION OF NET ASSET VALUE AND OFFERING PRICE PER SHARE

 

Net assets – Class A

  $ 218,922,210   

Shares outstanding – Class A1

    15,017,498   

Net asset value per share – Class A

    $14.58   

Maximum offering price per share – Class A2

    $15.47   

Net assets – Class C

  $ 3,674,172   

Shares outstanding – Class C1

    246,667   

Net asset value per share – Class C

    $14.90   

Net assets – Administrator Class

  $ 24,164,288   

Shares outstanding – Administrator Class1

    1,646,555   

Net asset value per share – Administrator Class

    $14.68   

Net assets – Institutional Class

  $ 9,343,332   

Shares outstanding – Institutional Class1

    637,399   

Net asset value per share – Institutional Class

    $14.66   

 

 

 

1  The Fund has an unlimited number of authorized shares.

 

2  Maximum offering price is computed as 100/94.25 of net asset value. On investments of $50,000 or more, the offering price is reduced.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Statement of operations—year ended July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund     17   
         

Investment income

 

Dividends (net of foreign withholding taxes of $2,998)

  $ 5,673,508   

Securities lending income, net

    117,985   

Income from affiliated securities

    15,781   
 

 

 

 

Total investment income

    5,807,274   
 

 

 

 

Expenses

 

Management fee

    1,779,099   

Administration fees

 

Class A

    395,497   

Class C

    8,008   

Administrator Class

    32,922   

Institutional Class

    7,981   

Investor Class

    97,752 1 

Shareholder servicing fees

 

Class A

    470,284   

Class C

    9,533   

Administrator Class

    63,312   

Investor Class

    76,122 1 

Distribution fee

 

Class C

    28,600   

Custody and accounting fees

    21,561   

Professional fees

    40,298   

Registration fees

    65,564   

Shareholder report expenses

    49,173   

Trustees’ fees and expenses

    24,075   

Other fees and expenses

    11,502   
 

 

 

 

Total expenses

    3,181,283   

Less: Fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements

    (403,003
 

 

 

 

Net expenses

    2,778,280   
 

 

 

 

Net investment income

    3,028,994   
 

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAINS (LOSSES) ON INVESTMENTS

 

Net realized losses on investments

    (969,698

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (5,958,734
 

 

 

 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (6,928,432
 

 

 

 

Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations

  $ (3,899,438
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from August 1, 2015 to October 23, 2015. Effective at the close of business on October 23, 2015, Investor Class shares were converted to Class A shares and are no longer offered by the Fund.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

18   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund   Statement of changes in net assets
    

Year ended

July 31, 2016

   

Year ended

July 31, 2015

 

Operations

       

Net investment income

    $ 3,028,994        $ 2,249,903   

Net realized gains (losses) on investments

      (969,698       31,510,363   

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

      (5,958,734       (16,922,395
 

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

      (3,899,438       16,837,871   
 

 

 

 

Distributions to shareholders from

       

Net investment income

       

Class A

      (2,264,793       (879,902

Class C

      (13,093       (2,940

Administrator Class

      (337,098       (376,690

Institutional Class

      (111,852       (21,092

Investor Class

      (248,226 )1        (1,017,744

Net realized gains

       

Class A

      (16,632,476       (9,704,404

Class C

      (275,850       (389,854

Administrator Class

      (1,889,643       (3,048,826

Institutional Class

      (642,971       (160,301

Investor Class

      0 1        (12,477,097
 

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

      (22,416,002       (28,078,850
 

 

 

 

Capital share transactions

    Shares          Shares     

Proceeds from shares sold

       

Class A

    8,907,108        138,160,256        123,205        2,013,071   

Class C

    31,550        457,515        38,787        642,242   

Administrator Class

    71,607        1,041,380        119,049        1,984,735   

Institutional Class

    547,916        8,310,962        70,995        1,223,711   

Investor Class

    32,361 1      501,302 1      320,863        5,443,693   
 

 

 

 
      148,471,415          11,307,452   
 

 

 

 

Reinvestment of distributions

       

Class A

    1,321,571        18,357,171        651,156        10,256,986   

Class C

    18,165        257,417        21,352        341,919   

Administrator Class

    143,421        2,009,265        197,644        3,137,103   

Institutional Class

    50,313        702,990        6,036        95,717   

Investor Class

    15,819 1      239,184 1      800,321        12,965,138   
 

 

 

 
      21,566,027          26,796,863   
 

 

 

 

Payment for shares redeemed

       

Class A

    (1,699,975     (24,158,609     (1,205,076     (20,028,888

Class C

    (76,521     (1,132,943     (58,702     (985,449

Administrator Class

    (431,324     (6,314,039     (580,514     (9,574,977

Institutional Class

    (52,523     (756,449     (36,394     (597,478

Investor Class

    (8,624,994 )1      (137,936,039 )1      (1,044,020     (17,642,122
 

 

 

 
      (170,298,079       (48,828,914
 

 

 

 

Net decrease in net assets resulting from capital share transactions

      (260,637       (10,724,599
 

 

 

 

Total decrease in net assets

      (26,576,077       (21,965,578
 

 

 

 

Net assets

       

Beginning of period

      282,680,079          304,645,657   
 

 

 

 

End of period

    $  256,104,002        $  282,680,079   
 

 

 

 

Undistributed (overdistributed) net investment income

    $ (11,855     $ 101,225   
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from August 1, 2015 to October 23, 2015. Effective at the close of business on October 23, 2015, Investor Class shares were converted to Class A shares and are no longer offered by the Fund.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund     19   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS A   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $16.10        $16.82        $16.39        $12.96        $12.61   

Net investment income

    0.17        0.13 1      0.10        0.14        0.17   

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.41     0.78        2.04        3.48        0.35   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.24     0.91        2.14        3.62        0.52   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    (0.16     (0.13     (0.09     (0.19     (0.17

Net realized gains

    (1.12     (1.50     (1.62     0.00        0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1.28     (1.63     (1.71     (0.19     (0.17

Net asset value, end of period

    $14.58        $16.10        $16.82        $16.39        $12.96   

Total return2

    (0.98 )%      5.72     13.68     28.16     4.21

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.24     1.27     1.28     1.28     1.27

Net expenses

    1.10     1.10     1.10     1.10     1.10

Net investment income

    1.19     0.76     0.61     1.00     1.29

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    50     71     59     78     37

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $218,922        $104,453        $116,398        $115,895        $103,195   

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

20   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS C   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $16.41        $17.12        $16.70        $13.21        $12.81   

Net investment income (loss)

    0.06        0.00 1      (0.02     0.04        0.09   

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.40     0.80        2.07        3.54        0.36   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.34     0.80        2.05        3.58        0.45   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    (0.05     (0.01     (0.01     (0.09     (0.05

Net realized gains

    (1.12     (1.50     (1.62     0.00        0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1.17     (1.51     (1.63     (0.09     (0.05

Net asset value, end of period

    $14.90        $16.41        $17.12        $16.70        $13.21   

Total return2

    (1.68 )%      4.92     12.83     27.17     3.49

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.99     2.02     2.03     2.03     2.02

Net expenses

    1.85     1.85     1.85     1.85     1.85

Net investment income (loss)

    0.44     0.01     (0.14 )%      0.25     0.54

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    50     71     59     78     37

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $3,674        $4,488        $4,659        $4,543        $4,022   

 

 

1  Amount is less than $0.005.

 

2  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund     21   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
ADMINISTRATOR CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $16.20        $16.93        $16.47        $13.02        $12.68   

Net investment income

    0.20        0.17        0.15        0.21        0.19 1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.41     0.78        2.05        3.46        0.36   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.21     0.95        2.20        3.67        0.55   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    (0.19     (0.18     (0.12     (0.22     (0.21

Net realized gains

    (1.12     (1.50     (1.62     0.00        0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1.31     (1.68     (1.74     (0.22     (0.21

Net asset value, end of period

    $14.68        $16.20        $16.93        $16.47        $13.02   

Total return

    (0.79 )%      5.95     13.94     28.52     4.47

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.16     1.12     1.12     1.10     1.11

Net expenses

    0.93     0.85     0.85     0.85     0.85

Net investment income

    1.35     1.01     0.86     1.28     1.54

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    50     71     59     78     37

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $24,164        $30,177        $36,002        $38,798        $176,623   

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

22   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
INSTITUTIONAL CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $16.17        $16.91        $16.44        $13.00        $12.68   

Net investment income

    0.21 1      0.20 1      0.18 1      0.26 1      0.22   

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.38     0.78        2.05        3.45        0.35   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.17     0.98        2.23        3.71        0.57   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net investment income

    (0.22     (0.22     (0.14     (0.27     (0.25

Net realized gains

    (1.12     (1.50     (1.62     0.00        0.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

    (1.34     (1.72     (1.76     (0.27     (0.25

Net asset value, end of period

    $14.66        $16.17        $16.91        $16.44        $13.00   

Total return

    (0.54 )%      6.14     14.16     28.93     4.67

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    0.91     0.85     0.85     0.84     0.85

Net expenses

    0.74     0.65     0.65     0.65     0.66

Net investment income

    1.52     1.23     1.10     1.83     1.80

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    50     71     59     78     37

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $9,343        $1,483        $863        $3,299        $15,924   

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund     23   

1. ORGANIZATION

Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”), a Delaware statutory trust organized on March 10, 1999, is an open-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). As an investment company, the Trust follows the accounting and reporting guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946, Financial Services – Investment Companies. These financial statements report on the Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund (the “Fund”) which is a diversified series of the Trust.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The following significant accounting policies, which are consistently followed in the preparation of the financial statements of the Fund, are in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles which require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Securities valuation

All investments are valued each business day as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (generally 4 p.m. Eastern Time), although the Fund may deviate from this calculation time under unusual or unexpected circumstances.

Equity securities that are listed on a foreign or domestic exchange or market are valued at the official closing price or, if none, the last sales price. If no sale occurs on the principal exchange or market that day, the prior day’s price will be deemed “stale” and a fair value price will be determined in accordance with the Fund’s Valuation Procedures.

Investments in registered open-end investment companies are valued at net asset value. Interests in non-registered investment vehicles that are redeemable at net asset value are fair valued normally at net asset value.

Investments which are not valued using any of the methods discussed above are valued at their fair value, as determined in good faith by the Board of Trustees of the Fund. The Board of Trustees has established a Valuation Committee comprised of the Trustees and has delegated to it the authority to take any actions regarding the valuation of portfolio securities that the Valuation Committee deems necessary or appropriate, including determining the fair value of portfolio securities, unless the determination has been delegated to the Management Valuation Team of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”). The Board of Trustees retains the authority to make or ratify any valuation decisions or approve any changes to the Valuation Procedures as it deems appropriate. On a quarterly basis, the Board of Trustees receives reports on any valuation actions taken by the Valuation Committee or the Management Valuation Team which may include items for ratification.

Valuations of fair valued securities are compared to the next actual sales price when available, or other appropriate market values, to assess the continued appropriateness of the fair valuation methodologies used. These securities are fair valued on a day-to-day basis, taking into consideration changes to appropriate market information and any significant changes to the inputs considered in the valuation process until there is a readily available price provided on an exchange or by an independent pricing service. Valuations received from an independent pricing service or independent broker-dealer quotes are periodically validated by comparisons to most recent trades and valuations provided by other independent pricing services in addition to the review of prices by the manager and/or subadviser. Unobservable inputs used in determining fair valuations are identified based on the type of security, taking into consideration factors utilized by market participants in valuing the investment, knowledge about the issuer and the current market environment.

Security loans

The Fund may lend its securities from time to time in order to earn additional income in the form of fees or interest on securities received as collateral or the investment of any cash received as collateral. The Fund continues to receive interest or dividends on the securities loaned. The Fund receives collateral in the form of cash or securities with a value at least equal to the value of the securities on loan. The value of the loaned securities is determined at the close of each business day and any additional required collateral is delivered to the Fund on the next business day. In a securities lending transaction, the net asset value of the Fund will be affected by an increase or decrease in the value of the securities loaned and by an increase or decrease in the value of the instrument in which collateral is invested. The amount of securities lending activity undertaken by the Fund fluctuates from time to time. In the event of default or bankruptcy by the borrower, the Fund may be prevented from recovering the loaned securities or gaining access to the collateral or may experience delays or costs in doing so. In addition, the investment of any cash collateral received may lose all or part of its value. The Fund has the right under the lending agreement to recover the securities from the borrower on demand.


Table of Contents

 

24   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund   Notes to financial statements

The Fund lends its securities through an unaffiliated securities lending agent. Cash collateral received in connection with its securities lending transactions is invested in Securities Lending Cash Investments, LLC (the “Securities Lending Fund”). The Securities Lending Fund is exempt from registration under Section 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act and is managed by Funds Management and is subadvised by Wells Capital Management Incorporated (“WellsCap”), an affiliate of Funds Management and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company (“Wells Fargo”). Funds Management receives an advisory fee starting at 0.05% and declining to 0.01% as the average daily net assets of the Securities Lending Fund increase. All of the fees received by Funds Management are paid to WellsCap for its services as subadviser. The Securities Lending Fund seeks to provide a positive return compared to the daily Fed Funds Open rate by investing in high-quality, U.S. dollar-denominated short-term money market instruments. Securities Lending Fund investments are fair valued based upon the amortized cost valuation technique. Income earned from investment in the Securities Lending Fund is included in securities lending income on the Statement of Operations.

Security transactions and income recognition

Securities transactions are recorded on a trade date basis. Realized gains or losses are recorded on the basis of identified cost.

Dividend income is recognized on the ex-dividend date. Dividend income is recorded net of foreign taxes withheld where recovery of such taxes is not assured.

Distributions to shareholders

Distributions to shareholders from net investment income and net realized gains, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Such distributions are determined in conformity with federal income tax regulations, which may differ in amount or character from net investment income and realized gains recognized for purposes of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Federal and other taxes

The Fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company by distributing substantially all of its investment company taxable income and any net realized capital gains (after reduction for capital loss carryforwards) sufficient to relieve it from all, or substantially all, federal income taxes. Accordingly, no provision for federal income taxes was required.

The Fund’s income and federal excise tax returns and all financial records supporting those returns for the prior three fiscal years are subject to examination by the federal and Delaware revenue authorities. Management has analyzed the Fund’s tax positions taken on federal, state, and foreign tax returns for all open tax years and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability.

Reclassifications are made to the Fund’s capital accounts for permanent tax differences to reflect income and gains available for distribution (or available capital loss carryforwards) under federal income tax regulations. U.S. generally accepted accounting principles require that certain components of net assets be adjusted to reflect permanent differences between financial and tax reporting. These reclassifications have no effect on net assets or net asset values per share. The primary permanent differences causing such reclassifications are due to certain distributions paid, dividends from certain securities, and expiration of capital loss carryforwards. At July 31, 2016, as a result of permanent book-to-tax differences, the following reclassification adjustments were made on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities:

 

Paid-in capital    Overdistributed net
investment income
  

Accumulated net

realized losses

on investments

$(1,040,715)    $(167,012)    $1,207,727

As of July 31, 2016, the Fund had current year deferred post-October capital losses and a qualified late-year ordinary loss which will both be recognized on the first day of the following fiscal year in the following amounts:

 

Deferred post-October capital losses

  

Late-year

ordinary losses

deferred

Short-term    Long-term   
$(2,154,994)    $(1,283,211)    $(361)


Table of Contents

 

Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund     25   

Class allocations

The separate classes of shares offered by the Fund differ principally in applicable sales charges, distribution, shareholder servicing, and administration fees. Class specific expenses are charged directly to that share class. Investment income, common expenses, and realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments are allocated daily to each class of shares based on the relative proportion of net assets of each class.

3. FAIR VALUATION MEASUREMENTS

Fair value measurements of investments are determined within a framework that has established a fair value hierarchy based upon the various data inputs utilized in determining the value of the Fund’s investments. The three-level hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to significant unobservable inputs (Level 3). The Fund’s investments are classified within the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The inputs are summarized into three broad levels as follows:

 

n   Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical securities

 

n   Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, use of amortized cost, etc.)

 

n   Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The inputs or methodologies used for valuing investments in securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

The following is a summary of the inputs used in valuing the Fund’s assets and liabilities as of July 31, 2016:

 

    

Quoted prices

(Level 1)

    

Other significant

observable inputs
(Level 2)

    

Significant
unobservable inputs

(Level 3)

     Total  

Assets

           

Investments in:

           

Common stocks

           

Consumer discretionary

   $ 19,282,954       $ 0       $ 0       $ 19,282,954   

Consumer staples

     20,235,851         0         0         20,235,851   

Energy

     29,712,430         0         0         29,712,430   

Financials

     67,588,191         0         0         67,588,191   

Health care

     27,550,062         0         0         27,550,062   

Industrials

     27,744,340         0         0         27,744,340   

Information technology

     25,989,994         0         0         25,989,994   

Materials

     8,579,907         0         0         8,579,907   

Telecommunication services

     6,160,215         0         0         6,160,215   

Utilities

     16,141,353         0         0         16,141,353   

Short-term investments

           

Investment companies

     4,823,016         0         0         4,823,016   

Investments measured at net asset value*

                                6,621,300   

Total assets

   $ 253,808,313       $ 0       $ 0       $ 260,429,613   

 

* Investments that are measured at fair value using the net asset value per share (or its equivalent) as a practical expedient have not been categorized in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value amount presented in the table is intended to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the amounts presented in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. The Fund’s investment in Securities Lending Cash Investments, LLC valued at $6,621,300 does not have a redemption period notice, can be redeemed daily and does not have any unfunded commitments.

The Fund recognizes transfers between levels within the fair value hierarchy at the end of the reporting period. At July 31, 2016, the Fund did not have any transfers into/out of Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3.


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26   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund   Notes to financial statements

4. TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES AND OTHER EXPENSES

Management fee

Funds Management, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo, is the manager of the Fund and provides advisory and fund-level administrative services under an investment management agreement. Under the investment management agreement, Funds Management is responsible for, among other services, implementing the investment objectives and strategies of the Fund, supervising the subadviser, providing fund-level administrative services in connection with the Fund’s operations, and providing any other fund-level administrative services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. As compensation for its services under the investment management agreement, Funds Management is entitled to receive an annual management fee starting at 0.70% and declining to 0.505% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase. For the year ended July 31, 2016, the management fee was equivalent to an annual rate of 0.70% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.

Funds Management has retained the services of a subadviser to provide daily portfolio management to the Fund. The fee for subadvisory services is borne by Funds Management. Phocas Financial Corporation is the subadviser to the Fund and is entitled to receive a fee from Funds Management at an annual rate starting at 0.29% and declining to 0.20% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase.

Administration fees

Under a class-level administration agreement, Funds Management provides class-level administrative services to the Fund, which includes paying fees and expenses for services provided by the transfer agent, sub-transfer agents, omnibus account servicers and record-keepers. As compensation for its services under the class-level administration agreement, Funds Management receives an annual fee which is calculated based on the average daily net assets of each class as follows:

 

     Class-level
administration fee
 

Class A, Class C

     0.21

Administrator Class, Institutional Class

     0.13   

Investor Class

     0.32   

Funds Management has contractually waived and/or reimbursed management and administration fees to the extent necessary to maintain certain net operating expense ratios for the Fund. Waiver of fees and/or reimbursement of expenses by Funds Management were made first from fund level expenses on a proportionate basis and then from class specific expenses. Funds Management has committed through November 30, 2016 to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s expenses at 1.10% for Class A shares, 1.85% for Class C shares, 0.98% for Administrator Class shares, and 0.75% for Institutional Class shares. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Prior to October 23, 2015, the Fund’s expenses were capped at 0.85% for Administrator Class shares and 0.65% for Institutional Class shares.

Distribution fee

The Trust has adopted a distribution plan for Class C shares of the Fund pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. A distribution fee is charged to Class C shares and paid to Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC (“Funds Distributor”), the principal underwriter, at an annual rate of 0.75% of the average daily net assets of Class C shares.

In addition, Funds Distributor is entitled to receive the front-end sales charge from the purchase of Class A shares and a contingent deferred sales charge on the redemption of certain Class A shares. Funds Distributor is also entitled to receive the contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of Class C shares. For the year ended July 31, 2016, Funds Distributor received $1,491 from the sale of Class A shares and $24 in contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of Class A shares.

Shareholder servicing fees

The Trust has entered into contracts with one or more shareholder servicing agents, whereby Class A, Class C, Administrator Class, and Investor Class of the Fund are charged a fee at an annual rate of 0.25% of the average daily net assets of each respective class.

A portion of these total shareholder servicing fees were paid to affiliates of Wells Fargo.


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Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund     27   

5. INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

Purchases and sales of investments, excluding U.S. government obligations (if any) and short-term securities, for the year ended July 31, 2016 were $126,376,586 and $142,755,540, respectively.

The Fund may purchase or sell investment securities to other Wells Fargo funds under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. The procedures have been designed to ensure that these interfund transactions, which generally do not incur broker commissions, are effected at current market prices. Interfund trades are included within the respective purchases and sales amounts shown.

6. BANK BORROWINGS

The Trust (excluding the money market funds and certain other funds) and Wells Fargo Variable Trust are parties to a $200,000,000 revolving credit agreement whereby the Fund is permitted to use bank borrowings for temporary or emergency purposes, such as to fund shareholder redemption requests. Interest under the credit agreement is charged to the Fund based on a borrowing rate equal to the higher of the Federal Funds rate in effect on that day plus 1.25% or the overnight LIBOR rate in effect on that day plus 1.25%. In addition, an annual commitment fee equal to 0.20% of the unused balance is allocated to each participating fund. Prior to September 1, 2015, the revolving credit agreement amount was $150,000,000 and the annual commitment fee was equal to 0.10% of the unused balance which was allocated to each participating fund.

For the year ended July 31, 2016, there were no borrowings by the Fund under the agreement.

7. DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

The tax character of distributions paid during the years ended July 31, 2016 and July 31, 2015 were as follows:

 

     Year ended July 31  
     2016      2015  

Ordinary income

   $ 2,975,062       $ 2,298,368   

Long-term capital gain

     19,440,940         25,780,482   

As of July 31, 2016, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Unrealized

gains

  

Late-year

ordinary losses

deferred

  

Post-October

capital losses

deferred

$44,027,670    $(361)    $(3,438,205)

8. CONCENTRATION RISK

Concentration risks result from exposure to a limited number of sectors. A fund that invests a substantial portion of its assets in any sector may be more affected by changes in that sector than would be a fund whose investments are not heavily weighted in any sector.

9. INDEMNIFICATION

Under the Trust’s organizational documents, the officers and Trustees have been granted certain indemnification rights against certain liabilities that may arise out of performance of their duties to the Trust. Additionally, in the normal course of business, the Trust may enter into contracts with service providers that contain a variety of indemnification clauses. The Trust’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is dependent on future claims that may be made against the Fund and, therefore, cannot be estimated.


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28   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund   Report of independent registered public accounting firm

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND SHAREHOLDERS OF WELLS FARGO FUNDS TRUST:

We have audited the accompanying statements of assets and liabilities, including the portfolio of investments, of the Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund (formerly known as Wells Fargo Advantage Large Company Value Fund) (the “Fund”), one of the funds constituting the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, as of July 31, 2016, and the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years in the five-year period then ended. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of July 31, 2016, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers, or by other appropriate auditing procedures. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund as of July 31, 2016, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years in the five-year period then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

 

LOGO

Boston, Massachusetts

September 23, 2016


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund     29   

TAX INFORMATION

For corporate shareholders, pursuant to Section 854 of the Internal Revenue Code, 100% of ordinary income dividends qualify for the corporate dividends-received deduction for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016.

Pursuant to Section 852 of the Internal Revenue Code, $19,440,940 was designated as a 20% rate gain distribution for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016.

Pursuant to Section 854 of the Internal Revenue Code, $2,975,062 of income dividends paid during the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016 has been designated as qualified dividend income (QDI).

PROXY VOTING INFORMATION

A description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities is available, upon request, by calling 1-800-222-8222, visiting our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available on the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com or by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov.

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION

The complete portfolio holdings for the Fund are publicly available monthly on the Fund’s website (wellsfargofunds.com), on a one-month delayed basis. In addition, top ten holdings information (excluding derivative positions) for the Fund is publicly available on the Fund’s website on a monthly, seven-day or more delayed basis. The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q, which is available by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. In addition, the Fund’s Form N-Q may be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC, and at regional offices in New York City, at 233 Broadway, and in Chicago, at 175 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 900. Information about the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.


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30   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund   Other information (unaudited)

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS

Each of the Trustees and Officers1 listed in the table below acts in identical capacities for each fund in the Wells Fargo family of funds, which consists of 139 mutual funds comprising the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, Wells Fargo Variable Trust, Wells Fargo Master Trust and four closed-end funds (collectively the “Fund Complex”). This table should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information2. The mailing address of each Trustee and Officer is 525 Market Street, 12th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105. Each Trustee and Officer serves an indefinite term, however, each Trustee serves such term until reaching the mandatory retirement age established by the Trustees.

Independent Trustees

 

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service*

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer  

Current other public
company or
investment company

directorships

William R. Ebsworth

(Born 1957)

  Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 1984 to 2013, equities analyst, portfolio manager, research director and chief financial officer at Fidelity Management and Research Company in Boston, Tokyo, and Hong Kong and retired in 2013 as Chief Investment Officer of Fidelity Strategic Advisers, Inc. where he lead a team of investment professionals managing client assets. Prior thereto, Board member of Hong Kong Securities Clearing Co., Hong Kong Options Clearing Corp., the Thailand International Fund, Ltd., Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company, and Empire Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company. Mr. Ebsworth is a CFA® charterholder and an Adjunct Lecturer, Finance, at Babson College.   Asset Allocation Trust

Jane A. Freeman

(Born 1953)

  Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 2012 to 2014 and 1999 to 2008, Chief Financial Officer of Scientific Learning Corporation. From 2008 to 2012, Ms. Freeman provided consulting services related to strategic business projects. Prior to 1999, Portfolio Manager at Rockefeller & Co. and Scudder, Stevens & Clark. Board member of the Harding Loevner Funds from 1996 to 2014, serving as both Lead Independent Director and chair of the Audit Committee. Board member of the Russell Exchange Traded Funds Trust from 2011 to 2012 and the chair of the Audit Committee. Ms. Freeman is Chair of Taproot Foundation (non-profit organization), a Board Member of Ruth Bancroft Garden (non-profit organization) and an inactive chartered financial analyst.   Asset Allocation Trust

Peter G. Gordon

(Born 1942)

  Trustee, since 1998; Chairman, since 2005   Co-Founder, Retired Chairman, President and CEO of Crystal Geyser Water Company. Trustee Emeritus, Colby College.   Asset Allocation Trust

Isaiah Harris, Jr.

(Born 1952)

  Trustee, since 2009   Retired. Chairman of the Board of CIGNA Corporation since 2009, and Director since 2005. From 2003 to 2011, Director of Deluxe Corporation. Prior thereto, President and CEO of BellSouth Advertising and Publishing Corp. from 2005 to 2007, President and CEO of BellSouth Enterprises from 2004 to 2005 and President of BellSouth Consumer Services from 2000 to 2003. Emeritus member of the Iowa State University Foundation Board of Governors. Emeritus Member of the Advisory Board of Iowa State University School of Business. Advisory Board Member, Palm Harbor Academy (charter school). Advisory Board Member, Child Evangelism Fellowship (non-profit). Mr. Harris is a certified public accountant (inactive status).   CIGNA Corporation; Asset Allocation Trust

Judith M. Johnson

(Born 1949)

  Trustee, since 2008; Audit Committee Chairman, since 2008   Retired. Prior thereto, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Minneapolis Employees Retirement Fund from 1996 to 2008. Ms. Johnson is an attorney, certified public accountant and a certified managerial accountant.   Asset Allocation Trust

David F. Larcker

(Born 1950)

  Trustee, since 2009   James Irvin Miller Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Director of the Corporate Governance Research Initiative and Senior Faculty of The Rock Center for Corporate Governance since 2006. From 2005 to 2008, Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Prior thereto, Ernst & Young Professor of Accounting at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania from 1985 to 2005.   Asset Allocation Trust


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund     31   

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service*

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer  

Current other public
company or
investment company

directorships

Olivia S. Mitchell

(Born 1953)

  Trustee, since 2006   International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Professor, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania since 1993. Director of Wharton’s Pension Research Council and Boettner Center on Pensions & Retirement Research, and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Previously, Cornell University Professor from 1978 to 1993.   Asset Allocation Trust

Timothy J. Penny

(Born 1951)

  Trustee, since 1996   President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, a non-profit organization, since 2007 and Senior Fellow at the Humphrey Institute Policy Forum at the University of Minnesota since 1995. Member of the Board of Trustees of NorthStar Education Finance, Inc., a non-profit organization, since 2007.   Asset Allocation Trust

Michael S. Scofield

(Born 1943)

  Trustee, since 2010   Served on the Investment Company Institute’s Board of Governors and Executive Committee from 2008-2011 as well the Governing Council of the Independent Directors Council from 2006-2011 and the Independent Directors Council Executive Committee from 2008-2011. Chairman of the IDC from 2008-2010. Institutional Investor (Fund Directions) Trustee of Year in 2007. Trustee of the Evergreen Funds complex (and its predecessors) from 1984 to 2010. Chairman of the Evergreen Funds from 2000-2010. Former Trustee of the Mentor Funds. Retired Attorney, Law Offices of Michael S. Scofield.   Asset Allocation Trust

 

* Length of service dates reflect the Trustee’s commencement of service with the Trust’s predecessor entities, where applicable.

Officers

 

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer    

Karla M. Rabusch

(Born 1959)

  President, since 2003   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2003.    

Jeremy DePalma1

(Born 1974)

  Treasurer, since 2012   Senior Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Senior Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010 and head of the Fund Reporting and Control Team within Fund Administration from 2005 to 2010.    

C. David Messman

(Born 1960)

  Secretary, since 2000; Chief Legal Officer, since 2003   Senior Vice President and Secretary of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2001. Assistant General Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. since 2013 and Vice President and Managing Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. from 1996 to 2013.    

Michael Whitaker

(Born 1967)

  Chief Compliance Officer, since 2016*   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2016. Chief Compliance Officer of Fidelity’s Fixed Income Funds and Asset Allocation Funds from 2008 to 2016, Compliance Officer of FMR Co., Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments from 2007 to 2016.    

David Berardi

(Born 1975)

  Assistant Treasurer, since 2009   Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010. Manager of Fund Reporting and Control for Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2004 to 2010.    

 

 

1 Jeremy DePalma acts as Treasurer of 68 funds and Assistant Treasurer of 71 funds in the Fund Complex.

 

2 The Statement of Additional Information includes additional information about the Trustees and is available, without charge, upon request, by calling
1-800-222-8222 or by visiting the website at wellsfargofunds.com.

 

* Michael Whitaker became Chief Compliance Officer effective May 16, 2016.


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32   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund   Other information (unaudited)

BOARD CONSIDERATION OF INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENTS:

Under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”) must determine annually whether to approve the continuation of the Trust’s investment management and sub-advisory agreements. In this regard, at an in-person meeting held on May 24-25, 2016 (the “Meeting”), the Board, all the members of which have no direct or indirect interest in the investment management and sub-advisory agreements and are not “interested persons” of the Trust, as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”), reviewed and approved for Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund (the “Fund”): (i) an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”); and (ii) an investment sub-advisory agreement (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”) with Phocas Financial Corporation, L.P. (the “Sub-Adviser”). The Management Agreement and the Sub-Advisory Agreement are collectively referred to as the “Advisory Agreements.”

At the Meeting, the Board considered the factors and reached the conclusions described below relating to the selection of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser and the approval of the Advisory Agreements. Prior to the Meeting, including at an in-person meeting in April 2016, the Trustees conferred extensively among themselves and with representatives of Funds Management about these matters. Also, the Board has adopted a team-based approach, with each team consisting of a sub-set of Trustees, to assist the full Board in the discharge of its duties in reviewing performance and other matters throughout the year. The Independent Trustees were assisted in their evaluation of the Advisory Agreements by independent legal counsel, from whom they received separate legal advice and with whom they met separately.

In providing information to the Board, Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser were guided by a detailed set of requests for information submitted to them by independent legal counsel on behalf of the Independent Trustees at the start of the Board’s annual contract renewal process earlier in 2016. In considering and approving the Advisory Agreements, the Trustees considered the information they believed relevant, including but not limited to the information discussed below. The Board considered not only the specific information presented in connection with the Meeting, but also the knowledge gained over time through interaction with Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser about various topics. In this regard, the Board reviewed reports of Funds Management at each of its quarterly meetings, which included, among other things, portfolio reviews and performance reports. In addition, the Board and the teams mentioned above confer with portfolio managers at various times throughout the year. The Board did not identify any particular information or consideration that was all-important or controlling, and each individual Trustee may have attributed different weights to various factors.

After its deliberations, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable. The Board considered the approval of the Advisory Agreements for the Fund as part of its consideration of agreements for funds across the complex, but its approvals were made on a fund-by-fund basis. The following summarizes a number of important, but not necessarily all, factors considered by the Board in support of its approvals.

Nature, extent and quality of services

The Board received and considered various information regarding the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under the Advisory Agreements. This information included a description of the investment advisory services and Fund-level administrative services covered by the Management Agreement, as well as, among other things, a summary of the background and experience of senior management of Funds Management, and the qualifications, background, tenure and responsibilities of each of the portfolio managers primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the Fund.

The Board evaluated the ability of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to attract and retain qualified investment professionals, including research, advisory and supervisory personnel. The Board further considered the compliance programs and compliance records of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser. In addition, the Board took into account the full range of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and its affiliates.

Fund performance and expenses

The Board considered the performance results for the Fund over various time periods ended December 31, 2015. The Board considered these results in comparison to the performance of funds in a universe that was determined by Broadridge Inc. (“Broadridge”) to be similar to the Fund (the “Universe”), and in comparison to the Fund’s benchmark index and to other comparative data. Broadridge is an independent provider of investment company data. The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the performance Universe.


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund     33   

The Board noted that the performance of the Fund (Administrator Class) was higher than, equal to, or in range of of the average performance of the Universe for all periods under review. The Board also noted that the performance of the Fund was lower than its benchmark, the Russell 1000® Value Index, for all periods under review except the one-year period.

The Board received information concerning, and discussed factors contributing to, the underperformance of the Fund relative to the benchmark for the periods noted above. The Board took note of the explanations for the relative underperformance in these periods, including with respect to market factors and investment decisions that affected the Fund’s performance and of recent outperformance.

The Board also received and considered information regarding the Fund’s net operating expense ratios and their various components, including actual management fees, custodian and other non-management fees, and Rule 12b-1 and non-Rule 12b-1 shareholder service fees. The Board considered these ratios in comparison to the median ratios of funds in class-specific expense groups that were determined by Broadridge to be similar to the Fund (the “Groups”). The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the expense Groups and an explanation of how funds comprising expense groups and their expense ratios may vary from year-to-year. Based on the Broadridge reports, the Board noted that the net operating expense ratios of the Fund were lower than the median net operating expense ratios of the expense Groups.

The Board took into account the Fund performance and expense information provided to it among the factors considered in deciding to re-approve the Advisory Agreements.

Investment management and sub-advisory fee rates

The Board reviewed and considered the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management under the Management Agreement, as well as the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management for class-level administrative services under a Class-Level Administration Agreement, which include class-level transfer agency and sub-transfer agency costs (collectively, the “Management Rates”). The Board also reviewed and considered the contractual investment sub-advisory fee rates that are payable by Funds Management to the Sub-Adviser for investment sub-advisory services.

Among other information reviewed by the Board was a comparison of the Fund’s Management Rates with the average contractual investment management fee rates of funds in the expense Groups at a common asset level as well as transfer agency costs of the funds in the expense Groups. The Board noted that the Management Rates of the Fund were in range of the sum of these average rates for the Fund’s expense Groups for all share classes.

The Board also received and considered information about the portion of the total management fee that was retained by Funds Management after payment of the fee to the Sub-Adviser for sub-advisory services. The Board considered this amount in comparison to the median amount retained by advisers to funds in a sub-advised expense universe that was determined by Broadridge to be similar to the Fund. In assessing the reasonableness of this amount, the Board received and evaluated information about the nature and extent of responsibilities retained and risks assumed by Funds Management and not delegated to or assumed by the Sub-Adviser, and about Funds Management’s on-going oversight services. The Board also considered that the sub-advisory fees paid to the Sub-Adviser had been negotiated by Funds Management on an arm’s length basis.

The Board also received and considered information about the nature and extent of services offered and fee rates charged by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to other types of clients with investment strategies similar to those of the Fund. In this regard, the Board received information about the significantly greater scope of services, and compliance, reporting and other legal burdens and risks of managing mutual funds compared with those associated with managing assets of non-mutual fund clients such as collective funds or institutional separate accounts.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management under the Management Agreement and to the Sub-Adviser under the Sub-Advisory Agreement was reasonable, in light of the services covered by the Advisory Agreements.

Profitability

The Board received and considered information concerning the profitability of Funds Management, as well as the profitability of Wells Fargo as a whole, from providing services to the Fund and the fund family as a whole. Funds Management reported on the methodologies and estimates used in calculating profitability. Among other things, the Board noted that the levels of profitability reported on a fund-by-fund basis varied widely, depending on factors such as the size and type of fund. The Board did not consider profitability with respect to the Sub-Adviser, as the sub-advisory fees paid to the Sub-Adviser had been negotiated by Funds Management on an arm’s-length basis.


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34   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund   Other information (unaudited)

Based on its review, the Board did not deem the profits reported by Funds Management to be at a level that would prevent it from approving the continuation of the Advisory Agreements.

Economies of scale

With respect to possible economies of scale, the Board noted the existence of breakpoints in the Fund’s management fee structure, which operate generally to reduce the Fund’s expense ratios as the Fund grows in size. It considered that, for a small fund or a fund that shrinks in size, breakpoints conversely can result in higher fee levels. The Board also considered that fee waiver and expense reimbursement arrangements and competitive fee rates at the outset are means of sharing potential economies of scale with shareholders of the Fund and the fund family as a whole. The Board considered Funds Management’s view that any analyses of potential economies of scale in managing a particular fund are inherently limited in light of the joint and common costs and investments that Funds Management incurs across the fund family as a whole.

The Board concluded that the Fund’s fee and expense arrangements, including contractual breakpoints, constituted a reasonable approach to sharing potential economies of scale with the Fund and its shareholders.

Other benefits to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser

The Board received and considered information regarding potential “fall-out” or ancillary benefits received by Funds Management, the Sub-Adviser, and their affiliates as a result of their relationships with the Fund. Ancillary benefits could include, among others, benefits directly attributable to other relationships with the Fund and benefits potentially derived from an increase in Funds Management’s and the Sub-Adviser’s business as a result of their relationships with the Fund. The Board noted that various affiliates of Funds Management may receive distribution-related fees, shareholder servicing payments and sub-transfer agency fees in respect of shares sold or held through them and services provided.

The Board also reviewed information about soft dollar credits earned and utilized by the Sub-Adviser, fees earned by Funds Management and its affiliate from managing a private investment vehicle for the fund family’s securities lending collateral and commissions earned by an affiliated broker from portfolio transactions.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board did not find that any ancillary benefits received by Funds Management, the Sub-Adviser, and their affiliates were unreasonable.

Conclusion

At the Meeting, after considering the above-described factors and based on its deliberations and its evaluation of the information described above, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable.


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List of abbreviations   Wells Fargo Large Company Value Fund     35   

The following is a list of common abbreviations for terms and entities that may have appeared in this report.

 

ACA —  ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation
ADR —  American depositary receipt
ADS —  American depositary shares
AGC —  Assured Guaranty Corporation
AGM —  Assured Guaranty Municipal
Ambac —  Ambac Financial Group Incorporated
AMT —  Alternative minimum tax
AUD —  Australian dollar
BAN —  Bond anticipation notes
BHAC —  Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corporation
BRL —  Brazilian real
CAB —  Capital appreciation bond
CAD —  Canadian dollar
CCAB —  Convertible capital appreciation bond
CDA —  Community Development Authority
CDO —  Collateralized debt obligation
CHF —  Swiss franc
COP —  Colombian peso
CLP —  Chilean peso
DKK —  Danish krone
DRIVER —  Derivative inverse tax-exempt receipts
DW&P —  Department of Water & Power
DWR —  Department of Water Resources
ECFA —  Educational & Cultural Facilities Authority
EDA —  Economic Development Authority
EDFA —  Economic Development Finance Authority
ETF —  Exchange-traded fund
EUR —  Euro
FDIC —  Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FFCB —  Federal Farm Credit Banks
FGIC —  Financial Guaranty Insurance Corporation
FHA —  Federal Housing Administration
FHLB —  Federal Home Loan Bank
FHLMC —  Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
FICO —  The Financing Corporation
FNMA —  Federal National Mortgage Association
FSA —  Farm Service Agency
GBP —  Great British pound
GDR —  Global depositary receipt
GNMA —  Government National Mortgage Association
GO —  General obligation
HCFR —  Healthcare facilities revenue
HEFA —  Health & Educational Facilities Authority
HEFAR —  Higher education facilities authority revenue
HFA —  Housing Finance Authority
HFFA —  Health Facilities Financing Authority
HKD —  Hong Kong dollar
HUD —  Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUF —  Hungarian forint
IDA —  Industrial Development Authority
IDAG —  Industrial Development Agency
IDR —  Indonesian rupiah
IEP —  Irish pound
JPY —  Japanese yen
KRW —  Republic of Korea won
LIBOR —  London Interbank Offered Rate
LIFER —  Long Inverse Floating Exempt Receipts
LIQ —  Liquidity agreement
LLC —  Limited liability company
LLLP —  Limited liability limited partnership
LLP —  Limited liability partnership
LOC —  Letter of credit
LP —  Limited partnership
MBIA —  Municipal Bond Insurance Association
MFHR —  Multifamily housing revenue
MSTR —  Municipal securities trust receipts
MTN —  Medium-term note
MUD —  Municipal Utility District
MXN —  Mexican peso
MYR —  Malaysian ringgit
National —  National Public Finance Guarantee Corporation
NGN —  Nigerian naira
NOK —  Norwegian krone
NZD —  New Zealand dollar
PCFA —  Pollution Control Financing Authority
PCL —  Public Company Limited
PCR —  Pollution control revenue
PFA —  Public Finance Authority
PFFA —  Public Facilities Financing Authority
PFOTER —  Puttable floating option tax-exempt receipts
plc —  Public limited company
PLN —  Polish zloty
PUTTER —  Puttable tax-exempt receipts
R&D —  Research & development
Radian —  Radian Asset Assurance
RAN —  Revenue anticipation notes
RDA —  Redevelopment Authority
RDFA —  Redevelopment Finance Authority
REIT —  Real estate investment trust
ROC —  Reset option certificates
RON —  Romanian lei
RUB —  Russian ruble
SAVRS —  Select auction variable rate securities
SBA —  Small Business Authority
SDR —  Swedish depositary receipt
SEK —  Swedish krona
SFHR —  Single-family housing revenue
SFMR —  Single-family mortgage revenue
SGD —  Singapore dollar
SPA —  Standby purchase agreement
SPDR —  Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts
SPEAR —  Short Puttable Exempt Adjustable Receipts
STRIPS —  Separate trading of registered interest and
           principal securities
TAN —  Tax anticipation notes
TBA —  To be announced
THB —  Thai baht
TIPS —  Treasury inflation-protected securities
TRAN —  Tax revenue anticipation notes
TRY —  Turkish lira
TTFA —  Transportation Trust Fund Authority
TVA —  Tennessee Valley Authority
ZAR —  South African rand
 


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For more information

More information about Wells Fargo Funds is available free upon request. To obtain literature, please write, email, visit the Fund’s website, or call:

Wells Fargo Funds

P.O. Box 8266

Boston, MA 02266-8266

Email: fundservice@wellsfargo.com

Website: wellsfargofunds.com

Individual investors: 1-800-222-8222

Retail investment professionals: 1-888-877-9275

Institutional investment professionals: 1-866-765-0778

 

This report and the financial statements contained herein are submitted for the general information of the shareholders of the Fund. If this report is used for promotional purposes, distribution of the report must be accompanied or preceded by a current prospectus. Before investing, please consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the investment. For a current prospectus and, if available, a summary prospectus, containing this information, call 1-800-222-8222 or visit the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com. Read the prospectus carefully before you invest or send money.

Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM) is a trade name used by the asset management businesses of Wells Fargo & Company. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, provides investment advisory and administrative services for Wells Fargo Funds. Other affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company provide subadvisory and other services for the funds. The funds are distributed by Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC, Member FINRA, an affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE

© 2016 Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. All rights reserved.

 

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245327 09-16

A210/AR210 07-16


Table of Contents

Annual Report

July 31, 2016

 

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Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund

 

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Table of Contents

Reduce clutter. Save trees.

Sign up for electronic delivery of prospectuses and shareholder reports at wellsfargo.com/advantagedelivery

Contents

 

 

 

Letter to shareholders

    2   

Performance highlights

    6   

Fund expenses

    10   

Portfolio of investments

    11   
Financial statements  

Statement of assets and liabilities

    15   

Statement of operations

    16   

Statement of changes in net assets

    17   

Financial highlights

    18   

Notes to financial statements

    24   

Report of independent registered public accounting firm

    29   

Other information

    30   

List of abbreviations

    36   

 

The views expressed and any forward-looking statements are as of July 31, 2016, unless otherwise noted, and are those of the Fund managers and/or Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. Discussions of individual securities, or the markets generally, or any Wells Fargo Fund are not intended as individual recommendations. Future events or results may vary significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. The views expressed are subject to change at any time in response to changing circumstances in the market. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC and the Fund disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any views expressed or forward-looking statements.

 

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE



Table of Contents

 

2   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

 

LOGO

Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period

 

 

Dear Valued Shareholder:

We are pleased to offer you this annual report for the Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016. During this period, which began August 1, 2015, U.S. and international stock markets experienced heightened volatility, with intermittent rebounds interspersed with sell-offs. The U.S. economy displayed resilience throughout the period, although growth was somewhat sluggish amid ongoing pressures that included slowing growth in China, a strengthening U.S. dollar, and uncertainty regarding interest-rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed); international economies faced deeper ongoing challenges. During June 2016, global markets became especially volatile as the U.K.’s vote over whether to leave the European Union (E.U.) approached. However, markets began recovering shortly after the U.K. voted to leave and rallied through July. Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period, as measured by the Russell 1000® Index.1 International markets generally declined as measured by the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index.2

In the third quarter of 2015, China’s slowdown took a toll on economies and markets worldwide.

U.S. stocks sagged during the quarter, experiencing the most volatility since 2011. Economic data released during the quarter suggested the U.S. economy remained solid but had lost some steam, burdened by the drag of the U.S. dollar’s strength coupled with global economic turmoil. The fact that the Fed left the federal funds interest rate unchanged at its September 2015 meeting surprised investors and fueled increased uncertainty about the U.S. economy’s stamina to remain healthy while facing the challenges of slowing growth in China and troubles elsewhere in the world. Outside the U.S., markets were even more volatile and delivered generally weaker quarterly results, also largely due to investors’ increasing anxiety over China’s weakened economy.

Despite ongoing concerns, U.S. stocks generally rose in the fourth quarter of 2015; international markets lagged.

While the broad U.S. stock market bounced back in the quarter, stock markets outside the U.S. failed to keep pace as economic concerns, including China’s ongoing slowdown, continued to affect many countries. U.S. economic data released during the quarter indicated the economy remained solid, although the strong U.S. dollar and weakness in international economies remained headwinds. In December, the Fed, as expected, raised its target interest rate by 25 basis points (bps; 100 bps equals 1.00%) after keeping it near zero for seven years. The move reflected confidence in the U.S. economy’s ability to stay healthy with less central-bank support. The Fed also clarified that future interest-rate increases would be gradual.

 

 

 

1  The Russell 1000® Index measures the performance of the 1,000 largest companies in the Russell 3000® Index, which represents approximately 92% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000® Index. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

2  Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index is a free-float-adjusted market-capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the United States and Canada. The MSCI EAFE Index consists of the following 21 developed markets country indexes: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. You cannot invest directly in an index.


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Letter to shareholders (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund     3   

In the first quarter of 2016, market volatility increased globally amid ongoing concerns.

Stock markets worldwide fluctuated widely in the first quarter of 2016. Most sold off sharply in the first six weeks of the year on concerns such as weak global growth, falling commodity prices, and uncertainty over the timing and impact of the Fed’s interest-rate increases. As the quarter progressed, fears abated somewhat and global markets generally rallied back. The U.S. economy ended the quarter on a positive note as much of the quarter’s data reflected resiliency. With ongoing uncertainties about global growth and financial markets, however, the Fed held off from raising the target interest rate during the quarter. Outside the U.S., the eurozone fell into deflation in February; in response, the European Central Bank announced an expansion of its stimulus program. In China, the government in March set a growth rate of 6.5% to 7.0% for 2016, an acknowledgment of weakening growth. In emerging markets, although central-bank stimulus and improved prices for oil and other commodities led to stock-market rallies in the quarter, many of these countries’ economies face credit downgrades due to challenges such as the likelihood of a stronger U.S. dollar, which would make dollar-denominated debt more expensive.

Worries over interest rates and the U.K.’s vote largely drove the markets during the second quarter of 2016.

U.S. stocks began the quarter in positive territory but started to lose steam in early May on worries that a possible June interest-rate increase by the Fed could hurt the market. In mid-May, stocks briefly plunged following comments by Fed officials noting that a June interest-rate increase remained on the table. But once investors had processed this information, stocks again rallied, finishing up for the month. The first three weeks of June brought heightened volatility, spurred largely by a disappointing jobs report and uncertainty over whether the U.K. would remain in the E.U. The U.K.’s Brexit vote on June 23 shocked countries in Europe and much of the rest of the world. Stock markets plummeted as investors worried that the U.K.’s departure from the E.U. would slow global growth and prolong the low-interest-rate environment. Following the initial rout, however, U.S. stocks rallied as investors seemed to decide that any negative effects would be more localized and not create a serious risk for global growth. By quarter-end, the broad U.S. stock market had moved back into positive territory.

Stocks generally posted positive results for July 2016.

U.S. stocks displayed the most momentum during the first two weeks of the month, buoyed partly by an unexpectedly favorable June jobs report that helped strengthen confidence in the U.S. economy. Also, investors perhaps felt that global central banks could extend stimulus measures in the wake of the Brexit vote. Although U.S. market momentum slowed during the second half of July, stocks ended in positive territory for the month. International stocks delivered positive monthly results as well.

    

 


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4   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

Don’t let short-term uncertainty derail long-term investment goals.

Periods of uncertainty can present challenges, but experience has taught us that maintaining long-term investment goals can be an effective way to plan for the future. To help you create a sound strategy based on your personal goals and risk tolerance, Wells Fargo Funds offers more than 100 mutual funds spanning a wide range of asset classes and investment styles. Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance. We encourage investors to know their investments and to understand that appropriate levels of risk-taking may unlock opportunities.

Thank you for choosing to invest in Wells Fargo Funds. We appreciate your confidence in us and remain committed to helping you meet your financial needs.

Sincerely,

 

LOGO

Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance.

 

 

 

 

For further information about your Fund, contact your investment professional, visit our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or call us directly at 1-800-222-8222. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


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6   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

Investment objective

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Manager

Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC

Subadviser

Wells Capital Management Incorporated

Portfolio managers

Michael T. Smith, CFA®

Chris Warner, CFA®

Average annual total returns (%) as of July 31, 20161

 

        Including sales charge     Excluding sales charge     Expense ratios2 (%)  
    Inception date   1 year     5 year     10 year     1 year     5 year     10 year     Gross     Net3  
Class A (EKOAX)   4-29-1968     (8.64     8.86        9.46        (3.07     10.16        10.11        1.27        1.27   
Class B (EKOBX)*   8-2-1993     (8.04     9.06        9.54        (3.77     9.34        9.54        2.02        2.02   
Class C (EKOCX)   8-2-1993     (4.75     9.34        9.30        (3.75     9.34        9.30        2.02        2.02   
Class R (EKORX)   10-10-2003                          (3.30     9.88        9.85        1.52        1.52   
Administrator Class (EOMYX)   1-13-1997                          (2.84     10.42        10.39        1.19        1.10   
Institutional Class (EKONX)   7-30-2010                          (2.61     10.70        10.55        0.94        0.85   
Russell 3000® Growth Index4                            3.57        13.39        9.41                 
*   Class B shares are closed to investment, except in connections with reinvestment of any distributions and permitted exchanges.

Figures quoted represent past performance, which is no guarantee of future results, and do not reflect taxes that a shareholder may pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Performance shown without sales charges would be lower if sales charges were reflected. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted, which assumes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. Current month-end performance is available on the Fund’s website, wellsfargofunds.com.

Index returns do not include transaction costs associated with buying and selling securities, any mutual fund fees or expenses, or any taxes. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

For Class A shares, the maximum front-end sales charge is 5.75%. For Class B shares, the maximum contingent deferred sales charge is 5.00%. For Class C shares, the maximum contingent deferred sales charge is 1.00%. Performance including a contingent deferred sales charge assumes the sales charge for the corresponding time period. Class R, Administrator Class, and Institutional Class shares are sold without a front-end sales charge or contingent deferred sales charge.

Stock values fluctuate in response to the activities of individual companies and general market and economic conditions. Certain investment strategies tend to increase the total risk of an investment (relative to the broader market). The Fund is exposed to foreign investment risk and smaller-company securities risk. Consult the Fund’s prospectus for additional information on these and other risks.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


Table of Contents

 

Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund     7   
Growth of $10,000 investment as of July 31, 20165
LOGO

 

 

 

 

 

1  Historical performance shown for Institutional Class shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of Administrator Class shares, and includes the higher expenses applicable to Administrator Class shares. If these expenses had not been included, returns would be higher. Historical performance shown for all classes of the Fund prior to July 19, 2010, is based on the performance of the Fund’s predecessor, Evergreen Omega Fund.

 

2  Reflects the expense ratios as stated in the most recent prospectuses. The expense ratios shown are subject to change and may differ from the annualized expense ratios shown in the financial highlights of this report.

 

3  The manager has contractually committed through November 30, 2016, to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at 1.30% for Class A, 2.05% for Class B, 2.05% for Class C, 1.55% for Class R, 1.10% for Administrator Class, and 0.85% for Institutional Class. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Brokerage commissions, stamp duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense cap. Without this cap, the Fund’s returns would have been lower.

 

4  The Russell 3000® Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 3000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. The stocks in this index are also members of either the Russell 1000® Growth Index or the Russell 2000® Growth Index. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

5  The chart compares the performance of Class A shares for the most recent ten years with the Russell 3000® Growth Index. The chart assumes a hypothetical investment of $10,000 in Class A shares and reflects all operating expenses and assumes the maximum initial sales charge of 5.75%.

 

6  The ten largest holdings, excluding cash and cash equivalents, are calculated based on the value of the investments divided by total net assets of the Fund. Holdings are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.

 

7  Amounts are calculated based on the total long-term investments of the Fund. These amounts are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.


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8   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

MANAGER’S DISCUSSION

Fund highlights

n   The Fund underperformed its benchmark, the Russell 3000® Growth Index, for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016.

 

n   Stock selection in the information technology (IT) and industrials sectors detracted from performance.

 

n   Stock selection within the consumer discretionary and health care sectors benefited performance.

Over the 12-month period, an elevated level of uncertainty was visible in the U.S. stock market as global economic data and geopolitical events led many investors to reexamine their tolerance for risk; as a result, U.S. stocks at times traded more on emotion and fear than on company-specific fundamentals. In this environment, investors generally tended to prefer yield and defensive stocks, often referred to as bond proxies. These market dynamics were more pronounced in international markets, where economic activity generally was more tepid and geopolitical events caused greater uncertainty.

 

Ten largest holdings (%) as of July 31, 20166  

Amazon.com Incorporated

     4.39   

Facebook Incorporated Class A

     3.78   

Alphabet Incorporated Class A

     3.31   

Visa Incorporated Class A

     3.18   

The Home Depot Incorporated

     3.16   

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

     2.78   

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated

     2.55   

Apple Incorporated

     2.48   

Alphabet Incorporated Class C

     2.46   

KAR Auction Services Incorporated

     2.07   

The Fund’s IT and industrials holdings weighed on performance relative to the Russell 3000® Growth Index.

Within the IT sector, stock selection within the semiconductor and semiconductor-equipment industry detracted from returns. Also, a combination of company-specific issues and concerns over corporate IT spending pressured Fund holdings in the software industry. Tableau Software, Incorporated, which develops data-visualization software, reported disappointing results driven by an unexpected decline in licensing revenue. As a result, Tableau’s shares declined sharply. After reevaluating our investment thesis, we exited the position in favor of other opportunities in which we had higher conviction.

 

 

Among the Fund’s industrials holdings, Old Dominion Freight Line, Incorporated, detracted from performance. Old Dominion, which operates as a less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation network in North America, provides regional and national LTL services, including ground and air-expedited transportation as well as consumer-household pickup and delivery. Our thesis for adding Old Dominion to the Fund’s portfolio was centered on the company’s better ability to grow market share as compared with a fragmented network of competitors. We believed Old Dominion could experience superior growth through its investments in expanding its network, both organically and via acquisition, and in improving its IT capabilities. While the company succeeded in this strategy, outpacing the overall industry’s tonnage growth in the past few years, Old Dominion’s growth rate recently decelerated as the benefits from these initiatives began to plateau. With limited visibility into whether growth would reaccelerate in the future, we sold the position from the Fund.

 

Sector distribution as of July 31, 20167
LOGO

Stock selection in the consumer discretionary and health care sectors aided Fund performance.

Within consumer discretionary, Vail Resorts, Incorporated, contributed to Fund performance. Vail—an operator of world-class resorts and ski areas globally, with prominent properties in the Western U.S.—has been enjoying the benefits of an expanding portfolio of properties and a sophisticated marketing system/loyalty program to encourage repeat visits. The company posted impressive results driven by increased attendance at its properties coupled with increasing pricing metrics per customer visit. Vail also showed healthy progress on its acquisition of the Park City Mountain Resort in Utah. We believe that under Vail’s management, Park City could drive significant future growth.

 

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


Table of Contents

 

Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund     9   

Within the health care sector, positioning in the innovative medical-equipment industry drove strong results. DexCom, Incorporated, a leader in continuous glucose monitoring, added to returns as the company continued to address a large, unmet medical need. DexCom helps certain diabetes patients manage their blood glucose levels and minimize hypoglycemic events, and demand for the company’s products has been heavy. DexCom also is seeking to gain FDA approval of a new product that could meaningfully increase its potential customer base. These factors combined to help send shares up sharply over the reporting period.

Recent market dynamics support our confidence in the Fund’s positioning.

The world presently faces a range of complex and substantial issues. As a result, investors often become preoccupied with worries about the global economic and geopolitical outlooks. Because we share many of these concerns, we have taken a cautious approach within the Fund. We have intentionally shifted toward higher-quality companies with stable cash flows; this positioning reflects the impact that macro factors could have on individual holdings. We acknowledge the importance of risk management in an era of uncertainty.

That being said, however, our process will remain focused on the micro. While valuations of the Fund’s holdings can fluctuate, the fundamentals of these companies, in our view, are underpinned by innovation and strong managements as well as by potentially profitable business models and durable growth. We believe these businesses may be relatively immune to economic uncertainty and therefore could be able to command a scarcity premium. These companies also tend to have visible, durable earnings growth, which indicates their stock prices ultimately could follow the same trajectory. We have been encouraged by recent market activity, which has shown signs of this condition playing out.

Scarcity is a key dimension in our view of the investing landscape. We believe the root cause of many of the world’s problems is a lack of healthy economic growth; however, the scarcity premium for secular earnings growth has yet to meaningfully unfold. We believe this time lag creates an attractive opportunity, as many of the Fund’s positions have underperformed relative to their actual earnings-growth rates; if investors are like thirsty desert travelers, the Fund’s fundamentally strong holdings could be viewed as an oasis on the horizon.

We believe the U.S. economy is on stable footing with attractive growth relative to much of the world. However, we remain mindful of the duration of economic cycles and the ongoing challenge for the U.S. economy to find a higher altitude. Therefore, we maintain a healthy allocation to high-quality core holdings and remain underweight stocks with high economic sensitivity. While consumer spending has not been overly robust, strength has continued in areas such as value retailing, ecommerce, leisure, and housing. These consumer themes, along with innovation in high-growth IT and health care, are well represented in the Fund.

Government spending appears poised to expand in areas such as infrastructure and defense. Although corporations remain cautious on capital spending, the severe headwinds of a strong U.S. dollar and low oil prices appear to be easing and could provide for better-than-expected earnings growth. Overall, we believe the U.S. stock market likely will be supported by a slowly improving economy, giving growth stocks a potential opportunity to stand out from the crowd.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


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10   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund   Fund expenses (unaudited)

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments and contingent deferred sales charges (if any) on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees, distribution (12b-1) and/or shareholder servicing fees, and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the six-month period and held for the entire period from February 1, 2016 to July 31, 2016.

Actual expenses

The “Actual” line of the table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the “Actual” line under the heading entitled “Expenses paid during period” for your applicable class of shares to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical example for comparison purposes

The “Hypothetical” line of the table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads) and contingent deferred sales charges. Therefore, the “Hypothetical” line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

    

Beginning

account value

2-1-2016

    

Ending

account value

7-31-2016

    

Expenses

paid during

the period¹

    

Annualized net

expense ratio

 

Class A

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,113.05       $ 6.78         1.29

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,018.45       $ 6.47         1.29

Class B

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,108.95       $ 10.69         2.04

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,014.73       $ 10.21         2.04

Class C

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,108.92       $ 10.69         2.04

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,014.72       $ 10.22         2.04

Class R

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,111.59       $ 8.06         1.54

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,017.23       $ 7.70         1.54

Administrator Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,114.23       $ 5.78         1.10

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,019.39       $ 5.52         1.10

Institutional Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,115.50       $ 4.47         0.85

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,020.64       $ 4.27         0.85

 

 

1 Expenses paid is equal to the annualized net expense ratio of each class multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the most recent fiscal half-year divided by the number of days in the fiscal year (to reflect the one-half-year period).


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund     11   

    

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  

Common Stocks: 100.16%

          

Consumer Discretionary: 21.90%

          
Diversified Consumer Services: 1.17%           

ServiceMaster Global Holdings Incorporated †

          240,612       $ 9,102,352   
          

 

 

 
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure: 6.66%           

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation

          170,200         9,597,578   

Starbucks Corporation

          264,300         15,342,615   

Vail Resorts Incorporated

          87,102         12,461,683   

Yum! Brands Incorporated

          159,600         14,271,432   
             51,673,308   
          

 

 

 
Internet & Catalog Retail: 4.39%           

Amazon.com Incorporated †

          44,900         34,070,569   
          

 

 

 
Media: 2.69%           

Charter Communications Incorporated Class A †

          46,300         10,874,481   

Cinemark Holdings Incorporated

          265,495         9,982,612   
             20,857,093   
          

 

 

 
Multiline Retail: 1.51%           

Dollar General Corporation

          123,740         11,723,128   
          

 

 

 
Specialty Retail: 4.46%           

O’Reilly Automotive Incorporated †

          34,700         10,084,861   

The Home Depot Incorporated

          177,500         24,537,600   
             34,622,461   
          

 

 

 
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods: 1.02%           

Coach Incorporated

          184,500         7,953,795   
          

 

 

 

Consumer Staples: 8.06%

          
Beverages: 6.08%           

Constellation Brands Incorporated Class A

          96,900         15,952,647   

Dr Pepper Snapple Group Incorporated

          158,400         15,603,984   

Monster Beverage Corporation †

          97,300         15,629,299   
             47,185,930   
          

 

 

 
Tobacco: 1.98%           

Reynolds American Incorporated

          307,500         15,393,450   
          

 

 

 

Financials: 6.13%

          
Capital Markets: 2.01%           

Raymond James Financial Incorporated

          151,502         8,317,460   

SEI Investments Company

          161,200         7,254,000   
             15,571,460   
          

 

 

 
Diversified Financial Services: 3.04%           

Intercontinental Exchange Incorporated

          46,400         12,258,880   

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

12   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund   Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  
Diversified Financial Services (continued)           

S&P Global Incorporated

          92,800       $ 11,340,160   
             23,599,040   
          

 

 

 
Real Estate Management & Development: 1.08%           

CBRE Group Incorporated Class A †

          294,000         8,364,300   
          

 

 

 

Health Care: 18.12%

          
Biotechnology: 2.52%           

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Incorporated †

          43,300         5,568,380   

Biogen Incorporated †

          28,600         8,291,998   

Celgene Corporation †

          50,575         5,674,009   
             19,534,387   
          

 

 

 
Health Care Equipment & Supplies: 5.39%           

Baxter International Incorporated

          187,700         9,013,354   

Boston Scientific Corporation †

          411,300         9,986,364   

DexCom Incorporated †

          122,100         11,261,283   

Intuitive Surgical Incorporated †

          16,600         11,549,616   
             41,810,617   
          

 

 

 
Health Care Providers & Services: 4.40%           

Amedisys Incorporated †

          148,600         7,957,530   

Surgical Care Affiliates Incorporated †

          122,940         6,394,109   

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated

          138,400         19,818,880   
             34,170,519   
          

 

 

 
Health Care Technology: 1.03%           

Veeva Systems Incorporated Class A †

          210,411         7,993,514   
          

 

 

 
Pharmaceuticals: 4.78%           

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

          288,300         21,567,723   

Eli Lilly & Company

          66,200         5,487,318   

Novo Nordisk A/S ADR

          177,100         10,089,387   
             37,144,428   
          

 

 

 

Industrials: 11.09%

          
Aerospace & Defense: 1.18%           

Orbital ATK Incorporated

          105,000         9,147,600   
          

 

 

 
Airlines: 0.71%           

Delta Air Lines Incorporated

          142,700         5,529,625   
          

 

 

 
Commercial Services & Supplies: 2.07%           

KAR Auction Services Incorporated

          376,348         16,096,404   
          

 

 

 
Electrical Equipment: 1.05%           

Acuity Brands Incorporated

          31,000         8,135,330   
          

 

 

 
Industrial Conglomerates: 1.19%           

Carlisle Companies Incorporated

          89,200         9,213,468   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund     13   

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  
Machinery: 0.24%           

Proto Labs Incorporated †«

          34,102       $ 1,876,974   
          

 

 

 
Professional Services: 1.07%           

Verisk Analytics Incorporated †

          97,000         8,272,160   
          

 

 

 
Road & Rail: 2.51%           

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Incorporated

          96,900         8,055,297   

Kansas City Southern

          118,900         11,427,479   
             19,482,776   
          

 

 

 
Trading Companies & Distributors: 1.07%           

HD Supply Holdings Incorporated †

          230,477         8,340,963   
          

 

 

 

Information Technology: 31.91%

          
Communications Equipment: 1.36%           

Harris Corporation

          122,100         10,576,302   
          

 

 

 
Internet Software & Services: 12.04%           

Alphabet Incorporated Class A †

          32,500         25,718,550   

Alphabet Incorporated Class C †

          24,885         19,131,339   

CoStar Group Incorporated †

          36,200         7,525,980   

Facebook Incorporated Class A †

          237,000         29,373,780   

Tencent Holdings Limited ADR

          482,200         11,669,240   
             93,418,889   
          

 

 

 
IT Services: 9.23%           

Acxiom Corporation †

          95,126         2,183,142   

Alliance Data Systems Corporation †

          20,300         4,701,886   

Broadridge Financial Solutions Incorporated

          150,169         10,163,438   

EPAM Systems Incorporated †

          158,741         11,149,968   

PayPal Holdings Incorporated †

          323,800         12,058,312   

Visa Incorporated Class A

          315,804         24,648,502   

WEX Incorporated †

          72,160         6,759,949   
             71,665,197   
          

 

 

 
Software: 6.80%           

Adobe Systems Incorporated †

          106,300         10,402,518   

Salesforce.com Incorporated †

          133,500         10,920,300   

ServiceNow Incorporated †

          152,300         11,410,316   

Take-Two Interactive Software Incorporated †

          308,300         12,387,494   

Tyler Technologies Incorporated †

          47,000         7,661,940   
             52,782,568   
          

 

 

 
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals: 2.48%           

Apple Incorporated

          184,900         19,268,429   
          

 

 

 

Materials: 2.95%

          
Chemicals: 1.64%           

The Sherwin-Williams Company

          42,300         12,678,579   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

14   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund   Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016

      

 

 

Security name                Shares      Value  
Construction Materials: 1.31%          

Vulcan Materials Company

         82,200       $ 10,191,155   
         

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks (Cost $592,538,616)

                                  777,446,770   
         

 

 

 
    Yield                      
Short-Term Investments: 1.02%          
Investment Companies: 1.02%          

Securities Lending Cash Investments LLC (l)(r)(u)

    0.50        421,875         421,875   

Wells Fargo Government Money Market Fund Select Class (l)(u)

    0.32           7,513,053         7,513,053   

Total Short-Term Investments (Cost $7,934,928)

            7,934,928        
         

 

 

 

 

Total investments in securities (Cost $600,473,544) *     101.18        785,381,698   

Other assets and liabilities, net

    (1.18        (9,122,255
 

 

 

      

 

 

 
Total net assets     100.00      $ 776,259,443   
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-income-earning security

 

« All or a portion of this security is on loan.

 

(l) The issuer of the security is an affiliated person of the Fund as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

(r) The investment is a non-registered investment vehicle purchased with cash collateral received from securities on loan.

 

(u) The rate represents the 7-day annualized yield at period end.

 

* Cost for federal income tax purposes is $601,770,245 and unrealized gains (losses) consists of:

 

Gross unrealized gains

   $ 192,198,541   

Gross unrealized losses

     (8,587,088
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized gains

   $ 183,611,453   

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Statement of assets and liabilities—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund     15   
         

Assets

 

Investments

 

In unaffiliated securities (including $412,800 of securities loaned), at value (cost $592,538,616)

  $ 777,446,770   

In affiliated securities, at value (cost $7,934,928)

    7,934,928   
 

 

 

 

Total investments, at value (cost $600,473,544)

    785,381,698   

Receivable for investments sold

    12,652,981   

Receivable for Fund shares sold

    140,518   

Receivable for dividends

    190,633   

Receivable for securities lending income

    866   

Prepaid expenses and other assets

    48,199   
 

 

 

 

Total assets

    798,414,895   
 

 

 

 

Liabilities

 

Payable for investments purchased

    19,647,807   

Payable for Fund shares redeemed

    1,079,265   

Payable upon receipt of securities loaned

    421,875   

Management fee payable

    498,210   

Distribution fees payable

    51,051   

Administration fees payable

    128,751   

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

    328,493   
 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

    22,155,452   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 776,259,443   
 

 

 

 

NET ASSETS CONSIST OF

 

Paid-in capital

  $ 604,167,271   

Accumulated net investment loss

    (6,504,204

Accumulated net realized losses on investments

    (6,311,778

Net unrealized gains on investments

    184,908,154   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 776,259,443   
 

 

 

 

COMPUTATION OF NET ASSET VALUE AND OFFERING PRICE PER SHARE

 

Net assets – Class A

  $ 573,303,983   

Shares outstanding – Class A1

    13,415,946   

Net asset value per share – Class A

    $42.73   

Maximum offering price per share – Class A2

    $45.34   

Net assets – Class B

  $ 3,477,144   

Shares outstanding – Class B1

    108,808   

Net asset value per share – Class B

    $31.96   

Net assets – Class C

  $ 74,336,869   

Shares outstanding – Class C1

    2,318,112   

Net asset value per share – Class C

    $32.07   

Net assets – Class R

  $ 10,121,769   

Shares outstanding – Class R1

    246,639   

Net asset value per share – Class R

    $41.04   

Net assets – Administrator Class

  $ 38,039,410   

Shares outstanding – Administrator Class1

    833,336   

Net asset value per share – Administrator Class

    $45.65   

Net assets – Institutional Class

  $ 76,980,268   

Shares outstanding – Institutional Class1

    1,653,614   

Net asset value per share – Institutional Class

    $46.55   

 

 

1  The Fund has an unlimited number of authorized shares.

 

2  Maximum offering price is computed as 100/94.25 of net asset value. On investments of $50,000 or more, the offering price is reduced.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

16   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund   Statement of operations—year ended July 31, 2016
         

Investment income

 

Dividends

  $ 6,493,476   

Securities lending income, net

    129,604   

Income from affiliated securities

    26,794   
 

 

 

 

Total investment income

    6,649,874   
 

 

 

 

Expenses

 

Management fee

    6,348,545   

Administration fees

 

Class A

    1,228,591   

Class B

    10,690   

Class C

    169,120   

Class R

    25,813   

Administrator Class

    74,194   

Institutional Class

    95,277   

Shareholder servicing fees

 

Class A

    1,462,608   

Class B

    12,726   

Class C

    201,333   

Class R

    30,524   

Administrator Class

    136,667   

Distribution fees

 

Class B

    38,178   

Class C

    603,999   

Class R

    30,729   

Custody and accounting fees

    59,667   

Professional fees

    48,336   

Registration fees

    84,990   

Shareholder report expenses

    119,756   

Trustees’ fees and expenses

    24,905   

Other fees and expenses

    20,182   
 

 

 

 

Total expenses

    10,826,830   

Less: Fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements

    (155,367
 

 

 

 

Net expenses

    10,671,463   
 

 

 

 

Net investment loss

    (4,021,589
 

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAINS (LOSSES) ON INVESTMENTS

 

Net realized losses on investments

    (4,017,597

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (30,592,986
 

 

 

 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (34,610,583
 

 

 

 

Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations

  $ (38,632,172
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Statement of changes in net assets   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund     17   
     Year ended
July 31, 2016
    Year ended
July 31, 2015
 

Operations

       

Net investment loss

    $ (4,021,589     $ (6,158,068

Net realized gains (losses) on investments

      (4,017,597       83,493,222   

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

      (30,592,986       22,205,824   
 

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

      (38,632,172       99,540,978   
 

 

 

 

Distributions to shareholders from

       

Net realized gains

       

Class A

      (53,442,331       (88,485,249

Class B

      (648,915       (1,659,485

Class C

      (9,667,016       (16,860,203

Class R

      (1,155,110       (2,357,246

Administrator Class

      (4,963,941       (11,565,611

Institutional Class

      (5,527,216       (8,555,196
 

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

      (75,404,529       (129,482,990
 

 

 

 

Capital share transactions

    Shares          Shares     

Proceeds from shares sold

       

Class A

    636,040        26,983,625        1,073,382        51,726,380   

Class B

    592        18,253        3,036        118,881   

Class C

    129,265        4,127,591        278,343        10,475,969   

Class R

    78,841        3,191,728        114,110        5,204,171   

Administrator Class

    117,203        5,396,775        459,293        23,327,789   

Institutional Class

    421,170        18,380,976        1,015,747        53,541,695   
 

 

 

 
      58,098,948          144,394,885   
 

 

 

 

Reinvestment of distributions

       

Class A

    1,213,454        49,860,826        1,824,272        82,165,203   

Class B

    20,867        644,380        46,774        1,640,836   

Class C

    278,845        8,638,611        404,364        14,229,572   

Class R

    11,870        469,234        21,691        945,291   

Administrator Class

    110,013        4,822,974        205,792        9,812,172   

Institutional Class

    110,554        4,935,146        136,046        6,577,836   
 

 

 

 
      69,371,171          115,370,910   
 

 

 

 

Payment for shares redeemed

       

Class A

    (2,617,353     (109,288,473     (3,198,159     (154,561,009

Class B

    (121,453     (3,865,675     (150,668     (5,747,142

Class C

    (728,858     (22,930,898     (708,562     (26,619,160

Class R

    (212,709     (8,667,886     (180,460     (8,460,276

Administrator Class

    (1,088,227     (49,198,465     (1,166,619     (60,110,360

Institutional Class

    (552,473     (26,185,870     (418,232     (21,368,714
 

 

 

 
      (220,137,267       (276,866,661
 

 

 

 

Net decrease in net assets resulting from capital share transactions

      (92,667,148       (17,100,866
 

 

 

 

Total decrease in net assets

      (206,703,849       (47,042,878
 

 

 

 

Net assets

       

Beginning of period

      982,963,292          1,030,006,170   
 

 

 

 

End of period

    $ 776,259,443        $ 982,963,292   
 

 

 

 

Accumulated net investment loss

    $ (6,504,204     $ (4,452,286
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

18   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS A   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $48.29        $49.99        $47.97        $39.09        $38.29   

Net investment loss

    (0.19 )1      (0.28 )1      (0.49     (0.02     (0.28 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (1.44     5.12        8.28        10.31        1.08   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (1.63     4.84        7.79        10.29        0.80   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (3.93     (6.54     (5.77     (1.41     0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $42.73        $48.29        $49.99        $47.97        $39.09   

Total return2

    (3.07 )%      10.65     16.58     27.07     2.09

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.28     1.32     1.32     1.34     1.35

Net expenses

    1.28     1.30     1.30     1.30     1.30

Net investment loss

    (0.47 )%      (0.58 )%      (0.84 )%      (0.08 )%      (0.75 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    84     94     101     88     101

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $573,304        $685,005        $724,071        $668,992        $550,758   

 

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund     19   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS B   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $37.44        $40.45        $40.07        $33.12        $32.68   

Net investment loss

    (0.39 )1      (0.51 )1      (0.65 )1      (0.28 )1      (0.47 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (1.16     4.04        6.80        8.64        0.91   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (1.55     3.53        6.15        8.36        0.44   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (3.93     (6.54     (5.77     (1.41     0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $31.96        $37.44        $40.45        $40.07        $33.12   

Total return2

    (3.77 )%      9.82     15.71     26.11     1.32

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    2.03     2.07     2.07     2.09     2.10

Net expenses

    2.03     2.05     2.05     2.05     2.05

Net investment loss

    (1.22 )%      (1.32 )%      (1.58 )%      (0.78 )%      (1.51 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    84     94     101     88     101

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $3,477        $7,817        $12,526        $17,476        $22,271   

 

 

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

20   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS C   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $37.55        $40.56        $40.15        $33.18        $32.75   

Net investment loss

    (0.39 )1      (0.51 )1      (0.65 )1      (0.31 )1      (0.47 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (1.16     4.04        6.83        8.69        0.90   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (1.55     3.53        6.18        8.38        0.43   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (3.93     (6.54     (5.77     (1.41     0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $32.07        $37.55        $40.56        $40.15        $33.18   

Total return2

    (3.75 )%      9.79     15.73     26.11     1.31

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    2.03     2.07     2.07     2.09     2.10

Net expenses

    2.03     2.05     2.05     2.05     2.05

Net investment loss

    (1.22 )%      (1.33 )%      (1.59 )%      (0.85 )%      (1.49 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    84     94     101     88     101

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $74,337        $99,100        $108,073        $83,206        $59,481   

 

 

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund     21   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS R   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $46.66        $48.62        $46.90        $38.35        $37.66   

Net investment loss

    (0.29 )1      (0.39 )1      (0.53 )1      (0.09     (0.36 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (1.40     4.97        8.02        10.05        1.05   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (1.69     4.58        7.49        9.96        0.69   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (3.93     (6.54     (5.77     (1.41     0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $41.04        $46.66        $48.62        $46.90        $38.35   

Total return

    (3.30 )%      10.38     16.30     26.73     1.83

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.53     1.57     1.57     1.59     1.60

Net expenses

    1.53     1.55     1.55     1.55     1.55

Net investment loss

    (0.71 )%      (0.83 )%      (1.09 )%      (0.38 )%      (0.99 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    84     94     101     88     101

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $10,122        $17,199        $20,095        $23,745        $15,408   

 

 

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


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22   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
ADMINISTRATOR CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $51.20        $52.50        $50.00        $40.60        $39.67   

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.12 )1      (0.17 )1      (0.31 )1      0.07 1      (0.19 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (1.50     5.41        8.58        10.74        1.12   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (1.62     5.24        8.27        10.81        0.93   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (3.93     (6.54     (5.77     (1.41     0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $45.65        $51.20        $52.50        $50.00        $40.60   

Total return

    (2.84 )%      10.91     16.89     27.35     2.34

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.19     1.15     1.15     1.17     1.17

Net expenses

    1.08     1.05     1.05     1.05     1.05

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.27 )%      (0.33 )%      (0.59 )%      0.16     (0.49 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    84     94     101     88     101

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $38,039        $86,756        $115,281        $69,264        $51,560   

 

 

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund     23   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
INSTITUTIONAL CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $52.01        $53.10        $50.40        $40.81        $39.77   

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.00 )1      (0.04 )2      (0.24     0.11 2      (0.10

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (1.53     5.49        8.71        10.89        1.14   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (1.53     5.45        8.47        11.00        1.04   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (3.93     (6.54     (5.77     (1.41     0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $46.55        $52.01        $53.10        $50.40        $40.81   

Total return

    (2.61 )%      11.20     17.17     27.68     2.62

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    0.95     0.90     0.89     0.91     0.92

Net expenses

    0.83     0.80     0.80     0.80     0.80

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.01 )%      (0.09 )%      (0.36 )%      0.24     (0.24 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    84     94     101     88     101

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $76,980        $87,085        $49,960        $3,507        $779   

 

 

 

 

 

 

1  Amount is less than $0.005.

 

2  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

24   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund   Notes to financial statements

1. ORGANIZATION

Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”), a Delaware statutory trust organized on March 10, 1999, is an open-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). As an investment company, the Trust follows the accounting and reporting guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946, Financial Services – Investment Companies. These financial statements report on the Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund (the “Fund”) which is a diversified series of the Trust.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The following significant accounting policies, which are consistently followed in the preparation of the financial statements of the Fund, are in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles which require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Securities valuation

All investments are valued each business day as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (generally 4 p.m. Eastern Time), although the Fund may deviate from this calculation time under unusual or unexpected circumstances.

Equity securities that are listed on a foreign or domestic exchange or market are valued at the official closing price or, if none, the last sales price. If no sale occurs on the principal exchange or market that day, the prior day’s price will be deemed “stale” and a fair value price will be determined in accordance with the Fund’s Valuation Procedures.

Investments in registered open-end investment companies are valued at net asset value. Interests in non-registered investment vehicles that are redeemable at net asset value are fair valued normally at net asset value.

Investments which are not valued using any of the methods discussed above are valued at their fair value, as determined in good faith by the Board of Trustees of the Fund. The Board of Trustees has established a Valuation Committee comprised of the Trustees and has delegated to it the authority to take any actions regarding the valuation of portfolio securities that the Valuation Committee deems necessary or appropriate, including determining the fair value of portfolio securities, unless the determination has been delegated to the Management Valuation Team of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”). The Board of Trustees retains the authority to make or ratify any valuation decisions or approve any changes to the Valuation Procedures as it deems appropriate. On a quarterly basis, the Board of Trustees receives reports on any valuation actions taken by the Valuation Committee or the Management Valuation Team which may include items for ratification.

Valuations of fair valued securities are compared to the next actual sales price when available, or other appropriate market values, to assess the continued appropriateness of the fair valuation methodologies used. These securities are fair valued on a day-to-day basis, taking into consideration changes to appropriate market information and any significant changes to the inputs considered in the valuation process until there is a readily available price provided on an exchange or by an independent pricing service. Valuations received from an independent pricing service or independent broker-dealer quotes are periodically validated by comparisons to most recent trades and valuations provided by other independent pricing services in addition to the review of prices by the manager and/or subadviser. Unobservable inputs used in determining fair valuations are identified based on the type of security, taking into consideration factors utilized by market participants in valuing the investment, knowledge about the issuer and the current market environment.

Security loans

The Fund may lend its securities from time to time in order to earn additional income in the form of fees or interest on securities received as collateral or the investment of any cash received as collateral. The Fund continues to receive interest or dividends on the securities loaned. The Fund receives collateral in the form of cash or securities with a value at least equal to the value of the securities on loan. The value of the loaned securities is determined at the close of each business day and any additional required collateral is delivered to the Fund on the next business day. In a securities lending transaction, the net asset value of the Fund will be affected by an increase or decrease in the value of the securities loaned and by an increase or decrease in the value of the instrument in which collateral is invested. The amount of securities lending activity undertaken by the Fund fluctuates from time to time. In the event of default or bankruptcy by the borrower, the Fund may be prevented from recovering the loaned securities or gaining access to the collateral or may experience delays or costs in doing so. In addition, the investment of any cash collateral received may lose all or part of its value. The Fund has the right under the lending agreement to recover the securities from the borrower on demand.


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Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund     25   

The Fund lends its securities through an unaffiliated securities lending agent. Cash collateral received in connection with its securities lending transactions is invested in Securities Lending Cash Investments, LLC (the “Securities Lending Fund”). The Securities Lending Fund is exempt from registration under Section 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act and is managed by Funds Management and is subadvised by Wells Capital Management Incorporated (“WellsCap”), an affiliate of Funds Management and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company (“Wells Fargo”). Funds Management receives an advisory fee starting at 0.05% and declining to 0.01% as the average daily net assets of the Securities Lending Fund increase. All of the fees received by Funds Management are paid to WellsCap for its services as subadviser. The Securities Lending Fund seeks to provide a positive return compared to the daily Fed Funds Open rate by investing in high-quality, U.S. dollar-denominated short-term money market instruments. Securities Lending Fund investments are fair valued based upon the amortized cost valuation technique. Income earned from investment in the Securities Lending Fund is included in securities lending income on the Statement of Operations.

Security transactions and income recognition

Securities transactions are recorded on a trade date basis. Realized gains or losses are recorded on the basis of identified cost.

Dividend income is recognized on the ex-dividend date.

Distributions to shareholders

Distributions to shareholders from net investment income and net realized gains, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Such distributions are determined in conformity with federal income tax regulations, which may differ in amount or character from net investment income and realized gains recognized for purposes of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Federal and other taxes

The Fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company by distributing substantially all of its investment company taxable income and any net realized capital gains (after reduction for capital loss carryforwards) sufficient to relieve it from all, or substantially all, federal income taxes. Accordingly, no provision for federal income taxes was required.

The Fund’s income and federal excise tax returns and all financial records supporting those returns for the prior three fiscal years are subject to examination by the federal and Delaware revenue authorities. Management has analyzed the Fund’s tax positions taken on federal, state, and foreign tax returns for all open tax years and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability.

Reclassifications are made to the Fund’s capital accounts for permanent tax differences to reflect income and gains available for distribution (or available capital loss carryforwards) under federal income tax regulations. U.S. generally accepted accounting principles require that certain components of net assets be adjusted to reflect permanent differences between financial and tax reporting. These reclassifications have no effect on net assets or net asset values per share. The primary permanent differences causing such reclassifications are due to certain distributions paid and net operating losses. At July 31, 2016, as a result of permanent book-to-tax differences, the following reclassification adjustments were made on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities:

 

Paid-in capital    Accumulated net
investment loss
   Accumulated net
realized losses
on investments
$(5,082,539)    $1,969,671    $3,112,868

As of July 31, 2016, the Fund had current year deferred post-October capital losses and a qualified late-year ordinary loss which will both be recognized on the first day of the following fiscal year in the following amounts:

 

Deferred post-October

capital losses

  

Late-year ordinary

losses deferred

$(5,015,077)

   $(6,480,064)

Class allocations

The separate classes of shares offered by the Fund differ principally in applicable sales charges, distribution, shareholder servicing, and administration fees. Class specific expenses are charged directly to that share class. Investment income, common expenses, and realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments are allocated daily to each class of shares based on the relative proportion of net assets of each class.


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26   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund   Notes to financial statements

3. FAIR VALUATION MEASUREMENTS

Fair value measurements of investments are determined within a framework that has established a fair value hierarchy based upon the various data inputs utilized in determining the value of the Fund’s investments. The three-level hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to significant unobservable inputs (Level 3). The Fund’s investments are classified within the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The inputs are summarized into three broad levels as follows:

 

n   Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical securities

 

n   Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, use of amortized cost, etc.)

 

n   Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The inputs or methodologies used for valuing investments in securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

The following is a summary of the inputs used in valuing the Fund’s assets and liabilities as of July 31, 2016:

 

    

Quoted prices

(Level 1)

    

Other significant

observable inputs

(Level 2)

    

Significant

unobservable inputs

(Level 3)

     Total  

Assets

           

Investments in:

           

Common stocks

           

Consumer discretionary

   $ 170,002,706       $ 0       $ 0       $ 170,002,706   

Consumer staples

     62,579,380         0         0         62,579,380   

Financials

     47,534,800         0         0         47,534,800   

Health care

     140,653,465         0         0         140,653,465   

Industrials

     86,095,300         0         0         86,095,300   

Information technology

     247,711,385         0         0         247,711,385   

Materials

     22,869,734         0         0         22,869,734   

Short-term investments

           

Investment companies

     7,513,053         0         0         7,513,053   

Investments measured at net asset value*

                                421,875   

Total assets

   $ 784,959,823       $ 0       $ 0       $ 785,381,698   

 

* Investments that are measured at fair value using the net asset value per share (or its equivalent) as a practical expedient have not been categorized in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value amount presented in the table is intended to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the amounts presented in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. The Fund’s investment in Securities Lending Cash Investments LLC valued at $421,875 does not have a redemption period notice, can be redeemed daily and does not have any unfunded commitments.

The Fund recognizes transfers between levels within the fair value hierarchy at the end of the reporting period. At July 31, 2016, the Fund did not have any transfers into/out of Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3.

4. TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES

Management fee

Funds Management, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo, is the manager of the Fund and provides advisory and fund-level administrative services under an investment management agreement. Under the investment management agreement, Funds Management is responsible for, among other services, implementing the investment objectives and strategies of the Fund, supervising the subadviser, providing fund-level administrative services in connection with the Fund’s operations, and providing any other fund-level administrative services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. As compensation for its services under the investment management agreement, Funds Management is entitled to receive an annual management fee starting at 0.80% and declining to 0.555% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase. For the year ended July 31, 2016, the management fee was equivalent to an annual rate of 0.78% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.


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Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund     27   

Funds Management has retained the services of a subadviser to provide daily portfolio management to the Fund. The fee for subadvisory services is borne by Funds Management. WellsCap is the subadviser to the Fund and is entitled to receive a fee from Funds Management at an annual rate starting at 0.45% and declining to 0.30% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase.

Administration fees

Under a class-level administration agreement, Funds Management provides class-level administrative services to the Fund, which includes paying fees and expenses for services provided by the transfer agent, sub-transfer agents, omnibus account servicers and record-keepers. As compensation for its services under the class-level administration agreement, Funds Management receives an annual fee which is calculated based on the average daily net assets of each class as follows:

 

    

Class-level

administration fee

 

Class A, Class B, Class C, Class R

     0.21

Administrator Class, Institutional Class

     0.13   

Funds Management has contractually waived and/or reimbursed management and administration fees to the extent necessary to maintain certain net operating expense ratios for the Fund. Waiver of fees and/or reimbursement of expenses by Funds Management were made first from fund level expenses on a proportionate basis and then from class specific expenses. Funds Management has committed through November 30, 2016 to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s expenses at 1.30% for Class A shares, 2.05% for Class B shares, 2.05% for Class C shares, 1.55% for Class R shares, 1.10% for Administrator Class shares, and 0.85% for Institutional Class shares. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Prior to December 1, 2015, the Fund’s expenses were capped at 1.05% for Administrator Class and 0.80% for Institutional Class shares.

Distribution fees

The Trust has adopted a distribution plan for Class B, Class C, and Class R shares of the Fund pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Distribution fees are charged to Class B, Class C, and Class R shares and paid to Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC (“Funds Distributor”), the principal underwriter, at an annual rate of 0.75% of the average daily net assets of Class B and Class C shares and 0.25% of the average daily net assets of Class R shares.

In addition, Funds Distributor is entitled to receive the front-end sales charge from the purchase of Class A shares and a contingent deferred sales charge on the redemption of certain Class A shares. Funds Distributor is also entitled to receive the contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of Class B and Class C shares. For the year ended July 31, 2016, Funds Distributor received $18,593 from the sale of Class A shares and $164 and $429 in contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of Class B and Class C shares, respectively.

Shareholder servicing fees

The Trust has entered into contracts with one or more shareholder servicing agents, whereby Class A, Class B, Class C, Class R, and Administrator Class of the Fund are charged a fee at an annual rate of 0.25% of the average daily net assets of each respective class.

A portion of these total shareholder servicing fees were paid to affiliates of Wells Fargo.

5. INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

Purchases and sales of investments, excluding U.S. government obligations (if any) and short-term securities, for the year ended July 31, 2016 were $692,876,059 and $854,088,789, respectively.

The Fund may purchase or sell investment securities to other Wells Fargo funds under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. The procedures have been designed to ensure that these interfund transactions, which generally do not incur broker commissions, are effected at current market prices. Interfund trades are included within the respective purchases and sales amounts shown.

6. BANK BORROWINGS

The Trust (excluding the money market funds and certain other funds) and Wells Fargo Variable Trust are parties to a $200,000,000 revolving credit agreement whereby the Fund is permitted to use bank borrowings for temporary or emergency purposes, such as to fund shareholder redemption requests. Interest under the credit agreement is charged


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28   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund   Notes to financial statements

to the Fund based on a borrowing rate equal to the higher of the Federal Funds rate in effect on that day plus 1.25% or the overnight LIBOR rate in effect on that day plus 1.25%. In addition, an annual commitment fee equal to 0.20% of the unused balance is allocated to each participating fund. Prior to September 1, 2015, the revolving credit agreement amount was $150,000,000 and the annual commitment fee was equal to 0.10% of the unused balance which was allocated to each participating fund.

For the year ended July 31, 2016, there were no borrowings by the Fund under the agreement.

7. DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

The tax character of distributions paid during the years ended July 31, 2016 and July 31, 2015 were as follows:

 

     Year ended July 31  
     2016      2015  

Ordinary income

   $ 0       $ 25,132,357   

Long-term capital gain

     75,404,529         104,350,633   

As of July 31, 2016, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Unrealized

gains

  

Late-year

ordinary losses

deferred

  

Post-October

capital losses

deferred

$183,611,453    $(6,480,064)    $(5,015,077)

8. CONCENTRATION RISK

Concentration risks result from exposure to a limited number of sectors. A fund that invests a substantial portion of its assets in any sector may be more affected by changes in that sector than would be a fund whose investments are not heavily weighted in any sector.

9. INDEMNIFICATION

Under the Trust’s organizational documents, the officers and Trustees have been granted certain indemnification rights against certain liabilities that may arise out of performance of their duties to the Trust. Additionally, in the normal course of business, the Trust may enter into contracts with service providers that contain a variety of indemnification clauses. The Trust’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is dependent on future claims that may be made against the Fund and, therefore, cannot be estimated.


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Report of independent registered public accounting firm   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund     29   

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND SHAREHOLDERS OF WELLS FARGO FUNDS TRUST:

We have audited the accompanying statements of assets and liabilities, including the portfolio of investments, of the Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund (formerly known as Wells Fargo Advantage Omega Growth Fund) (the “Fund”), one of the funds constituting the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, as of July 31, 2016, and the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years in the five-year period then ended. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of July 31, 2016, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers, or by other appropriate auditing procedures. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund as of July 31, 2016, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years in the five-year period then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

 

LOGO

Boston, Massachusetts

September 23, 2016


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30   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund   Other information (unaudited)

TAX INFORMATION

Pursuant to Section 852 of the Internal Revenue Code, $75,404,529 was designated as a 20% rate gain distribution for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016.

PROXY VOTING INFORMATION

A description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities is available, upon request, by calling 1-800-222-8222, visiting our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available on the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com or by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov.

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION

The complete portfolio holdings for the Fund are publicly available monthly on the Fund’s website (wellsfargofunds.com), on a one-month delayed basis. In addition, top ten holdings information (excluding derivative positions) for the Fund is publicly available on the Fund’s website on a monthly, seven-day or more delayed basis. The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q, which is available by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. In addition, the Fund’s Form N-Q may be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC, and at regional offices in New York City, at 233 Broadway, and in Chicago, at 175 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 900. Information about the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund     31   

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS

Each of the Trustees and Officers1 listed in the table below acts in identical capacities for each fund in the Wells Fargo family of funds, which consists of 139 mutual funds comprising the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, Wells Fargo Variable Trust, Wells Fargo Master Trust and four closed-end funds (collectively the “Fund Complex”). This table should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information2. The mailing address of each Trustee and Officer is 525 Market Street, 12th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105. Each Trustee and Officer serves an indefinite term, however, each Trustee serves such term until reaching the mandatory retirement age established by the Trustees.

Independent Trustees

 

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service*

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer  

Current other public

company or

investment company

directorships

William R. Ebsworth

(Born 1957)

  Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 1984 to 2013, equities analyst, portfolio manager, research director and chief financial officer at Fidelity Management and Research Company in Boston, Tokyo, and Hong Kong and retired in 2013 as Chief Investment Officer of Fidelity Strategic Advisers, Inc. where he lead a team of investment professionals managing client assets. Prior thereto, Board member of Hong Kong Securities Clearing Co., Hong Kong Options Clearing Corp., the Thailand International Fund, Ltd., Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company, and Empire Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company. Mr. Ebsworth is a CFA® charterholder and an Adjunct Lecturer, Finance, at Babson College.   Asset Allocation Trust

Jane A. Freeman

(Born 1953)

  Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 2012 to 2014 and 1999 to 2008, Chief Financial Officer of Scientific Learning Corporation. From 2008 to 2012, Ms. Freeman provided consulting services related to strategic business projects. Prior to 1999, Portfolio Manager at Rockefeller & Co. and Scudder, Stevens & Clark. Board member of the Harding Loevner Funds from 1996 to 2014, serving as both Lead Independent Director and chair of the Audit Committee. Board member of the Russell Exchange Traded Funds Trust from 2011 to 2012 and the chair of the Audit Committee. Ms. Freeman is Chair of Taproot Foundation (non-profit organization), a Board Member of Ruth Bancroft Garden (non-profit organization) and an inactive chartered financial analyst.   Asset Allocation Trust

Peter G. Gordon

(Born 1942)

  Trustee, since 1998; Chairman, since 2005   Co-Founder, Retired Chairman, President and CEO of Crystal Geyser Water Company. Trustee Emeritus, Colby College.   Asset Allocation Trust

Isaiah Harris, Jr.

(Born 1952)

  Trustee, since 2009   Retired. Chairman of the Board of CIGNA Corporation since 2009, and Director since 2005. From 2003 to 2011, Director of Deluxe Corporation. Prior thereto, President and CEO of BellSouth Advertising and Publishing Corp. from 2005 to 2007, President and CEO of BellSouth Enterprises from 2004 to 2005 and President of BellSouth Consumer Services from 2000 to 2003. Emeritus member of the Iowa State University Foundation Board of Governors. Emeritus Member of the Advisory Board of Iowa State University School of Business. Advisory Board Member, Palm Harbor Academy (charter school). Advisory Board Member, Child Evangelism Fellowship (non-profit). Mr. Harris is a certified public accountant (inactive status).   CIGNA Corporation; Asset Allocation Trust

Judith M. Johnson

(Born 1949)

  Trustee, since 2008; Audit Committee Chairman, since 2008   Retired. Prior thereto, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Minneapolis Employees Retirement Fund from 1996 to 2008. Ms. Johnson is an attorney, certified public accountant and a certified managerial accountant.   Asset Allocation Trust

David F. Larcker

(Born 1950)

  Trustee, since 2009   James Irvin Miller Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Director of the Corporate Governance Research Initiative and Senior Faculty of The Rock Center for Corporate Governance since 2006. From 2005 to 2008, Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Prior thereto, Ernst & Young Professor of Accounting at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania from 1985 to 2005.   Asset Allocation Trust


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32   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund   Other information (unaudited)

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service*

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer  

Current other public

company or

investment company

directorships

Olivia S. Mitchell

(Born 1953)

  Trustee, since 2006   International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Professor, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania since 1993. Director of Wharton’s Pension Research Council and Boettner Center on Pensions & Retirement Research, and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Previously, Cornell University Professor from 1978 to 1993.   Asset Allocation Trust

Timothy J. Penny

(Born 1951)

  Trustee, since 1996   President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, a non-profit organization, since 2007 and Senior Fellow at the Humphrey Institute Policy Forum at the University of Minnesota since 1995. Member of the Board of Trustees of NorthStar Education Finance, Inc., a non-profit organization, since 2007.   Asset Allocation Trust

Michael S. Scofield

(Born 1943)

  Trustee, since 2010   Served on the Investment Company Institute’s Board of Governors and Executive Committee from 2008-2011 as well the Governing Council of the Independent Directors Council from 2006-2011 and the Independent Directors Council Executive Committee from 2008-2011. Chairman of the IDC from 2008-2010. Institutional Investor (Fund Directions) Trustee of Year in 2007. Trustee of the Evergreen Funds complex (and its predecessors) from 1984 to 2010. Chairman of the Evergreen Funds from 2000-2010. Former Trustee of the Mentor Funds. Retired Attorney, Law Offices of Michael S. Scofield.   Asset Allocation Trust

 

* Length of service dates reflect the Trustee’s commencement of service with the Trust’s predecessor entities, where applicable.

Officers

 

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer    

Karla M. Rabusch

(Born 1959)

  President, since 2003   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2003.    

Jeremy DePalma1

(Born 1974)

  Treasurer, since 2012   Senior Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Senior Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010 and head of the Fund Reporting and Control Team within Fund Administration from 2005 to 2010.    

C. David Messman

(Born 1960)

  Secretary, since 2000; Chief Legal Officer, since 2003   Senior Vice President and Secretary of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2001. Assistant General Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. since 2013 and Vice President and Managing Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. from 1996 to 2013.    

Michael Whitaker

(Born 1967)

  Chief Compliance Officer, since 2016*   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2016. Chief Compliance Officer of Fidelity’s Fixed Income Funds and Asset Allocation Funds from 2008 to 2016, Compliance Officer of FMR Co., Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments from 2007 to 2016.    
David Berardi
(Born 1975)
  Assistant Treasurer, since 2009   Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010. Manager of Fund Reporting and Control for Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2004 to 2010.    

 

 

1 Jeremy DePalma acts as Treasurer of 68 funds and Assistant Treasurer of 71 funds in the Fund Complex.

 

2 The Statement of Additional Information includes additional information about the Trustees and is available, without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-222-8222 or by visiting the website at wellsfargofunds.com.

 

* Michael Whitaker became Chief Compliance Officer effective May 16, 2016.


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund     33   

BOARD CONSIDERATION OF INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENTS:

Under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”) must determine annually whether to approve the continuation of the Trust’s investment management and sub-advisory agreements. In this regard, at an in-person meeting held on May 24-25, 2016 (the “Meeting”), the Board, all the members of which have no direct or indirect interest in the investment management and sub-advisory agreements and are not “interested persons” of the Trust, as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”), reviewed and approved for Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund (the “Fund”): (i) an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”); and (ii) an investment sub-advisory agreement (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”) with Wells Capital Management Incorporated (the “Sub-Adviser”), an affiliate of Funds Management. The Management Agreement and the Sub-Advisory Agreement are collectively referred to as the “Advisory Agreements.”

At the Meeting, the Board considered the factors and reached the conclusions described below relating to the selection of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser and the approval of the Advisory Agreements. Prior to the Meeting, including at an in-person meeting in April 2016, the Trustees conferred extensively among themselves and with representatives of Funds Management about these matters. Also, the Board has adopted a team-based approach, with each team consisting of a sub-set of Trustees, to assist the full Board in the discharge of its duties in reviewing performance and other matters throughout the year. The Independent Trustees were assisted in their evaluation of the Advisory Agreements by independent legal counsel, from whom they received separate legal advice and with whom they met separately.

In providing information to the Board, Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser were guided by a detailed set of requests for information submitted to them by independent legal counsel on behalf of the Independent Trustees at the start of the Board’s annual contract renewal process earlier in 2016. In considering and approving the Advisory Agreements, the Trustees considered the information they believed relevant, including but not limited to the information discussed below. The Board considered not only the specific information presented in connection with the Meeting, but also the knowledge gained over time through interaction with Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser about various topics. In this regard, the Board reviewed reports of Funds Management at each of its quarterly meetings, which included, among other things, portfolio reviews and performance reports. In addition, the Board and the teams mentioned above confer with portfolio managers at various times throughout the year. The Board did not identify any particular information or consideration that was all-important or controlling, and each individual Trustee may have attributed different weights to various factors.

After its deliberations, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable. The Board considered the approval of the Advisory Agreements for the Fund as part of its consideration of agreements for funds across the complex, but its approvals were made on a fund-by-fund basis. The following summarizes a number of important, but not necessarily all, factors considered by the Board in support of its approvals.

Nature, extent and quality of services

The Board received and considered various information regarding the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under the Advisory Agreements. This information included a description of the investment advisory services and Fund-level administrative services covered by the Management Agreement, as well as, among other things, a summary of the background and experience of senior management of Funds Management, and the qualifications, background, tenure and responsibilities of each of the portfolio managers primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the Fund.

The Board evaluated the ability of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to attract and retain qualified investment professionals, including research, advisory and supervisory personnel. The Board further considered the compliance programs and compliance records of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser. In addition, the Board took into account the full range of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and its affiliates.

Fund performance and expenses

The Board considered the performance results for the Fund over various time periods ended December 31, 2015. The Board considered these results in comparison to the performance of funds in a universe that was determined by Broadridge Inc. (“Broadridge”) to be similar to the Fund (the “Universe”), and in comparison to the Fund’s benchmark index and to other comparative data. Broadridge is an independent provider of investment company data. The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the performance


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34   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund   Other information (unaudited)

Universe. The Board noted that the performance of the Fund (Administrator Class) was lower than the average performance of the Universe for all periods under review except the five- and ten-year periods under review. The Board also noted that the performance of the Fund was lower than its benchmark, the Russell 3000® Growth Index, for all periods under review except the ten-year period.

The Board received information concerning, and discussed factors contributing to, the underperformance of the Fund relative to the Universe and benchmark for the periods noted above. The Board took note of the explanations for the relative underperformance in these periods, including with respect to market factors and investment decisions that affected the Fund’s performance and of longer term outperformance.

The Board also received and considered information regarding the Fund’s net operating expense ratios and their various components, including actual management fees, custodian and other non-management fees, and Rule 12b-1 and non-Rule 12b-1 shareholder service fees. The Board considered these ratios in comparison to the median ratios of funds in class-specific expense groups that were determined by Broadridge to be similar to the Fund (the “Groups”). The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the expense Groups and an explanation of how funds comprising expense groups and their expense ratios may vary from year-to-year. Based on the Broadridge reports, the Board noted that the net operating expense ratios of the Fund were lower than or in range of the median net operating expense ratios of the expense Groups.

The Board took into account the Fund performance and expense information provided to it among the factors considered in deciding to re-approve the Advisory Agreements.

Investment management and sub-advisory fee rates

The Board reviewed and considered the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management under the Management Agreement, as well as the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management for class-level administrative services under a Class-Level Administration Agreement, which include class-level transfer agency and sub-transfer agency costs (collectively, the “Management Rates”). The Board also reviewed and considered the contractual investment sub-advisory fee rates that are payable by Funds Management to the Sub-Adviser for investment sub-advisory services.

Among other information reviewed by the Board was a comparison of the Fund’s Management Rates with the average contractual investment management fee rates of funds in the expense Groups at a common asset level as well as transfer agency costs of the funds in the expense Groups. The Board noted that the Management Rates of the Fund were in range of the sum of these average rates for the Fund’s expense Groups for all share classes.

The Board also received and considered information about the portion of the total management fee that was retained by Funds Management after payment of the fee to the Sub-Adviser for sub-advisory services. In assessing the reasonableness of this amount, the Board received and evaluated information about the nature and extent of responsibilities retained and risks assumed by Funds Management and not delegated to or assumed by the Sub-Adviser, and about Funds Management’s on-going oversight services. However, given the affiliation between Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser, the Board ascribed limited relevance to the allocation of fees between them.

The Board also received and considered information about the nature and extent of services offered and fee rates charged by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to other types of clients with investment strategies similar to those of the Fund. In this regard, the Board received information about the significantly greater scope of services, and compliance, reporting and other legal burdens and risks of managing mutual funds compared with those associated with managing assets of non-mutual fund clients such as collective funds or institutional separate accounts.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management under the Management Agreement and to the Sub-Adviser under the Sub-Advisory Agreement was reasonable, in light of the services covered by the Advisory Agreements.

Profitability

The Board received and considered information concerning the profitability of Funds Management, as well as the profitability of Wells Fargo as a whole, from providing services to the Fund and the fund family as a whole. The Board also received and considered information concerning the profitability of the Sub-Adviser from providing services to the fund family as a whole, noting that the Sub-Adviser’s profitability information with respect to providing services to the Fund was subsumed in the Wells Fargo and Funds Management profitability analysis.

Funds Management reported on the methodologies and estimates used in calculating profitability. Among other things, the Board noted that the levels of profitability reported on a fund-by-fund basis varied widely, depending on factors such


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund     35   

as the size and type of fund. Based on its review, the Board did not deem the profits reported by Funds Management or Wells Fargo from its services to the Fund to be at a level that would prevent it from approving the continuation of the Advisory Agreements.

Economies of scale

With respect to possible economies of scale, the Board noted the existence of breakpoints in the Fund’s management fee structure, which operate generally to reduce the Fund’s expense ratios as the Fund grows in size. It considered that, for a small fund or a fund that shrinks in size, breakpoints conversely can result in higher fee levels. The Board also considered that fee waiver and expense reimbursement arrangements and competitive fee rates at the outset are means of sharing potential economies of scale with shareholders of the Fund and the fund family as a whole. The Board considered Funds Management’s view that any analyses of potential economies of scale in managing a particular fund are inherently limited in light of the joint and common costs and investments that Funds Management incurs across the fund family as a whole.

The Board concluded that the Fund’s fee and expense arrangements, including contractual breakpoints, constituted a reasonable approach to sharing potential economies of scale with the Fund and its shareholders.

Other benefits to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser

The Board received and considered information regarding potential “fall-out” or ancillary benefits received by Funds Management and its affiliates, including the Sub-Adviser, as a result of their relationships with the Fund. Ancillary benefits could include, among others, benefits directly attributable to other relationships with the Fund and benefits potentially derived from an increase in Funds Management’s and the Sub-Adviser’s business as a result of their relationships with the Fund. The Board noted that various affiliates of Funds Management may receive distribution-related fees, shareholder servicing payments and sub-transfer agency fees in respect of shares sold or held through them and services provided.

The Board also reviewed information about soft dollar credits earned and utilized by the Sub-Adviser, fees earned by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser from managing a private investment vehicle for the fund family’s securities lending collateral and commissions earned by an affiliated broker from portfolio transactions.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board did not find that any ancillary benefits received by Funds Management and its affiliates, including the Sub-Adviser, were unreasonable.

Conclusion

At the Meeting, after considering the above-described factors and based on its deliberations and its evaluation of the information described above, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable.


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36   Wells Fargo Omega Growth Fund   List of abbreviations

The following is a list of common abbreviations for terms and entities that may have appeared in this report.

 

ACA —  ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation
ADR —  American depositary receipt
ADS —  American depositary shares
AGC —  Assured Guaranty Corporation
AGM —  Assured Guaranty Municipal
Ambac —  Ambac Financial Group Incorporated
AMT —  Alternative minimum tax
AUD —  Australian dollar
BAN —  Bond anticipation notes
BHAC —  Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corporation
BRL —  Brazilian real
CAB —  Capital appreciation bond
CAD —  Canadian dollar
CCAB —  Convertible capital appreciation bond
CDA —  Community Development Authority
CDO —  Collateralized debt obligation
CHF —  Swiss franc
COP —  Colombian peso
CLP —  Chilean peso
DKK —  Danish krone
DRIVER —  Derivative inverse tax-exempt receipts
DW&P —  Department of Water & Power
DWR —  Department of Water Resources
ECFA —  Educational & Cultural Facilities Authority
EDA —  Economic Development Authority
EDFA —  Economic Development Finance Authority
ETF —  Exchange-traded fund
EUR —  Euro
FDIC —  Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FFCB —  Federal Farm Credit Banks
FGIC —  Financial Guaranty Insurance Corporation
FHA —  Federal Housing Administration
FHLB —  Federal Home Loan Bank
FHLMC —  Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
FICO —  The Financing Corporation
FNMA —  Federal National Mortgage Association
FSA —  Farm Service Agency
GBP —  Great British pound
GDR —  Global depositary receipt
GNMA —  Government National Mortgage Association
GO —  General obligation
HCFR —  Healthcare facilities revenue
HEFA —  Health & Educational Facilities Authority
HEFAR —  Higher education facilities authority revenue
HFA —  Housing Finance Authority
HFFA —  Health Facilities Financing Authority
HKD —  Hong Kong dollar
HUD —  Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUF —  Hungarian forint
IDA —  Industrial Development Authority
IDAG —  Industrial Development Agency
IDR —  Indonesian rupiah
IEP —  Irish pound
JPY —  Japanese yen
KRW —  Republic of Korea won
LIBOR —  London Interbank Offered Rate
LIFER —  Long Inverse Floating Exempt Receipts
LIQ —  Liquidity agreement
LLC —  Limited liability company
LLLP —  Limited liability limited partnership
LLP —  Limited liability partnership
LOC —  Letter of credit
LP —  Limited partnership
MBIA —  Municipal Bond Insurance Association
MFHR —  Multifamily housing revenue
MSTR —  Municipal securities trust receipts
MTN —  Medium-term note
MUD —  Municipal Utility District
MXN —  Mexican peso
MYR —  Malaysian ringgit
National —  National Public Finance Guarantee Corporation
NGN —  Nigerian naira
NOK —  Norwegian krone
NZD —  New Zealand dollar
PCFA —  Pollution Control Financing Authority
PCL —  Public Company Limited
PCR —  Pollution control revenue
PFA —  Public Finance Authority
PFFA —  Public Facilities Financing Authority
PFOTER —  Puttable floating option tax-exempt receipts
plc —  Public limited company
PLN —  Polish zloty
PUTTER —  Puttable tax-exempt receipts
R&D —  Research & development
Radian —  Radian Asset Assurance
RAN —  Revenue anticipation notes
RDA —  Redevelopment Authority
RDFA —  Redevelopment Finance Authority
REIT —  Real estate investment trust
ROC —  Reset option certificates
RON —  Romanian lei
RUB —  Russian ruble
SAVRS —  Select auction variable rate securities
SBA —  Small Business Authority
SDR —  Swedish depositary receipt
SEK —  Swedish krona
SFHR —  Single-family housing revenue
SFMR —  Single-family mortgage revenue
SGD —  Singapore dollar
SPA —  Standby purchase agreement
SPDR —  Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts
SPEAR —  Short Puttable Exempt Adjustable Receipts
STRIPS —  Separate trading of registered interest and
           principal securities
TAN —  Tax anticipation notes
TBA —  To be announced
THB —  Thai baht
TIPS —  Treasury inflation-protected securities
TRAN —  Tax revenue anticipation notes
TRY —  Turkish lira
TTFA —  Transportation Trust Fund Authority
TVA —  Tennessee Valley Authority
ZAR —  South African rand
 


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For more information

More information about Wells Fargo Funds is available free upon request. To obtain literature, please write, email, visit the Fund’s website, or call:

Wells Fargo Funds

P.O. Box 8266

Boston, MA 02266-8266

Email: fundservice@wellsfargo.com

Website: wellsfargofunds.com

Individual investors: 1-800-222-8222

Retail investment professionals: 1-888-877-9275

Institutional investment professionals: 1-866-765-0778

 

This report and the financial statements contained herein are submitted for the general information of the shareholders of the Fund. If this report is used for promotional purposes, distribution of the report must be accompanied or preceded by a current prospectus. Before investing, please consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the investment. For a current prospectus and, if available, a summary prospectus, containing this information, call 1-800-222-8222 or visit the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com. Read the prospectus carefully before you invest or send money.

Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM) is a trade name used by the asset management businesses of Wells Fargo & Company. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, provides investment advisory and administrative services for Wells Fargo Funds. Other affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company provide subadvisory and other services for the funds. The funds are distributed by Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC, Member FINRA, an affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE

© 2016 Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. All rights reserved.

 

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245328 09-16

A211/AR211 07-16


Table of Contents

Annual Report

July 31, 2016

 

LOGO

 

Wells Fargo

Premier Large Company Growth Fund

 

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Table of Contents

Reduce clutter. Save trees.

Sign up for electronic delivery of prospectuses and shareholder reports at wellsfargo.com/advantagedelivery

Contents

 

 

 

Letter to shareholders

    2   

Performance highlights

    6   

Fund expenses

    10   

Portfolio of investments

    11   
Financial statements  

Statement of assets and liabilities

    15   

Statement of operations

    16   

Statement of changes in net assets

    17   

Financial highlights

    18   

Notes to financial statements

    25   

Report of independent registered public accounting firm

    30   

Other information

    31   

List of abbreviations

    37   

 

The views expressed and any forward-looking statements are as of July 31, 2016, unless otherwise noted, and are those of the Fund managers and/or Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. Discussions of individual securities, or the markets generally, or any Wells Fargo Fund are not intended as individual recommendations. Future events or results may vary significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. The views expressed are subject to change at any time in response to changing circumstances in the market. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC and the Fund disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any views expressed or forward-looking statements.

 

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE



Table of Contents

 

2   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

 

LOGO

Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period

 

 

Dear Valued Shareholder:

We are pleased to offer you this annual report for the Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016. During this period, which began August 1, 2015, U.S. and international stock markets experienced heightened volatility, with intermittent rebounds interspersed with sell-offs. The U.S. economy displayed resilience throughout the period, although growth was somewhat sluggish amid ongoing pressures that included slowing growth in China, a strengthening U.S. dollar, and uncertainty regarding interest-rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed); international economies faced deeper ongoing challenges. During June 2016, global markets became especially volatile as the U.K.’s vote over whether to leave the European Union (E.U.) approached. However, markets began recovering shortly after the U.K. voted to leave and rallied through July. Despite significant market fluctuations over the course of the year, U.S. stocks delivered positive results overall for the 12-month reporting period, as measured by the Russell 1000® Index.1 International markets generally declined as measured by the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index.2

In the third quarter of 2015, China’s slowdown took a toll on economies and markets worldwide.

U.S. stocks sagged during the quarter, experiencing the most volatility since 2011. Economic data released during the quarter suggested the U.S. economy remained solid but had lost some steam, burdened by the drag of the U.S. dollar’s strength coupled with global economic turmoil. The fact that the Fed left the federal funds interest rate unchanged at its September 2015 meeting surprised investors and fueled increased uncertainty about the U.S. economy’s stamina to remain healthy while facing the challenges of slowing in growth China and troubles elsewhere in the world. Outside the U.S., markets were even more volatile and delivered generally weaker quarterly results, also largely due to investors’ increasing anxiety over China’s weakened economy.

Despite ongoing concerns, U.S. stocks generally rose in the fourth quarter of 2015; international markets lagged.

While the broad U.S. stock market bounced back in the quarter, stock markets outside the U.S. failed to keep pace as economic concerns, including China’s ongoing slowdown, continued to affect many countries. U.S. economic data released during the quarter indicated the economy remained solid, although the strong U.S. dollar and weakness in international economies remained headwinds. In December, the Fed, as expected, raised its target interest rate by 25 basis points (bps; 100 bps equals 1.00%) after keeping it near zero for seven years. The move reflected confidence in the U.S. economy’s ability to stay healthy with less central-bank support. The Fed also clarified that future interest-rate increases would be gradual.

 

 

 

1  The Russell 1000® Index measures the performance of the 1,000 largest companies in the Russell 3000® Index, which represents approximately 92% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000® Index. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

2  Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Index is a free-float-adjusted market-capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the United States and Canada. The MSCI EAFE Index consists of the following 21 developed markets country indexes: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. You cannot invest directly in an index.


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Letter to shareholders (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund     3   

In the first quarter of 2016, market volatility increased globally amid ongoing concerns.

Stock markets worldwide fluctuated widely in the first quarter of 2016. Most sold off sharply in the first six weeks of the year on concerns such as weak global growth, falling commodity prices, and uncertainty over the timing and impact of the Fed’s interest-rate increases. As the quarter progressed, fears abated somewhat and global markets generally rallied back. The U.S. economy ended the quarter on a positive note as much of the quarter’s data reflected resiliency. With ongoing uncertainties about global growth and financial markets, however, the Fed held off from raising the target interest rate during the quarter. Outside the U.S., the eurozone fell into deflation in February; in response, the European Central Bank announced an expansion of its stimulus program. In China, the government in March set a growth rate of 6.5% to 7.0% for 2016, an acknowledgment of weakening growth. In emerging markets, although central-bank stimulus and improved prices for oil and other commodities led to stock-market rallies in the quarter, many of these countries’ economies face credit downgrades due to challenges such as the likelihood of a stronger U.S. dollar, which would make dollar-denominated debt more expensive.

Worries over interest rates and the U.K.’s vote largely drove the markets during the second quarter of 2016.

U.S. stocks began the quarter in positive territory but started to lose steam in early May on worries that a possible June interest-rate increase by the Fed could hurt the market. In mid-May, stocks briefly plunged following comments by Fed officials noting that a June interest-rate increase remained on the table. But once investors had processed this information, stocks again rallied, finishing up for the month. The first three weeks of June brought heightened volatility, spurred largely by a disappointing jobs report and uncertainty over whether the U.K. would remain in the E.U. The U.K.’s Brexit vote on June 23 shocked countries in Europe and much of the rest of the world. Stock markets plummeted as investors worried that the U.K.’s departure from the E.U. would slow global growth and prolong the low-interest-rate environment. Following the initial rout, however, U.S. stocks rallied as investors seemed to decide that any negative effects would be more localized and not create a serious risk for global growth. By quarter-end, the broad U.S. stock market had moved back into positive territory.

Stocks generally posted positive results for July 2016.

U.S. stocks displayed the most momentum during the first two weeks of the month, buoyed partly by an unexpectedly favorable June jobs report that helped strengthen confidence in the U.S. economy. Also, investors perhaps felt that global central banks could extend stimulus measures in the wake of the Brexit vote. Although U.S. market momentum slowed during the second half of July, stocks ended in positive territory for the month. International stocks delivered positive monthly results as well.


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4   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund   Letter to shareholders (unaudited)

Don’t let short-term uncertainty derail long-term investment goals.

Periods of uncertainty can present challenges, but experience has taught us that maintaining long-term investment goals can be an effective way to plan for the future. To help you create a sound strategy based on your personal goals and risk tolerance, Wells Fargo Funds offers more than 100 mutual funds spanning a wide range of asset classes and investment styles. Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance. We encourage investors to know their investments and to understand that appropriate levels of risk-taking may unlock opportunities.

Thank you for choosing to invest in Wells Fargo Funds. We appreciate your confidence in us and remain committed to helping you meet your financial needs.

Sincerely,

 

LOGO

Karla M. Rabusch

President

Wells Fargo Funds

 

 

Although diversification cannot guarantee an investment profit or prevent losses, we believe it can be an effective way to manage investment risk and potentially smooth out overall portfolio performance.

 

 

 

 

 

For further information about your Fund, contact your investment professional, visit our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or call us directly at 1-800-222-8222. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


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6   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

Investment objective

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Manager

Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC

Subadviser

Wells Capital Management Incorporated

Portfolio managers

Joseph M. Eberhardy, CFA®, CPA

Thomas C. Ognar, CFA®

Bruce C. Olson, CFA®

Average annual total returns (%) as of July 31, 20161

 

        Including sales charge     Excluding sales charge     Expense ratios2 (%)  
    Inception date   1 year     5 year     10 year     1 year     5 year     10 year     Gross     Net3  
Class A (EKJAX)   1-20-1998     (8.77     9.37        9.21        (3.22     10.67        9.87        1.11        1.11   
Class B (EKJBX)*   9-11-1935     (8.35     9.56        9.30        (3.92     9.83        9.30        1.86        1.86   
Class C (EKJCX)   1-22-1998     (4.92     9.84        9.05        (3.92     9.84        9.05        1.86        1.86   
Class R4 (EKJRX)   11-30-2012                          (2.91     11.03        10.20        0.83        0.80   
Class R6 (EKJFX)   11-30-2012                          (2.78     11.15        10.27        0.68        0.65   
Administrator Class (WFPDX)   7-16-2010                          (3.13     10.84        10.00        1.03        1.00   
Institutional Class (EKJYX)   6-30-1999                          (2.85     11.12        10.25        0.78        0.70   
Russell 1000® Growth Index4                            4.35        13.62        9.50                 
*   Class B shares are closed to investment, except in connection with the reinvestment of any distributions and permitted exchanges.

Figures quoted represent past performance, which is no guarantee of future results, and do not reflect taxes that a shareholder may pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Performance shown without sales charges would be lower if sales charges were reflected. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted, which assumes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. Current month-end performance is available on the Fund’s website, wellsfargofunds.com.

Index returns do not include transaction costs associated with buying and selling securities, any mutual fund fees or expenses, or any taxes. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

For Class A shares, the maximum front-end sales charge is 5.75%. For Class B shares, the maximum contingent deferred sales charge is 5.00%. For Class C shares, the maximum contingent deferred sales charge is 1.00%. Performance including a contingent deferred sales charge assumes the sales charge for the corresponding time period. Class R4, Class R6, Administrator Class, and Institutional Class shares are sold without a front-end sales charge or contingent deferred sales charge.

Stock values fluctuate in response to the activities of individual companies and general market and economic conditions. Certain investment strategies tend to increase the total risk of an investment (relative to the broader market). The Fund is exposed to foreign investment risk. Consult the Fund’s prospectus for additional information on these and other risks.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


Table of Contents

 

Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund     7   
Growth of $10,000 investment as of July 31, 20165
LOGO

 

 

 

1  Historical performance shown for Class R4 shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of Institutional Class shares, adjusted to reflect the higher expenses applicable to Class R4 shares. Historical performance shown for Class R6 shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of Institutional Class shares, and includes the higher expenses applicable to Institutional Class shares. If these expenses had not been included, returns would be higher. Historical performance shown for Administrator Class shares prior to their inception reflects the performance of Institutional Class shares, adjusted to reflect the higher expenses applicable to Administrator Class shares. Historical performance shown for all classes of the Fund prior to July 19, 2010, is based on the performance of the Fund’s predecessor, Evergreen Large Company Growth Fund.

 

2  Reflects the expense ratios as stated in the most recent prospectuses. The expense ratios shown are subject to change and may differ from the annualized expense ratios shown in the financial highlights of this report.

 

3  The manager has contractually committed through November 30, 2016, to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at the amounts shown. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Brokerage commissions, stamp duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense cap. Without this cap, the Fund’s returns would have been lower.

 

4  The Russell 1000® Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

5  The chart compares the performance of Class A shares for the most recent ten years with the Russell 1000® Growth Index. The chart assumes a hypothetical investment of $10,000 in Class A shares and reflects all operating expenses and assumes the maximum initial sales charge of 5.75%.

 

6  The ten largest holdings, excluding cash and cash equivalents, are calculated based on the value of the investments divided by total net assets of the Fund. Holdings are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.

 

7  Amounts are calculated based on the total long-term investments of the Fund. These amounts are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.


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8   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund   Performance highlights (unaudited)

MANAGER’S DISCUSSION

Fund highlights

n   The Fund underperformed its benchmark, the Russell 1000® Growth Index, for the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2016.

 

n   Holdings within the health care and information technology (IT) sectors contributed to the Fund’s underperformance for the period. An underweight to slower-growing stocks in the consumer staples sector also detracted from results as investors sought higher-yielding stocks.

 

n   The market environment often was influenced by investor sentiment rather than by fundamentals during the period, which presented a general challenge for our emphasis on adding value through bottom-up stock selection.

The ongoing low-interest-rate environment drove investors’ demand for dividend yield, hindering Fund results.

Faced with the prospect of historically low interest rates and, in some countries, negative interest rates, investors continued to seek alternative sources of income via dividend-paying stocks. Stocks paying a dividend yield larger than 2% contributed disproportionately to the total return of the Russell 1000® Growth Index for the period. Due to its focus on faster-growing stocks, the Fund tends to be significantly underweight dividend-paying stocks compared with the index; this characteristic significantly contributed to the Fund’s underperformance for the period. While investors’ preference for dividend yield challenged our investment process at times during the period, it also led to historically attractive relative valuations for faster-growing stocks, which could bode well for future Fund performance.

 

Ten largest holdings (%) as of July 31, 20166  

Facebook Incorporated Class A

     5.50   

Alphabet Incorporated Class A

     4.60   

Amazon.com Incorporated

     4.41   

Visa Incorporated Class A

     2.87   

Microchip Technology Incorporated

     2.76   

Microsoft Corporation

     2.42   

Dollar Tree Incorporated

     2.33   

MasterCard Incorporated Class A

     2.14   

Union Pacific Corporation

     2.09   

Ecolab Incorporated

     1.99   

Results from the Fund’s health care and IT holdings detracted from performance.

Within health care, biotechnology holdings detracted notably over the period. Although these companies tended to experience solid demand for existing medical solutions, their stocks suffered significant declines in the first half of 2016. Multiple factors drove the share-price weakness, including the negative effects of ongoing political rhetoric concerning potential drug-pricing controls and less-robust fundamental outlooks for several companies.

Within the IT sector, several holdings with significant market opportunities within faster-growing areas, such as cloud services, data analytics, and network security,

 

displayed weakness. Although these holdings generally delivered solid growth fundamentals, they experienced significant volatility as investors reacted to global economic uncertainties. At times during the period, investors preferred select mega-cap IT stocks, often at the expense of many small- and mid-cap IT companies that were actively reinvesting in their businesses to expand their market share.

Holdings within the consumer discretionary, energy, and materials sectors contributed positively to performance.

Within the consumer discretionary sector, the Fund benefited from solid performance by holdings with strong secular growth. Retail companies focused on the lower-end consumer continued to perform well as their business models tend to be more resistant to the pressures of Amazon.com, Incorporated, and other online retailers. Among the Fund’s energy holdings, exploration and production company Concho Resources Incorporated, which has fracking operations in the Permian Basin, delivered favorable results as oil prices rallied off their February 2016 lows. Within the materials sector, Airgas, Incorporated, performed well as investors rewarded companies with proven business models that offered consistent results.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


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Performance highlights (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund     9   
Sector distribution as of July 31, 20167
LOGO

We continue to focus on consistently implementing our process.

Over the course of the 12-month period, we made modest adjustments to the Fund to potentially capitalize on opportunities and position for the future. Using our bottom-up research process, we added IT companies that met our criteria for robust, sustainable growth that appears underappreciated by the market. We funded these purchases primarily with the proceeds from sales of holdings in the health care and consumer discretionary sectors.

Given the abundant political and economic headlines dominating the media in the U.S. and worldwide, we expect to see continued market volatility heading into

 

the summer of 2016 and likely through the U.S. general election in November 2016. As this volatility occurs, we intend to take advantage of potential opportunities as the valuation gaps of the companies held within the Fund widen and contract. We maintain strong conviction for the rapidly growing companies within the portfolio; many holdings have been trading at or near multiyear-low valuations relative to the broad market. Our investment strategy—seeking robust growth companies with sustainable business models that are underappreciated by investors—should position us, going forward, to take advantage of opportunities within the market for the benefit of Fund shareholders.

 

 

Please see footnotes on page 7.


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10   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund   Fund expenses (unaudited)

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments and contingent deferred sales charges (if any) on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees, distribution (12b-1) and/or shareholder servicing fees, and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the six-month period and held for the entire period from February 1, 2016 to July 31, 2016.

Actual expenses

The “Actual” line of the table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the “Actual” line under the heading entitled “Expenses paid during period” for your applicable class of shares to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical example for comparison purposes

The “Hypothetical” line of the table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads) and contingent deferred sales charges. Therefore, the “Hypothetical” line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

     Beginning
account value
2-1-2016
     Ending
account value
7-31-2016
     Expenses
paid during
the period¹
     Annualized net
expense ratio
 

Class A

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,101.28       $ 5.80         1.11

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,019.34       $ 5.57         1.11

Class B

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,096.97       $ 9.69         1.86

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,015.62       $ 9.32         1.86

Class C

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,097.22       $ 9.70         1.86

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,015.61       $ 9.32         1.86

Class R4

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,102.94       $ 4.18         0.80

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,020.89       $ 4.02         0.80

Class R6

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,103.95       $ 3.40         0.65

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,021.63       $ 3.27         0.65

Administrator Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,101.86       $ 5.23         1.00

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,019.89       $ 5.02         1.00

Institutional Class

           

Actual

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,103.30       $ 3.66         0.70

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000.00       $ 1,021.38       $ 3.52         0.70

 

 

1 Expenses paid is equal to the annualized net expense ratio of each class multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the most recent fiscal half-year divided by the number of days in the fiscal year (to reflect the one-half-year period).


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund     11   

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  

Common Stocks: 95.78%

          

Consumer Discretionary: 21.19%

          
Auto Components: 0.28%           

Delphi Automotive plc

          147,660       $ 10,014,301   
          

 

 

 
Distributors: 1.52%           

LKQ Corporation †

          1,577,210         54,240,252   
          

 

 

 
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure: 1.87%           

Starbucks Corporation

          1,150,170         66,767,369   
          

 

 

 
Internet & Catalog Retail: 4.41%           

Amazon.com Incorporated †

          207,580         157,513,780   
          

 

 

 
Media: 1.01%           

The Walt Disney Company

          374,080         35,892,976   
          

 

 

 
Multiline Retail: 3.77%           

Dollar General Corporation

          541,900         51,339,606   

Dollar Tree Incorporated †

          865,130         83,303,368   
             134,642,974   
          

 

 

 
Specialty Retail: 6.37%           

CarMax Incorporated †«

          80,230         4,674,200   

O’Reilly Automotive Incorporated †

          121,680         35,363,858   

The Home Depot Incorporated

          486,840         67,300,762   

The TJX Companies Incorporated

          629,470         51,440,288   

Tractor Supply Company

          749,950         68,732,918   
             227,512,026   
          

 

 

 
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods: 1.96%           

Nike Incorporated Class B

          501,190         27,816,045   

Under Armour Incorporated Class A †«

          424,190         16,738,537   

Under Armour Incorporated Class C †

          441,980         15,778,686   

VF Corporation

          151,260         9,443,162   
             69,776,430   
          

 

 

 

Consumer Staples: 6.35%

          
Beverages: 2.01%           

Constellation Brands Incorporated Class A

          172,730         28,436,540   

The Coca-Cola Company

          997,400         43,516,562   
             71,953,102   
          

 

 

 
Food & Staples Retailing: 2.96%           

Costco Wholesale Corporation

          311,490         52,087,358   

CVS Health Corporation

          349,430         32,399,150   

Sprouts Farmers Market Incorporated †

          915,222         21,169,085   
             105,655,593   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

12   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund   Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  
Household Products: 0.54%           

Colgate-Palmolive Company

          257,520       $ 19,167,214   
          

 

 

 
Personal Products: 0.84%           

The Estee Lauder Companies Incorporated Class A

          322,110         29,924,019   
          

 

 

 

Energy: 1.47%

          
Energy Equipment & Services: 0.45%           

Schlumberger Limited

          197,910         15,935,713   
          

 

 

 
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels: 1.02%           

Concho Resources Incorporated †

          292,770         36,362,034   
          

 

 

 

Financials: 1.20%

          
Capital Markets: 0.33%           

SEI Investments Company

          80         3,600   

TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation

          394,560         11,978,842   
             11,982,442   
          

 

 

 
REITs: 0.87%           

American Tower Corporation

          267,550         30,974,264   
          

 

 

 

Health Care: 17.12%

          
Biotechnology: 7.69%           

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Incorporated †

          550,604         70,807,674   

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Incorporated †

          597,130         59,366,665   

Celgene Corporation †

          515,868         57,875,231   

Incyte Corporation †

          85,490         7,712,053   

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Incorporated †

          136,940         58,215,933   

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated †

          213,140         20,674,580   
             274,652,136   
          

 

 

 
Health Care Equipment & Supplies: 2.94%           

Danaher Corporation

          284,420         23,163,165   

Intuitive Surgical Incorporated †

          26,780         18,632,453   

Medtronic plc

          721,762         63,248,004   
             105,043,622   
          

 

 

 
Health Care Providers & Services: 0.61%           

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings †

          154,920         21,620,635   
          

 

 

 
Health Care Technology: 1.50%           

Cerner Corporation †

          855,880         53,398,353   
          

 

 

 
Life Sciences Tools & Services: 0.85%           

Patheon NV †

          109,433         2,829,937   

Quintiles Transnational Holdings Incorporated †

          351,767         27,311,190   
             30,141,127   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund     13   

      

 

 

Security name                 Shares      Value  
Pharmaceuticals: 3.53%           

Allergan plc †

          98,750       $ 24,978,813   

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

          772,910         57,821,397   

Zoetis Incorporated

          857,288         43,267,325   
             126,067,535   
          

 

 

 

Industrials: 7.92%

          
Aerospace & Defense: 1.64%           

Honeywell International Incorporated

          293,170         34,104,466   

The Boeing Company

          183,870         24,576,064   
             58,680,530   
          

 

 

 
Air Freight & Logistics: 0.95%           

United Parcel Service Incorporated Class B

          313,820         33,923,942   
          

 

 

 
Airlines: 0.71%           

Southwest Airlines Company

          687,500         25,444,375   
          

 

 

 
Electrical Equipment: 0.68%           

Acuity Brands Incorporated

          91,920         24,122,566   
          

 

 

 
Machinery: 0.39%           

Fortive Corporation †

          286,705         13,822,048   
          

 

 

 
Road & Rail: 3.55%           

Canadian Pacific Railway Limited

          5,660         847,755   

Kansas City Southern

          532,440         51,172,808   

Union Pacific Corporation

          803,040         74,722,872   
             126,743,435   
          

 

 

 

Information Technology: 37.13%

          
Communications Equipment: 0.66%           

Palo Alto Networks Incorporated †

          179,290         23,467,268   
          

 

 

 
Internet Software & Services: 11.15%           

Alphabet Incorporated Class A †

          207,410         164,131,829   

Alphabet Incorporated Class C †

          48,918         37,607,669   

Facebook Incorporated Class A †

          1,584,450         196,376,733   
             398,116,231   
          

 

 

 
IT Services: 7.39%           

Accenture plc Class A

          247,580         27,929,500   

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation Class A †

          382,370         21,982,451   

MasterCard Incorporated Class A

          800,510         76,240,572   

PayPal Holdings Incorporated †

          946,190         35,236,116   

Visa Incorporated Class A

          1,311,550         102,366,478   
             263,755,117   
          

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

14   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund   Portfolio of investments—July 31, 2016

      

 

 

Security name                Shares      Value  
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment: 6.80%          

Broadcom Limited

         437,893       $ 70,929,908   

Microchip Technology Incorporated

         1,769,870         98,475,567   

NXP Semiconductors NV †

         158,420         13,321,538   

Texas Instruments Incorporated

         860,110         59,992,673   
            242,719,686   
         

 

 

 
Software: 9.43%          

Activision Blizzard Incorporated

         848,060         34,058,090   

Adobe Systems Incorporated †

         455,080         44,534,129   

Fortinet Incorporated †

         935,780         32,462,208   

Microsoft Corporation

         1,525,530         86,467,040   

Red Hat Incorporated †

         521,960         39,298,368   

Salesforce.com Incorporated †

         363,950         29,771,110   

ServiceNow Incorporated †

         239,620         17,952,330   

Splunk Incorporated †

         602,620         37,687,855   

Tableau Software Incorporated Class A †

         26,164         1,478,528   

Ultimate Software Group Incorporated †

         62,612         13,092,169   
            336,801,827   
         

 

 

 
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals: 1.70%          

Apple Incorporated

         581,580         60,606,452   
         

 

 

 

Materials: 3.40%

         
Chemicals: 3.40%          

Ecolab Incorporated

         600,680         71,108,498   

Praxair Incorporated

         432,420         50,394,224   
            121,502,722   
         

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks (Cost $2,218,539,602)

            3,418,944,096   
         

 

 

 
    Yield                      
Short-Term Investments: 3.31%          
Investment Companies: 3.31%          

Securities Lending Cash Investments LLC (l)(r)(u)

    0.50        20,898,750         20,898,750   

Wells Fargo Government Money Market Fund Select Class (l)(u)

    0.32           97,272,258         97,272,258        

Total Short-Term Investments (Cost $118,171,008)

            118,171,008   
         

 

 

 

 

Total investments in securities (Cost $2,336,710,610) *     99.09        3,537,115,104   

Other assets and liabilities, net

    0.91           32,458,790   
 

 

 

      

 

 

 
Total net assets     100.00      $ 3,569,573,894   
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

Non-income-earning security

 

« All or a portion of this security is on loan.

 

(l) The issuer of the security is an affiliated person of the Fund as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

(r) The investment is a non-registered investment vehicle purchased with cash collateral received from securities on loan.

 

(u) The rate represents the 7-day annualized yield at period end.

 

* Cost for federal income tax purposes is $2,354,267,055 and unrealized gains (losses) consists of:

 

Gross unrealized gains

   $ 1,215,099,766   

Gross unrealized losses

     (32,251,717
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized gains

   $ 1,182,848,049   

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Statement of assets and liabilities—July 31, 2016   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund     15   
         

Assets

 

Investments

 

In unaffiliated securities (including $20,365,468 of securities loaned), at value (cost $2,218,539,602)

  $ 3,418,944,096   

In affiliated securities, at value (cost $118,171,008)

    118,171,008   
 

 

 

 

Total investments, at value (cost $2,336,710,610)

    3,537,115,104   

Receivable for investments sold

    32,631,226   

Receivable for Fund shares sold

    91,003,564   

Receivable for dividends

    1,149,039   

Receivable for securities lending income

    14,262   

Prepaid expenses and other assets

    106,868   
 

 

 

 

Total assets

    3,662,020,063   
 

 

 

 

Liabilities

 

Payable for investments purchased

    57,942,609   

Payable for Fund shares redeemed

    10,449,311   

Payable upon receipt of securities loaned

    20,898,750   

Management fee payable

    1,716,229   

Distribution fees payable

    187,956   

Administration fees payable

    487,884   

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

    763,430   
 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

    92,446,169   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 3,569,573,894   
 

 

 

 

NET ASSETS CONSIST OF

 

Paid-in capital

  $ 2,185,774,894   

Accumulated net investment loss

    (2,674,776

Accumulated net realized gains on investments

    186,069,282   

Net unrealized gains on investments

    1,200,404,494   
 

 

 

 

Total net assets

  $ 3,569,573,894   
 

 

 

 

COMPUTATION OF NET ASSET VALUE AND OFFERING PRICE PER SHARE

 

Net assets – Class A

  $ 1,697,745,583   

Shares outstanding – Class A1

    115,623,546   

Net asset value per share – Class A

    $14.68   

Maximum offering price per share – Class A2

    $15.58   

Net assets – Class B

  $ 869,902   

Shares outstanding – Class B1

    68,644   

Net asset value per share – Class B

    $12.67   

Net assets – Class C

  $ 296,895,783   

Shares outstanding – Class C1

    23,490,086   

Net asset value per share – Class C

    $12.64   

Net assets – Class R4

  $ 3,988,364   

Share outstanding – Class R41

    265,886   

Net asset value per share – Class R4

    $15.00   

Net assets – Class R6

  $ 179,198,135   

Shares outstanding – Class R61

    11,883,082   

Net asset value per share – Class R6

    $15.08   

Net assets – Administrator Class

  $ 292,900,411   

Shares outstanding – Administrator Class1

    19,761,119   

Net asset value per share – Administrator Class

    $14.82   

Net assets – Institutional Class

  $ 1,097,975,716   

Shares outstanding – Institutional Class1

    72,896,530   

Net asset value per share – Institutional Class

    $15.06   

 

 

 

1  The Fund has an unlimited number of authorized shares.

 

2  Maximum offering price is computed as 100/94.25 of net asset value. On investments of $50,000 or more, the offering price is reduced.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

16   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund   Statement of operations—year ended July 31, 2016
         

Investment income

 

Dividends (net of foreign withholding taxes of $13,000)

  $ 40,113,419   

Securities lending income, net

    515,970   

Income from affiliated securities

    106,015   
 

 

 

 

Total investment income

    40,735,404   
 

 

 

 

Expenses

 

Management fee

    27,761,080   

Administration fees

 

Class A

    4,052,405   

Class B

    2,777   

Class C

    694,972   

Class R4

    1,972   

Class R6

    52,893   

Administrator Class

    795,384   

Institutional Class

    1,598,145   

Investor Class

    132,962 1 

Shareholder servicing fees

 

Class A

    4,823,730   

Class B

    3,306   

Class C

    827,347   

Class R4

    2,464   

Administrator Class

    1,516,286   

Investor Class

    103,446 1 

Distribution fees

 

Class B

    9,916   

Class C

    2,482,043   

Custody and accounting fees

    226,704   

Professional fees

    54,345   

Registration fees

    162,479   

Shareholder report expenses

    429,971   

Trustees’ fees and expenses

    24,636   

Other fees and expenses

    98,196   
 

 

 

 

Total expenses

    45,857,459   

Less: Fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements

    (2,029,726
 

 

 

 

Net expenses

    43,827,733   
 

 

 

 

Net investment loss

    (3,092,329
 

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAINS (LOSSES) ON INVESTMENTS

 

Net realized gains on investments

    354,287,986   

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (628,644,827
 

 

 

 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (274,356,841
 

 

 

 

Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations

  $ (277,449,170
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from August 1, 2015 to October 23, 2015. Effective at the close of business on October 23, 2015, Investor Class shares were converted to Class A shares and are no longer offered by the Fund.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Statement of changes in net assets   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund     17   
     Year ended
July 31, 2016
    Year ended
July 31, 2015
 

Operations

       

Net investment loss

    $ (3,092,329     $ (4,932,440

Net realized gains on investments

      354,287,986          217,385,650   

Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments

      (628,644,827       456,933,003   
 

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

      (277,449,170       669,386,213   
 

 

 

 

Distributions to shareholders from

       

Net realized gains

       

Class A

      (154,141,985       (25,289,106

Class B

      (115,925       (52,310

Class C

      (27,659,123       (6,075,432

Class R4

      (138,255       (26,355

Class R6

      (12,437,527       (2,294,051

Administrator Class

      (51,332,185       (17,637,288

Institutional Class

      (90,311,280       (16,043,030

Investor Class

      0 1        (2,767,968
 

 

 

 

Total distributions to shareholders

      (336,136,280       (70,185,540
 

 

 

 

Capital share transactions

    Shares          Shares     

Proceeds from shares sold

       

Class A

    33,396,591        499,630,054        44,287,833        683,559,842   

Class B

    6,032        75,914        4,474        61,128   

Class C

    2,643,388        33,651,473        4,631,916        62,766,733   

Class R4

    147,562        2,106,423        89,416        1,331,780   

Class R6

    3,017,767        46,660,260        1,160,674        18,210,412   

Administrator Class

    3,919,148        57,602,147        11,745,864        181,283,260   

Institutional Class

    27,347,396        409,718,053        26,787,602        422,028,125   

Investor Class

    204,065 1      3,092,911 1      1,217,432        18,676,165   
 

 

 

 
      1,052,537,235          1,387,917,445   
 

 

 

 

Reinvestment of distributions

       

Class A

    10,119,274        145,413,973        1,553,406        23,409,833   

Class B

    7,422        92,480        3,219        42,848   

Class C

    1,715,487        21,323,504        333,914        4,431,032   

Class R4

    9,437        138,255        1,723        26,355   

Class R6

    813,689        11,977,506        141,900        2,176,746   

Administrator Class

    3,513,370        50,943,861        1,033,233        15,674,143   

Institutional Class

    4,638,850        68,237,489        854,382        13,097,671   

Investor Class

    0 1      0 1      181,619        2,727,921   
 

 

 

 
      298,127,068          61,586,549   
 

 

 

 

Payment for shares redeemed

       

Class A

    (67,943,982     (948,979,782     (36,977,346     (568,178,692

Class B

    (96,549     (1,234,246     (166,018     (2,261,194

Class C

    (8,078,699     (100,085,119     (6,821,898     (93,243,358

Class R4

    (19,668     (274,630     (14,450     (227,033

Class R6

    (1,984,285     (28,819,972     (2,357,872     (37,477,435

Administrator Class

    (56,550,448     (817,362,391     (34,510,354     (539,756,076

Institutional Class

    (38,166,413     (557,212,931     (18,413,561     (290,307,468

Investor Class

    (12,187,103 )1      (190,582,272 )1      (3,060,955     (47,139,147
 

 

 

 
      (2,644,551,343       (1,578,590,403
 

 

 

 

Net decrease in net assets resulting from capital share transactions

      (1,293,887,040       (129,086,409
 

 

 

 

Total increase (decrease) in net assets

      (1,907,472,490       470,114,264   
 

 

 

 

Net assets

       

Beginning of period

      5,477,046,384          5,006,932,120   
 

 

 

 

End of period

    $ 3,569,573,894        $ 5,477,046,384   
 

 

 

 

Accumulated net investment loss

    $ (2,674,776     $ (2,789,149
 

 

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from August 1, 2015 to October 23, 2015. Effective at the close of business on October 23, 2015, Investor Class shares were converted to Class A shares and are no longer offered by the Fund.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

18   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS A   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $16.28        $14.55        $12.57        $10.21        $9.89   

Net investment loss

    (0.03     (0.03     (0.05     (0.02     (0.03 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.52     1.97        2.03        2.38        0.60   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.55     1.94        1.98        2.36        0.57   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (1.05     (0.21     0.00        0.00        (0.25

Net asset value, end of period

    $14.68        $16.28        $14.55        $12.57        $10.21   

Total return2

    (3.22 )%      13.46     15.75     23.11     6.08

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.13     1.16     1.17     1.19     1.23

Net expenses

    1.11     1.12     1.12     1.12     1.12

Net investment loss

    (0.17 )%      (0.18 )%      (0.36 )%      (0.15 )%      (0.30 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    47     44     37     32     51

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $1,697,746        $2,280,107        $1,908,455        $1,515,862        $932,106   

 

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund     19   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS B   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $14.30        $12.90        $11.23        $9.19        $8.99   

Net investment loss

    (0.11 )1      (0.13 )1      (0.13 )1      (0.09 )1      (0.09 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.47     1.74        1.80        2.13        0.54   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.58     1.61        1.67        2.04        0.45   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (1.05     (0.21     0.00        0.00        (0.25

Net asset value, end of period

    $12.67        $14.30        $12.90        $11.23        $9.19   

Total return2

    (3.92 )%      12.61     14.87     22.20     5.22

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.87     1.91     1.91     1.94     1.97

Net expenses

    1.86     1.87     1.87     1.87     1.87

Net investment loss

    (0.91 )%      (0.92 )%      (1.09 )%      (0.87 )%      (1.04 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    47     44     37     32     51

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $870        $2,170        $4,001        $5,637        $6,962   

 

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

20   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS C   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $14.27        $12.87        $11.20        $9.17        $8.97   

Net investment loss

    (0.12 )1      (0.13 )1      (0.14 )1      (0.09 )1      (0.10 )1 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.46     1.74        1.81        2.12        0.55   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.58     1.61        1.67        2.03        0.45   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (1.05     (0.21     0.00        0.00        (0.25

Net asset value, end of period

    $12.64        $14.27        $12.87        $11.20        $9.17   

Total return2

    (3.92 )%      12.65     14.91     22.14     5.24

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.88     1.91     1.92     1.94     1.98

Net expenses

    1.86     1.87     1.87     1.87     1.87

Net investment loss

    (0.92 )%      (0.93 )%      (1.11 )%      (0.91 )%      (1.07 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    47     44     37     32     51

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $296,896        $388,290        $374,136        $279,203        $129,980   

 

 

 

 

 

1  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

2  Total return calculations do not include any sales charges.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund     21   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS R4   2016     2015     2014     20131  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $16.56        $14.75        $12.70        $10.81   

Net investment income (loss)

    0.02 3      0.02        (0.01     0.00 2 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.53     2.00        2.06        1.89   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.51     2.02        2.05        1.89   

Distributions to shareholders from

       

Net realized gains

    (1.05     (0.21     0.00        0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $15.00        $16.56        $14.75        $12.70   

Total return4

    (2.91 )%      13.82     16.14     17.48

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

       

Gross expenses

    0.85     0.83     0.84     0.85

Net expenses

    0.80     0.80     0.80     0.80

Net investment income (loss)

    0.13     0.13     (0.11 )%      0.06

Supplemental data

       

Portfolio turnover rate

    47     44     37     32

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $3,988        $2,129        $765        $131   

 

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from November 30, 2012 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2013

 

2  Amount is less than $0.005 per share.

 

3  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

4  Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

22   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
CLASS R6   2016     2015     2014     20131  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $16.62        $14.77        $12.71        $10.81   

Net investment income

    0.04 3      0.05        0.01        0.00 2 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.53     2.01        2.05        1.90   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.49     2.06        2.06        1.90   

Distributions to shareholders from

       

Net realized gains

    (1.05     (0.21     0.00        0.00   

Net asset value, end of period

    $15.08        $16.62        $14.77        $12.71   

Total return4

    (2.78 )%      14.00     16.29     17.58

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

       

Gross expenses

    0.70     0.68     0.69     0.71

Net expenses

    0.65     0.65     0.65     0.65

Net investment income

    0.28     0.29     0.09     0.05

Supplemental data

       

Portfolio turnover rate

    47     44     37     32

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $179,198        $166,768        $163,871        $4,629   

 

 

 

 

 

1  For the period from November 30, 2012 (commencement of class operations) to July 31, 2013

 

2  Amount is less than $0.005 per share.

 

3  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

4  Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

Financial highlights   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund     23   

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
ADMINISTRATOR CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $16.41        $14.63        $12.62        $10.24        $9.90   

Net investment loss

    (0.00 )1,2      (0.00 )1      (0.02     (0.00 )1      (0.02

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.54     1.99        2.03        2.38        0.61   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.54     1.99        2.01        2.38        0.59   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (1.05     (0.21     0.00        0.00        (0.25

Net asset value, end of period

    $14.82        $16.41        $14.63        $12.62        $10.24   

Total return

    (3.13 )%      13.73     15.93     23.24     6.28

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    1.04     1.00     1.00     1.04     1.07

Net expenses

    0.98     0.95     0.95     0.95     0.95

Net investment loss

    (0.02 )%      (0.01 )%      (0.19 )%      (0.01 )%      (0.16 )% 

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    47     44     37     32     51

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $292,900        $1,129,970        $1,325,864        $640,494        $251,759   

 

 

 

 

 

1  Amount is less than $0.005.

 

2  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


Table of Contents

 

24   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund   Financial highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    Year ended July 31  
INSTITUTIONAL CLASS   2016     2015     2014     2013     2012  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $16.61        $14.77        $12.71        $10.28        $9.91   

Net investment income

    0.03 2      0.03        0.01 2      0.00 1      0.00 1,2 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments

    (0.53     2.02        2.05        2.43        0.62   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total from investment operations

    (0.50     2.05        2.06        2.43        0.62   

Distributions to shareholders from

         

Net realized gains

    (1.05     (0.21     0.00        0.00        (0.25

Net asset value, end of period

    $15.06        $16.61        $14.77        $12.71        $10.28   

Total return

    (2.85 )%      14.01     16.21     23.64     6.48

Ratios to average net assets (annualized)

         

Gross expenses

    0.80     0.74     0.74     0.76     0.79

Net expenses

    0.70     0.70     0.70     0.71     0.75

Net investment income

    0.23     0.23     0.07     0.16     0.04

Supplemental data

         

Portfolio turnover rate

    47     44     37     32     51

Net assets, end of period (000s omitted)

    $1,097,976        $1,313,281        $1,031,979        $1,328,994        $223,616   

 

 

 

 

 

1  Amount is less than $0.005.

 

2  Calculated based upon average shares outstanding

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


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Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund     25   

1. ORGANIZATION

Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”), a Delaware statutory trust organized on March 10, 1999, is an open-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). As an investment company, the Trust follows the accounting and reporting guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946, Financial Services – Investment Companies. These financial statements report on the Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund (the “Fund”) which is a diversified series of the Trust.

Effective at the close of business on October 23, 2015, Investor Class shares became Class A shares in a tax-free conversion. Shareholders of Investor Class received Class A shares at a value equal to the value of their Investor Class shares immediately prior to the conversion. Investor Class shares are no longer offered by the Fund.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The following significant accounting policies, which are consistently followed in the preparation of the financial statements of the Fund, are in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles which require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Securities valuation

All investments are valued each business day as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (generally 4 p.m. Eastern Time), although the Fund may deviate from this calculation time under unusual or unexpected circumstances.

Equity securities that are listed on a foreign or domestic exchange or market are valued at the official closing price or, if none, the last sales price. If no sale occurs on the principal exchange or market that day, the prior day’s price will be deemed “stale” and a fair value price will be determined in accordance with the Fund’s Valuation Procedures.

Investments in registered open-end investment companies are valued at net asset value. Interests in non-registered investment vehicles that are redeemable at net asset value are fair valued normally at net asset value.

Investments which are not valued using any of the methods discussed above are valued at their fair value, as determined in good faith by the Board of Trustees of the Fund. The Board of Trustees has established a Valuation Committee comprised of the Trustees and has delegated to it the authority to take any actions regarding the valuation of portfolio securities that the Valuation Committee deems necessary or appropriate, including determining the fair value of portfolio securities, unless the determination has been delegated to the Management Valuation Team of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”). The Board of Trustees retains the authority to make or ratify any valuation decisions or approve any changes to the Valuation Procedures as it deems appropriate. On a quarterly basis, the Board of Trustees receives reports on any valuation actions taken by the Valuation Committee or the Management Valuation Team which may include items for ratification.

Valuations of fair valued securities are compared to the next actual sales price when available, or other appropriate market values, to assess the continued appropriateness of the fair valuation methodologies used. These securities are fair valued on a day-to-day basis, taking into consideration changes to appropriate market information and any significant changes to the inputs considered in the valuation process until there is a readily available price provided on an exchange or by an independent pricing service. Valuations received from an independent pricing service or independent broker-dealer quotes are periodically validated by comparisons to most recent trades and valuations provided by other independent pricing services in addition to the review of prices by the manager and/or subadviser. Unobservable inputs used in determining fair valuations are identified based on the type of security, taking into consideration factors utilized by market participants in valuing the investment, knowledge about the issuer and the current market environment.

Security loans

The Fund may lend its securities from time to time in order to earn additional income in the form of fees or interest on securities received as collateral or the investment of any cash received as collateral. The Fund continues to receive interest or dividends on the securities loaned. The Fund receives collateral in the form of cash or securities with a value at least equal to the value of the securities on loan. The value of the loaned securities is determined at the close of each business day and any additional required collateral is delivered to the Fund on the next business day. In a securities lending transaction, the net asset value of the Fund will be affected by an increase or decrease in the value of the securities loaned and by an increase or decrease in the value of the instrument in which collateral is invested. The amount


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26   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund   Notes to financial statements

of securities lending activity undertaken by the Fund fluctuates from time to time. In the event of default or bankruptcy by the borrower, the Fund may be prevented from recovering the loaned securities or gaining access to the collateral or may experience delays or costs in doing so. In addition, the investment of any cash collateral received may lose all or part of its value. The Fund has the right under the lending agreement to recover the securities from the borrower on demand.

The Fund lends its securities through an unaffiliated securities lending agent. Cash collateral received in connection with its securities lending transactions is invested in Securities Lending Cash Investments, LLC (the “Securities Lending Fund”). The Securities Lending Fund is exempt from registration under Section 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act and is managed by Funds Management and is subadvised by Wells Capital Management Incorporated (“WellsCap”), an affiliate of Funds Management and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company (“Wells Fargo”). Funds Management receives an advisory fee starting at 0.05% and declining to 0.01% as the average daily net assets of the Securities Lending Fund increase. All of the fees received by Funds Management are paid to WellsCap for its services as subadviser. The Securities Lending Fund seeks to provide a positive return compared to the daily Fed Funds Open rate by investing in high-quality, U.S. dollar-denominated short-term money market instruments. Securities Lending Fund investments are fair valued based upon the amortized cost valuation technique. Income earned from investment in the Securities Lending Fund is included in securities lending income on the Statement of Operations.

Security transactions and income recognition

Securities transactions are recorded on a trade date basis. Realized gains or losses are recorded on the basis of identified cost.

Dividend income is recognized on the ex-dividend date. Dividend income is recorded net of foreign taxes withheld where recovery of such taxes is not assured.

Distributions to shareholders

Distributions to shareholders from net investment income and net realized gains, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Such distributions are determined in conformity with federal income tax regulations, which may differ in amount or character from net investment income and realized gains recognized for purposes of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Federal and other taxes

The Fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company by distributing substantially all of its investment company taxable income and any net realized capital gains (after reduction for capital loss carryforwards) sufficient to relieve it from all, or substantially all, federal income taxes. Accordingly, no provision for federal income taxes was required.

The Fund’s income and federal excise tax returns and all financial records supporting those returns for the prior three fiscal years are subject to examination by the federal and Delaware revenue authorities. Management has analyzed the Fund’s tax positions taken on federal, state, and foreign tax returns for all open tax years and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability.

Reclassifications are made to the Fund’s capital accounts for permanent tax differences to reflect income and gains available for distribution (or available capital loss carryforwards) under federal income tax regulations. U.S. generally accepted accounting principles require that certain components of net assets be adjusted to reflect permanent differences between financial and tax reporting. These reclassifications have no effect on net assets or net asset values per share. The primary permanent differences causing such reclassifications are due to dividends from certain securities and net operating losses. At July 31, 2016, as a result of permanent book-to-tax differences, the following reclassification adjustments were made on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities:

 

Paid-in capital    Accumulated net
investment loss
   Accumulated net
realized gains
on investments
$(4,385,179)    $3,206,702    $1,178,477

As of July 31, 2016, the Fund had capital loss carryforwards available to offset future net realized capital gains in the amount of $12,303,738 expiring in 2017.

As of July 31, 2016, the Fund had a qualified late-year ordinary loss of $2,656,167 which will be recognized on the first day of the following fiscal year.


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Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund     27   

Class allocations

The separate classes of shares offered by the Fund differ principally in applicable sales charges, distribution, shareholder servicing, and administration fees. Class specific expenses are charged directly to that share class. Investment income, common expenses, and realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments are allocated daily to each class of shares based on the relative proportion of net assets of each class.

3. FAIR VALUATION MEASUREMENTS

Fair value measurements of investments are determined within a framework that has established a fair value hierarchy based upon the various data inputs utilized in determining the value of the Fund’s investments. The three-level hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to significant unobservable inputs (Level 3). The Fund’s investments are classified within the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The inputs are summarized into three broad levels as follows:

 

n   Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical securities

 

n   Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, use of amortized cost, etc.)

 

n   Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The inputs or methodologies used for valuing investments in securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

The following is a summary of the inputs used in valuing the Fund’s assets and liabilities as of July 31, 2016:

 

     Quoted prices
(Level 1)
     Other significant
observable inputs
(Level 2)
    

Significant
unobservable inputs

(Level 3)

     Total  

Assets

           

Investments in:

           

Common stocks

           

Consumer discretionary

   $ 756,360,108       $ 0       $ 0       $ 756,360,108   

Consumer staples

     226,699,928         0         0         226,699,928   

Energy

     52,297,747         0         0         52,297,747   

Financials

     42,956,706         0         0         42,956,706   

Health care

     610,923,408         0         0         610,923,408   

Industrials

     282,736,896         0         0         282,736,896   

Information technology

     1,325,466,581         0         0         1,325,466,581   

Materials

     121,502,722         0         0         121,502,722   

Short-term investments

           

Investment companies

     97,272,258         0         0         97,272,258   

Investments measured at net asset value*

                                20,898,750   

Total assets

   $ 3,516,216,354       $ 0       $ 0       $ 3,537,115,104   

 

* Investments that are measured at fair value using the net asset value per share (or its equivalent) as a practical expedient have not been categorized in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value amount presented in the table is intended to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the amounts presented in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. The Fund’s investment in Securities Lending Cash Investments, LLC valued at $20,898,750 does not have a redemption period notice, can be redeemed daily and does not have any unfunded commitments.

The Fund recognizes transfers between levels within the fair value hierarchy at the end of the reporting period. At July 31, 2016, the Fund did not have any transfers into/out of Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3.

4. TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES

Management fee

Funds Management, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo, is the manager of the Fund and provides advisory and fund-level administrative services under an investment management agreement. Under the investment


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28   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund   Notes to financial statements

management agreement, Funds Management is responsible for, among other services, implementing the investment objectives and strategies of the Fund, supervising the subadviser, providing fund-level administrative services in connection with the Fund’s operations, and providing any other fund-level administrative services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. As compensation for its services under the investment management agreement, Funds Management is entitled to receive an annual management fee starting at 0.70% and declining to 0.505% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase. For the year ended July 31, 2016, the management fee was equivalent to an annual rate of 0.64% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.

Funds Management has retained the services of a subadviser to provide daily portfolio management to the Fund. The fee for subadvisory services is borne by Funds Management. WellsCap is the subadviser to the Fund and is entitled to receive a fee from Funds Management at an annual rate starting at 0.35% and declining to 0.275% as the average daily net assets of the Fund increase.

Administration fees

Under a class-level administration agreement, Funds Management provides class-level administrative services to the Fund, which includes paying fees and expenses for services provided by the transfer agent, sub-transfer agents, omnibus account servicers and record-keepers. As compensation for its services under the class-level administration agreement, Funds Management receives an annual fee which is calculated based on the average daily net assets of each class as follows:

 

     Class-level
administration fee
 

Class A, Class B, Class C

     0.21

Class R4

     0.08   

Class R6

     0.03   

Administrator Class, Institutional Class

     0.13   

Investor Class

     0.32   

Funds Management has contractually waived and/or reimbursed management and administration fees to the extent necessary to maintain certain net operating expense ratios for the Fund. Waiver of fees and/or reimbursement of expenses by Funds Management were made first from fund level expenses on a proportionate basis and then from class specific expenses. Funds Management has committed through November 30, 2016 to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the Fund’s expenses at 1.11% for Class A shares, 1.86 for Class B shares, 1.86% for Class C shares, 0.80% for Class R4 shares, 0.65% for Class R6 shares, 1.00% for Administrator Class shares, and 0.70% for Institutional Class shares. After this time, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Prior to December 1, 2015, the Fund’s expenses were capped at 0.95% for Administration Class shares.

Distribution fees

The Trust has adopted a distribution plan for Class B and Class C shares of the Fund pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Distribution fees are charged to Class B and Class C shares and paid to Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC (“Funds Distributor”), the principal underwriter, at an annual rate of 0.75% of the average daily net assets of Class B and Class C shares.

In addition, Funds Distributor is entitled to receive the front-end sales charge from the purchase of Class A shares and a contingent deferred sales charge on the redemption of certain Class A shares. Funds Distributor is also entitled to receive the contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of Class B and Class C shares. For the year ended July 31, 2016, Funds Distributor received $63,210 from the sale of Class A shares and $466 and $2,487 in contingent deferred sales charges from redemptions of Class A and Class C shares, respectively.

Shareholder servicing fees

The Trust has entered into contracts with one or more shareholder servicing agents, whereby Class A, Class B, Class C, Administrator Class, and Investor Class of the Fund are charged a fee at an annual rate of 0.25% of the average daily net assets of each respective class. Class R4 is charged a fee at an annual rate of 0.10% of its average daily net assets.

A portion of these total shareholder servicing fees were paid to affiliates of Wells Fargo.


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Notes to financial statements   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund     29   

5. INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

Purchases and sales of investments, excluding U.S. government obligations (if any) and short-term securities, for the year ended July 31, 2016 were $2,040,630,462 and $3,721,706,318, respectively.

The Fund may purchase or sell investment securities to other Wells Fargo funds under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. The procedures have been designed to ensure that these interfund transactions, which generally do not incur broker commissions, are effected at current market prices. Interfund trades are included within the respective purchases and sales amounts shown.

6. BANK BORROWINGS

The Trust (excluding the money market funds and certain other funds) and Wells Fargo Variable Trust are parties to a $200,000,000 revolving credit agreement whereby the Fund is permitted to use bank borrowings for temporary or emergency purposes, such as to fund shareholder redemption requests. Interest under the credit agreement is charged to the Fund based on a borrowing rate equal to the higher of the Federal Funds rate in effect on that day plus 1.25% or the overnight LIBOR rate in effect on that day plus 1.25%. In addition, an annual commitment fee equal to 0.20% of the unused balance is allocated to each participating fund. Prior to September 1, 2015, the revolving credit agreement amount was $150,000,000 and the annual commitment fee was equal to 0.10% of the unused balance which was allocated to each participating fund.

For the year ended July 31, 2016, there were no borrowings by the Fund under the agreement.

7. DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

The tax character of distributions paid was $336,136,280 and $70,185,540 of long-term capital gain for the years ended July 31, 2016 and July 31, 2015, respectively.

As of July 31, 2016, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed

long-term

gain

  

Unrealized

gains

  

Late-year

ordinary losses

deferred

  

Capital loss

carryforward

$215,929,465    $1,182,848,049    $(2,656,167)    $(12,303,738)

8. CONCENTRATION RISK

Concentration risks result from exposure to a limited number of sectors. A fund that invests a substantial portion of its assets in any sector may be more affected by changes in that sector than would be a fund whose investments are not heavily weighted in any sector.

9. INDEMNIFICATION

Under the Trust’s organizational documents, the officers and Trustees have been granted certain indemnification rights against certain liabilities that may arise out of performance of their duties to the Trust. Additionally, in the normal course of business, the Trust may enter into contracts with service providers that contain a variety of indemnification clauses. The Trust’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is dependent on future claims that may be made against the Fund and, therefore, cannot be estimated.


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30   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund   Report of independent registered public accounting firm

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND SHAREHOLDERS OF WELLS FARGO FUNDS TRUST:

We have audited the accompanying statements of assets and liabilities, including the portfolio of investments, of the Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund (formerly known as Wells Fargo Advantage Premier Large Company Growth Fund) (the “Fund”), one of the funds constituting the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, as of July 31, 2016, and the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years or periods in the five-year period then ended. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of July 31, 2016, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers, or by other appropriate auditing procedures. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund as of July 31, 2016, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the years in the two-year period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the years or periods in the five-year period then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

 

LOGO

Boston, Massachusetts

September 23, 2016


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund     31   

TAX INFORMATION

Pursuant to Section 852 of the Internal Revenue Code, $336,136,280 was designated as a 20% rate gain distribution for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016.

PROXY VOTING INFORMATION

A description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities is available, upon request, by calling 1-800-222-8222, visiting our website at wellsfargofunds.com, or visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available on the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com or by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov.

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION

The complete portfolio holdings for the Fund are publicly available monthly on the Fund’s website (wellsfargofunds.com), on a one-month delayed basis. In addition, top ten holdings information (excluding derivative positions) for the Fund is publicly available on the Fund’s website on a monthly, seven-day or more delayed basis. The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q, which is available by visiting the SEC website at sec.gov. In addition, the Fund’s Form N-Q may be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC, and at regional offices in New York City, at 233 Broadway, and in Chicago, at 175 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 900. Information about the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.


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32   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund   Other information (unaudited)

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS

Each of the Trustees and Officers1 listed in the table below acts in identical capacities for each fund in the Wells Fargo family of funds, which consists of 139 mutual funds comprising the Wells Fargo Funds Trust, Wells Fargo Variable Trust, Wells Fargo Master Trust and four closed-end funds (collectively the “Fund Complex”). This table should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information2. The mailing address of each Trustee and Officer is 525 Market Street, 12th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105. Each Trustee and Officer serves an indefinite term, however, each Trustee serves such term until reaching the mandatory retirement age established by the Trustees.

Independent Trustees

 

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service*

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer   Current other public
company or
investment company
directorships

William R. Ebsworth

(Born 1957)

  Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 1984 to 2013, equities analyst, portfolio manager, research director and chief financial officer at Fidelity Management and Research Company in Boston, Tokyo, and Hong Kong and retired in 2013 as Chief Investment Officer of Fidelity Strategic Advisers, Inc. where he lead a team of investment professionals managing client assets. Prior thereto, Board member of Hong Kong Securities Clearing Co., Hong Kong Options Clearing Corp., the Thailand International Fund, Ltd., Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company, and Empire Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company. Mr. Ebsworth is a CFA® charterholder and an Adjunct Lecturer, Finance, at Babson College.   Asset Allocation Trust

Jane A. Freeman

(Born 1953)

  Trustee, since 2015   Retired. From 2012 to 2014 and 1999 to 2008, Chief Financial Officer of Scientific Learning Corporation. From 2008 to 2012, Ms. Freeman provided consulting services related to strategic business projects. Prior to 1999, Portfolio Manager at Rockefeller & Co. and Scudder, Stevens & Clark. Board member of the Harding Loevner Funds from 1996 to 2014, serving as both Lead Independent Director and chair of the Audit Committee. Board member of the Russell Exchange Traded Funds Trust from 2011 to 2012 and the chair of the Audit Committee. Ms. Freeman is Chair of Taproot Foundation (non-profit organization), a Board Member of Ruth Bancroft Garden (non-profit organization) and an inactive chartered financial analyst.   Asset Allocation Trust

Peter G. Gordon

(Born 1942)

  Trustee, since 1998; Chairman, since 2005   Co-Founder, Retired Chairman, President and CEO of Crystal Geyser Water Company. Trustee Emeritus, Colby College.   Asset Allocation Trust

Isaiah Harris, Jr.

(Born 1952)

  Trustee, since 2009   Retired. Chairman of the Board of CIGNA Corporation since 2009, and Director since 2005. From 2003 to 2011, Director of Deluxe Corporation. Prior thereto, President and CEO of BellSouth Advertising and Publishing Corp. from 2005 to 2007, President and CEO of BellSouth Enterprises from 2004 to 2005 and President of BellSouth Consumer Services from 2000 to 2003. Emeritus member of the Iowa State University Foundation Board of Governors. Emeritus Member of the Advisory Board of Iowa State University School of Business. Advisory Board Member, Palm Harbor Academy (charter school). Advisory Board Member, Child Evangelism Fellowship (non-profit). Mr. Harris is a certified public accountant (inactive status).   CIGNA Corporation; Asset Allocation Trust
Judith M. Johnson (Born 1949)   Trustee, since 2008;
Audit Committee Chairman, since 2008
  Retired. Prior thereto, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Minneapolis Employees Retirement Fund from 1996 to 2008. Ms. Johnson is an attorney, certified public accountant and a certified managerial accountant.   Asset Allocation Trust

David F. Larcker

(Born 1950)

  Trustee, since 2009   James Irvin Miller Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Director of the Corporate Governance Research Initiative and Senior Faculty of The Rock Center for Corporate Governance since 2006. From 2005 to 2008, Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Prior thereto, Ernst & Young Professor of Accounting at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania from 1985 to 2005.   Asset Allocation Trust


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund     33   

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service*

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer   Current other public
company or
investment company
directorships

Olivia S. Mitchell

(Born 1953)

  Trustee, since 2006   International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Professor, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania since 1993. Director of Wharton’s Pension Research Council and Boettner Center on Pensions & Retirement Research, and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Previously, Cornell University Professor from 1978 to 1993.   Asset Allocation Trust

Timothy J. Penny

(Born 1951)

  Trustee, since 1996   President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, a non-profit organization, since 2007 and Senior Fellow at the Humphrey Institute Policy Forum at the University of Minnesota since 1995. Member of the Board of Trustees of NorthStar Education Finance, Inc., a non-profit organization, since 2007.   Asset Allocation Trust

Michael S. Scofield

(Born 1943)

  Trustee, since 2010   Served on the Investment Company Institute’s Board of Governors and Executive Committee from 2008-2011 as well the Governing Council of the Independent Directors Council from 2006-2011 and the Independent Directors Council Executive Committee from 2008-2011. Chairman of the IDC from 2008-2010. Institutional Investor (Fund Directions) Trustee of Year in 2007. Trustee of the Evergreen Funds complex (and its predecessors) from 1984 to 2010. Chairman of the Evergreen Funds from 2000-2010. Former Trustee of the Mentor Funds. Retired Attorney, Law Offices of Michael S. Scofield.   Asset Allocation Trust

 

* Length of service dates reflect the Trustee’s commencement of service with the Trust’s predecessor entities, where applicable.

Officers

 

Name and

year of birth

 

Position held and

length of service

  Principal occupations during past five years or longer    

Karla M. Rabusch

(Born 1959)

  President, since 2003   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2003.    

Jeremy DePalma1

(Born 1974)

  Treasurer, since 2012   Senior Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Senior Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010 and head of the Fund Reporting and Control Team within Fund Administration from 2005 to 2010.    

C. David Messman

(Born 1960)

  Secretary, since 2000; Chief Legal Officer, since 2003   Senior Vice President and Secretary of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2001. Assistant General Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. since 2013 and Vice President and Managing Counsel of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. from 1996 to 2013.    

Michael Whitaker

(Born 1967)

  Chief Compliance Officer, since 2016*   Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2016. Chief Compliance Officer of Fidelity’s Fixed Income Funds and Asset Allocation Funds from 2008 to 2016, Compliance Officer of FMR Co., Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. from 2014 to 2016, Fidelity Investments from 2007 to 2016.    

David Berardi

(Born 1975)

  Assistant Treasurer, since 2009   Vice President of Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC since 2009. Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2008 to 2010. Manager of Fund Reporting and Control for Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC from 2004 to 2010.    

 

 

1 Jeremy DePalma acts as Treasurer of 68 funds and Assistant Treasurer of 71 funds in the Fund Complex.

 

2 The Statement of Additional Information includes additional information about the Trustees and is available without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-222-8222 or by visiting the website at wellsfargofunds.com.

 

* Michael Whitaker became Chief Compliance Officer effective May 16, 2016.


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34   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund   Other information (unaudited)

BOARD CONSIDERATION OF INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENTS:

Under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”) must determine annually whether to approve the continuation of the Trust’s investment management and sub-advisory agreements. In this regard, at an in-person meeting held on May 24-25, 2016 (the “Meeting”), the Board, all the members of which have no direct or indirect interest in the investment management and sub-advisory agreements and are not “interested persons” of the Trust, as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”), reviewed and approved for Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund (the “Fund”): (i) an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC (“Funds Management”); and (ii) an investment sub-advisory agreement (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”) with Wells Capital Management Incorporated (the “Sub-Adviser”), an affiliate of Funds Management. The Management Agreement and the Sub-Advisory Agreement are collectively referred to as the “Advisory Agreements.”

At the Meeting, the Board considered the factors and reached the conclusions described below relating to the selection of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser and the approval of the Advisory Agreements. Prior to the Meeting, including at an in-person meeting in April 2016, the Trustees conferred extensively among themselves and with representatives of Funds Management about these matters. Also, the Board has adopted a team-based approach, with each team consisting of a sub-set of Trustees, to assist the full Board in the discharge of its duties in reviewing performance and other matters throughout the year. The Independent Trustees were assisted in their evaluation of the Advisory Agreements by independent legal counsel, from whom they received separate legal advice and with whom they met separately.

In providing information to the Board, Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser were guided by a detailed set of requests for information submitted to them by independent legal counsel on behalf of the Independent Trustees at the start of the Board’s annual contract renewal process earlier in 2016. In considering and approving the Advisory Agreements, the Trustees considered the information they believed relevant, including but not limited to the information discussed below. The Board considered not only the specific information presented in connection with the Meeting, but also the knowledge gained over time through interaction with Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser about various topics. In this regard, the Board reviewed reports of Funds Management at each of its quarterly meetings, which included, among other things, portfolio reviews and performance reports. In addition, the Board and the teams mentioned above confer with portfolio managers at various times throughout the year. The Board did not identify any particular information or consideration that was all-important or controlling, and each individual Trustee may have attributed different weights to various factors.

After its deliberations, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable. The Board considered the approval of the Advisory Agreements for the Fund as part of its consideration of agreements for funds across the complex, but its approvals were made on a fund-by-fund basis. The following summarizes a number of important, but not necessarily all, factors considered by the Board in support of its approvals.

Nature, extent and quality of services

The Board received and considered various information regarding the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under the Advisory Agreements. This information included a description of the investment advisory services and Fund-level administrative services covered by the Management Agreement, as well as, among other things, a summary of the background and experience of senior management of Funds Management, and the qualifications, background, tenure and responsibilities of each of the portfolio managers primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the Fund.

The Board evaluated the ability of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to attract and retain qualified investment professionals, including research, advisory and supervisory personnel. The Board further considered the compliance programs and compliance records of Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser. In addition, the Board took into account the full range of services provided to the Fund by Funds Management and its affiliates.

Fund performance and expenses

The Board considered the performance results for the Fund over various time periods ended December 31, 2015. The Board considered these results in comparison to the performance of funds in a universe that was determined by Broadridge Inc. (“Broadridge”) to be similar to the Fund (the “Universe”), and in comparison to the Fund’s benchmark index and to other comparative data. Broadridge is an independent provider of investment company data. The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the performance


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Other information (unaudited)   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund     35   

Universe. The Board noted that the performance of the Fund (Class A) was higher than or in range of the average performance of the Universe for all periods under review except the three-year period under review. The Board also noted that the performance of the Fund was lower than its benchmark, the Russell 1000® Growth Index, for all periods under review except the ten-year period.

The Board received information concerning, and discussed factors contributing to, the underperformance of the Fund relative to the Universe and benchmark for the periods noted above. The Board took note of the explanations for the relative underperformance in these periods, including with respect to market factors and investment decisions that affected the Fund’s performance.

The Board also received and considered information regarding the Fund’s net operating expense ratios and their various components, including actual management fees, custodian and other non-management fees, and Rule 12b-1 and non-Rule 12b-1 shareholder service fees. The Board considered these ratios in comparison to the median ratios of funds in class-specific expense groups that were determined by Broadridge to be similar to the Fund (the “Groups”). The Board received a description of the methodology used by Broadridge to select the mutual funds in the expense Groups and an explanation of how funds comprising expense groups and their expense ratios may vary from year-to-year. Based on the Broadridge reports, the Board noted that the net operating expense ratios of the Fund were lower than the median net operating expense ratios of the expense Groups.

The Board took into account the Fund performance and expense information provided to it among the factors considered in deciding to re-approve the Advisory Agreements.

Investment management and sub-advisory fee rates

The Board reviewed and considered the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management under the Management Agreement, as well as the contractual fee rates payable by the Fund to Funds Management for class-level administrative services under a Class-Level Administration Agreement, which include class-level transfer agency and sub-transfer agency costs (collectively, the “Management Rates”). The Board also reviewed and considered the contractual investment sub-advisory fee rates that are payable by Funds Management to the Sub-Adviser for investment sub-advisory services.

Among other information reviewed by the Board was a comparison of the Fund’s Management Rates with the average contractual investment management fee rates of funds in the expense Groups at a common asset level as well as transfer agency costs of the funds in the expense Groups. The Board noted that the Management Rates of the Fund were lower than or equal to the sum of these average rates for the Fund’s expense Groups for all share classes.

The Board also received and considered information about the portion of the total management fee that was retained by Funds Management after payment of the fee to the Sub-Adviser for sub-advisory services. In assessing the reasonableness of this amount, the Board received and evaluated information about the nature and extent of responsibilities retained and risks assumed by Funds Management and not delegated to or assumed by the Sub-Adviser, and about Funds Management’s on-going oversight services. However, given the affiliation between Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser, the Board ascribed limited relevance to the allocation of fees between them.

The Board also received and considered information about the nature and extent of services offered and fee rates charged by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser to other types of clients with investment strategies similar to those of the Fund. In this regard, the Board received information about the significantly greater scope of services, and compliance, reporting and other legal burdens and risks of managing mutual funds compared with those associated with managing assets of non-mutual fund clients such as collective funds or institutional separate accounts.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management under the Management Agreement and to the Sub-Adviser under the Sub-Advisory Agreement was reasonable, in light of the services covered by the Advisory Agreements.

Profitability

The Board received and considered information concerning the profitability of Funds Management, as well as the profitability of Wells Fargo as a whole, from providing services to the Fund and the fund family as a whole. The Board also received and considered information concerning the profitability of the Sub-Adviser from providing services to the fund family as a whole, noting that the Sub-Adviser’s profitability information with respect to providing services to the Fund was subsumed in the Wells Fargo and Funds Management profitability analysis.

Funds Management reported on the methodologies and estimates used in calculating profitability. Among other things, the Board noted that the levels of profitability reported on a fund-by-fund basis varied widely, depending on factors such


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36   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund   Other information (unaudited)

as the size and type of fund. Based on its review, the Board did not deem the profits reported by Funds Management or Wells Fargo from its services to the Fund to be at a level that would prevent it from approving the continuation of the Advisory Agreements.

Economies of scale

With respect to possible economies of scale, the Board noted the existence of breakpoints in the Fund’s management fee structure, which operate generally to reduce the Fund’s expense ratios as the Fund grows in size. It considered that, for a small fund or a fund that shrinks in size, breakpoints conversely can result in higher fee levels. The Board also considered that fee waiver and expense reimbursement arrangements and competitive fee rates at the outset are means of sharing potential economies of scale with shareholders of the Fund and the fund family as a whole. The Board considered Funds Management’s view that any analyses of potential economies of scale in managing a particular fund are inherently limited in light of the joint and common costs and investments that Funds Management incurs across the fund family as a whole.

The Board concluded that the Fund’s fee and expense arrangements, including contractual breakpoints, constituted a reasonable approach to sharing potential economies of scale with the Fund and its shareholders.

Other benefits to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser

The Board received and considered information regarding potential “fall-out” or ancillary benefits received by Funds Management and its affiliates, including the Sub-Adviser, as a result of their relationships with the Fund. Ancillary benefits could include, among others, benefits directly attributable to other relationships with the Fund and benefits potentially derived from an increase in Funds Management’s and the Sub-Adviser’s business as a result of their relationships with the Fund. The Board noted that various affiliates of Funds Management may receive distribution-related fees, shareholder servicing payments and sub-transfer agency fees in respect of shares sold or held through them and services provided.

The Board also reviewed information about soft dollar credits earned and utilized by the Sub-Adviser, fees earned by Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser from managing a private investment vehicle for the fund family’s securities lending collateral and commissions earned by an affiliated broker from portfolio transactions.

Based on its consideration of the factors and information it deemed relevant, including those described here, the Board did not find that any ancillary benefits received by Funds Management and its affiliates, including the Sub-Adviser, were unreasonable.

Conclusion

At the Meeting, after considering the above-described factors and based on its deliberations and its evaluation of the information described above, the Board unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreements for a one-year term and determined that the compensation payable to Funds Management and the Sub-Adviser under each of the Advisory Agreements was reasonable.


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List of abbreviations   Wells Fargo Premier Large Company Growth Fund     37   

The following is a list of common abbreviations for terms and entities that may have appeared in this report.

 

ACA —  ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation
ADR —  American depositary receipt
ADS —  American depositary shares
AGC —  Assured Guaranty Corporation
AGM —  Assured Guaranty Municipal
Ambac —  Ambac Financial Group Incorporated
AMT —  Alternative minimum tax
AUD —  Australian dollar
BAN —  Bond anticipation notes
BHAC —  Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corporation
BRL —  Brazilian real
CAB —  Capital appreciation bond
CAD —  Canadian dollar
CCAB —  Convertible capital appreciation bond
CDA —  Community Development Authority
CDO —  Collateralized debt obligation
CHF —  Swiss franc
COP —  Colombian peso
CLP —  Chilean peso
DKK —  Danish krone
DRIVER —  Derivative inverse tax-exempt receipts
DW&P —  Department of Water & Power
DWR —  Department of Water Resources
ECFA —  Educational & Cultural Facilities Authority
EDA —  Economic Development Authority
EDFA —  Economic Development Finance Authority
ETF —  Exchange-traded fund
EUR —  Euro
FDIC —  Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FFCB —  Federal Farm Credit Banks
FGIC —  Financial Guaranty Insurance Corporation
FHA —  Federal Housing Administration
FHLB —  Federal Home Loan Bank
FHLMC —  Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
FICO —  The Financing Corporation
FNMA —  Federal National Mortgage Association
FSA —  Farm Service Agency
GBP —  Great British pound
GDR —  Global depositary receipt
GNMA —  Government National Mortgage Association
GO —  General obligation
HCFR —  Healthcare facilities revenue
HEFA —  Health & Educational Facilities Authority
HEFAR —  Higher education facilities authority revenue
HFA —  Housing Finance Authority
HFFA —  Health Facilities Financing Authority
HKD —  Hong Kong dollar
HUD —  Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUF —  Hungarian forint
IDA —  Industrial Development Authority
IDAG —  Industrial Development Agency
IDR —  Indonesian rupiah
IEP —  Irish pound
JPY —  Japanese yen
KRW —  Republic of Korea won
LIBOR —  London Interbank Offered Rate
LIFER —  Long Inverse Floating Exempt Receipts
LIQ —  Liquidity agreement
LLC —  Limited liability company
LLLP —  Limited liability limited partnership
LLP —  Limited liability partnership
LOC —  Letter of credit
LP —  Limited partnership
MBIA —  Municipal Bond Insurance Association
MFHR —  Multifamily housing revenue
MSTR —  Municipal securities trust receipts
MTN —  Medium-term note
MUD —  Municipal Utility District
MXN —  Mexican peso
MYR —  Malaysian ringgit
National —  National Public Finance Guarantee Corporation
NGN —  Nigerian naira
NOK —  Norwegian krone
NZD —  New Zealand dollar
PCFA —  Pollution Control Financing Authority
PCL —  Public Company Limited
PCR —  Pollution control revenue
PFA —  Public Finance Authority
PFFA —  Public Facilities Financing Authority
PFOTER —  Puttable floating option tax-exempt receipts
plc —  Public limited company
PLN —  Polish zloty
PUTTER —  Puttable tax-exempt receipts
R&D —  Research & development
Radian —  Radian Asset Assurance
RAN —  Revenue anticipation notes
RDA —  Redevelopment Authority
RDFA —  Redevelopment Finance Authority
REIT —  Real estate investment trust
ROC —  Reset option certificates
RON —  Romanian lei
RUB —  Russian ruble
SAVRS —  Select auction variable rate securities
SBA —  Small Business Authority
SDR —  Swedish depositary receipt
SEK —  Swedish krona
SFHR —  Single-family housing revenue
SFMR —  Single-family mortgage revenue
SGD —  Singapore dollar
SPA —  Standby purchase agreement
SPDR —  Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts
SPEAR —  Short Puttable Exempt Adjustable Receipts
STRIPS —  Separate trading of registered interest and
           principal securities
TAN —  Tax anticipation notes
TBA —  To be announced
THB —  Thai baht
TIPS —  Treasury inflation-protected securities
TRAN —  Tax revenue anticipation notes
TRY —  Turkish lira
TTFA —  Transportation Trust Fund Authority
TVA —  Tennessee Valley Authority
ZAR —  South African rand
 


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LOGO

 

 

LOGO

For more information

More information about Wells Fargo Funds is available free upon request. To obtain literature, please write, email, visit the Fund’s website, or call:

Wells Fargo Funds

P.O. Box 8266

Boston, MA 02266-8266

Email: fundservice@wellsfargo.com

Website: wellsfargofunds.com

Individual investors: 1-800-222-8222

Retail investment professionals: 1-888-877-9275

Institutional investment professionals: 1-866-765-0778

 

This report and the financial statements contained herein are submitted for the general information of the shareholders of the Fund. If this report is used for promotional purposes, distribution of the report must be accompanied or preceded by a current prospectus. Before investing, please consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the investment. For a current prospectus and, if available, a summary prospectus, containing this information, call 1-800-222-8222 or visit the Fund’s website at wellsfargofunds.com. Read the prospectus carefully before you invest or send money.

Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM) is a trade name used by the asset management businesses of Wells Fargo & Company. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, provides investment advisory and administrative services for Wells Fargo Funds. Other affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company provide subadvisory and other services for the funds. The funds are distributed by Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC, Member FINRA, an affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

NOT FDIC INSURED  ¡  NO BANK GUARANTEE  ¡   MAY LOSE VALUE

© 2016 Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. All rights reserved.

 

LOGO     

245329 09-16

A212/AR212 07-16


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ITEM 2. CODE OF ETHICS

(a) As of the end of the period covered by the report, Wells Fargo Funds Trust has adopted a code of ethics that applies to its President and Treasurer. A copy of the code of ethics is filed as an exhibit to this Form N-CSR.

(c) During the period covered by this report, there were no amendments to the provisions of the code of ethics adopted in Item 2(a) above.

(d) During the period covered by this report, there were no implicit or explicit waivers to the provisions of the code of ethics adopted in Item 2(a) above.

ITEM 3. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT

The Board of Trustees of Wells Fargo Funds Trust has determined that Judith Johnson is an audit committee financial expert, as defined in Item 3 of Form N-CSR. Mrs. Johnson is independent for purposes of Item 3 of Form N-CSR.

ITEM 4. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES

(a), (b), (c), (d) The following table presents aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for services rendered

to the Registrant by the Registrant’s principal accountant. These fees were billed to the registrant and were approved by

the Registrant’s audit committee.

 

     Fiscal      Fiscal  
     year ended      year ended  
     July 31, 2016      July 31, 2015  

Audit fees

   $ 302,656       $ 296,590   

Audit-related fees

     —           —     

Tax fees (1)

     39,450         40,200   

All other fees

     —           —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $ 342,106       $ 336,790   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(1) Tax fees consist of fees for tax compliance, tax advice, tax planning and excise tax.

(e) The Chairman of the Audit Committees is authorized to pre-approve: (1) audit services for the mutual funds of Wells Fargo Funds Trust; (2) non-audit tax or compliance consulting or training services provided to the Funds by the independent auditors (“Auditors”) if the fees for any particular engagement are not anticipated to exceed $50,000; and (3) non-audit tax or compliance consulting or training services provided by the Auditors to a Fund’s investment adviser and its controlling entities (where pre-approval is required because the engagement relates directly to the operations and financial reporting of the Fund) if the fee to the Auditors for any particular engagement is not anticipated to exceed $50,000. For any such pre-approval sought from the Chairman, Management shall prepare a brief description of the proposed services. If the Chairman approves of such service, he or she shall sign the statement prepared by Management. Such written statement shall be presented to the full Committees at their next regularly scheduled meetings.

(f) Not applicable

(g) Not applicable


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(h) Not applicable

ITEM 5. AUDIT COMMITTEE OF LISTED REGISTRANTS

Not applicable.

ITEM 6. INVESTMENTS

A Portfolio of Investments for each series of Wells Fargo Funds Trust is included as part of the report to shareholders filed under Item 1 of this Form.


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ITEM 7. DISCLOSURE OF PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Not applicable.

ITEM 8. PORTFOLIO MANAGERS OF CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Not applicable.

ITEM 9. PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS

Not applicable.

ITEM 10. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS

There have been no material changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the registrant’s Board of Trustees that have been implemented since the registrant’s last provided disclosure in response to the requirements of this Item.

ITEM 11. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

(a) The President and Treasurer have concluded that the Wells Fargo Funds Trust (the “Trust”) disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) provide reasonable assurances that material information relating to the Trust is made known to them by the appropriate persons based on their evaluation of these controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing of this report.

(b) There were no significant changes in the Trust’s internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) that occurred during the second fiscal quarter of the period covered by this report that materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

ITEM 12. EXHIBITS

(a)(1) Code of Ethics pursuant to Item 2 of Form N-CSR is filed and attached hereto as Exhibit COE.

(a)(2) Certification pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30a-2(a)) is filed and attached hereto as Exhibit 99.CERT.

(a)(3) Not applicable.

(b) Certification pursuant to Rule 30a-2(b) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30a-2(b)) is filed and attached hereto as Exhibit 99.906CERT.

 


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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

Wells Fargo Funds Trust
By:   /s/ Karla M. Rabusch
  Karla M. Rabusch
  President
Date:   September 23, 2016

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the date indicated.

 

Wells Fargo Funds Trust

By:

  /s/ Karla M. Rabusch
 

Karla M. Rabusch

 

President

Date:

 

September 23, 2016

By:

 

/s/ Jeremy DePalma

 

Jeremy DePalma

 

Treasurer

Date:

 

September 23, 2016

 


Dates Referenced Herein   and   Documents Incorporated by Reference

This ‘N-CSR’ Filing    Date    Other Filings
11/30/16
Filed on / Effective on:9/27/16485BPOS,  497K
9/23/16
9/9/16497,  497K
For Period End:7/31/16N-MFP1
7/1/16
5/21/16
5/20/16485BPOS,  497K
5/16/16497
2/1/16485BPOS,  497J,  497K,  N-14/A
12/31/1524F-2NT,  N-CSR,  N-CSRS,  N-MFP,  N-Q,  NSAR-A,  NSAR-B
12/1/15485BPOS,  497,  497J,  497K
10/23/15497
9/30/1524F-2NT,  497K,  N-CSR,  N-CSRS,  N-MFP,  N-MFP/A,  N-Q,  NSAR-A,  NSAR-B
9/1/15485BPOS
8/1/15485BPOS
7/31/1524F-2NT,  N-CSR,  N-CSRS,  N-MFP,  N-MFP/A,  N-Q,  NSAR-A,  NSAR-B
7/31/1324F-2NT,  N-CSR,  N-CSRS,  N-MFP,  N-MFP/A,  N-Q,  NSAR-A,  NSAR-A/A,  NSAR-B
3/1/13485BPOS,  497,  NSAR-B
11/30/12497,  497K,  N-MFP,  N-Q,  NSAR-A
7/31/1224F-2NT,  497K,  N-CSR,  N-CSRS,  N-MFP,  N-Q,  NSAR-A,  NSAR-B
6/15/12485BPOS,  497,  497K,  NSAR-B
7/19/10485BPOS,  497,  497K
6/20/08485BPOS,  497
3/21/08485BPOS,  497,  PRE 14A
3/10/99
 List all Filings 
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