Short & Intermediate Funds
Each Evergreen Short and Intermediate fund offers three share classes that are subject to sales charges: Class A, Class B and Class C. Each class has its own sales charge.
There are several ways in which you may be able to reduce or eliminate sales charges. For example, combining the amounts held in Evergreen fund accounts by certain family members, or committing to invest an amount eligible for reduced sales charges within a certain period of time, may allow you to reduce or eliminate the sales charge.
You may also be able to eliminate your sales charge based on how you make your investment in the Evergreen funds (such as through a financial advisor's wrap account program), based on your relationship to the Evergreen funds and their related companies (for example, if you are an employee of Wachovia Corporation or a broker-dealer that sells Evergreen funds) and under certain circumstances (for example, upon the death or disability of a shareholder named on the account).
See "How to reduce or eliminate your sales charge" below for more details about these programs, and remember to inform Evergreen or your investment professional of any other holdings in Evergreen funds or circumstances that may make you eligible for reduced sales charges.
Class A
If you select Class A shares, you may pay a front-end sales charge of up to 2.25%, but you do not pay a contingent deferred sales charge (except in the limited circumstances described below). In addition, Class A shares are subject to an expense known as 12b-1 fees.
The front-end sales charge is deducted from your investment before it is invested in a fund. The actual charge depends on the amount invested, as shown below:
| Your Investment | Sales Charge as a % of Offering Price¹,² | Sales Charge as a % of Your Net Investment¹ | Dealer Commission as a % of Offering Price³ |
| Up to $99,999 | 2.25% | 2.30% | 2.00% |
| $100,000- $249,999 | 1.75% | 1.78% | 1.50% |
| $250,000- $499,999 | 1.50% | 1.52% | 1.25% |
| $500,000- $999,999 | 1.00% | 1.01% | 0.75% |
| $1,000,000- $4,999,999 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.50% of the first $4,999,999, plus |
| $5,000,000 or greater | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.25% of amounts equal to or over $5,000,0004 |
- The sales charge you pay may differ slightly from the amounts listed here due to rounding calculations.
- The offering price includes the applicable front-end sales charge.
- The Dealer Commission is generally paid from the Sales Charge you pay upon investing in the Fund
- Adjustable Rate Fund pays 0.25% to investment firms for all amounts over $1,000,000.
Purchases of Class A shares in connection with reinvestments of distributions, exchanges from Class A shares of another Evergreen fund where you paid a sales charge and distribution exchanges (purchasing shares of one Evergreen fund using distributions from another Evergreen fund) are not subject to sales charges. Although no front-end sales charge applies to purchases of $1 million and over, you will pay a 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge if you redeem any such shares within 18 months. For more information, see "Calculating the contingent deferred sales charge" below.
The holding period for the contingent deferred sales charge for Class A shares ends on the first day of the 18th month after your purchase is accepted regardless of the day of the month that your purchase was accepted. For example, if you invest more than $1 million in Class A shares on July 22nd, a redemption of any of those shares will not be subject to the 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge after December 31st of the following year.
The front-end sales charge may be reduced or eliminated under certain circumstances. See "How to reduce or eliminate your sales charge" below.
Class B
If you select Class B shares, you do not pay a front-end sales charge, so the entire amount of your purchase is invested in the Fund. However, you may pay a contingent deferred sales charge if you redeem your shares within four years. See "Calculating the contingent deferred sales charge" for information on how the four-year holding period is calculated and how the contingent deferred sales charge is calculated at the time of redemption. In addition, your shares are subject to 12b-1 fees. After six years, Class B shares automatically convert to Class A shares.
The amount of the maximum contingent deferred sales charge depends on the length of time the shares are held, as shown below:
| Years Held | Maximum Contingent Deferred Sales Charge |
| 1 | 2.00% |
| 2 | 1.50% |
| 3 | 1.00% |
| 4 | 0.50% |
| 5 | 0.00% |
| 6 | Converts to Class A |
| Dealer Allowance | 2.00% |
The maximum contingent deferred sales charge and dealer allowance may be reduced for certain investors. See "How to reduce or eliminate your sales charge" below.
A shareholder may not purchase Class B shares if the purchase would cause the shareholder's aggregate Class B share holdings in the Evergreen funds to exceed $250,000. Purchase orders that would cause a shareholder's account to exceed this amount in Class B shares will be treated as a purchase of Class A shares. However, Evergreen is not able to track a shareholder's purchases made through financial intermediaries and held in an omnibus account. It will be necessary for the financial intermediary to track purchases of the Funds by their clients to ensure adherence to our policy.
Certain of the Funds' financial intermediaries are currently in the process of enhancing their computer systems in order to have the ability to aggregate shares. Until these systems are complete, such financial intermediaries are unable to aggregate share class purchases. Purchases of Class B shares made through different financial intermediaries, such as through two different broker-dealers, would not be able to be tracked and aggregated.
Class C
If you select Class C shares, you do not pay a front-end sales charge but your shares are subject to 12b-1 fees. In addition, you may pay a contingent deferred sales charge if you redeem your shares within one year. See "Calculating the contingent deferred sales charge" for information on how the one-year holding period is calculated and how the contingent deferred sales charge is calculated at the time of redemption. These shares do not convert to Class A shares, so the higher 12b-1 fees paid by Class C shares continue for the life of the account.
The amount of the maximum contingent deferred sales charge depends on the length of time the shares are held, as shown below:
| Time Held | Maximum Contingent Deferred Sales Charge |
| 1 | 1.00% |
| Thereafter | 0.00% |
| Dealer Allowance | 1.00% |
The maximum contingent deferred sales charge and dealer allowance may be reduced for certain investors. See "How to reduce or eliminate your sales charge."
Calculating the contingent deferred sales charge
The holding period for the contingent deferred sales charge for Class B and Class C Shares begins on the day your purchase is accepted. For example, if you purchase Class B shares on January 2nd, a redemption of any of those shares will be subject to the 2.00% contingent deferred sales charge through January 2nd of the following year. Beginning on January 3rd of the following year, you will be subject to the 1.50% contingent deferred sales charge on redemptions of those shares through January 2nd of the next year. Please refer to the tables above for the complete schedule of each class's maximum contingent deferred sales charge.
If a contingent deferred sales charge is imposed, the Fund deducts it from the redemption proceeds you would otherwise receive. The contingent deferred sales charge is a percentage of the lesser of (i) the net asset value (NAV) of the shares at the time of redemption or (ii) the shareholder's original net cost for such shares. Upon request for redemption, the Fund will first seek to redeem shares not subject to the contingent deferred sales charge and then shares held the longest in an effort to keep the contingent deferred sales charge a shareholder would pay as low as possible. The contingent deferred sales charge on any redemption is, to the extent permitted by NASD Regulation, Inc., paid to Evergreen Investment Services, Inc. (EIS) or its predecessor.
Additional compensation to financial services firms
EIMC or EIS has entered into revenue sharing arrangements under which EIMC or EIS, as the case may be, makes payments to financial services firms that are intended to provide incentives for the sale of shares of Evergreen funds or to compensate the intermediary for marketing or marketing support activities. Payments under these arrangements are made from EIMC's or EIS's resources, as the case may be, and are in addition to any front-end sales charges, up-front commissions, Rule 12b-1 fees or other payments made or incentives provided to the financial services firm. The amounts of these payments typically are calculated as a percentage of sales made to and/or assets held by customers of the financial services firm. Please contact your investment professional for more details regarding these arrangements or contact an Evergreen funds service representative for a listing of financial services firms with whom we have such arrangements .
How to reduce or eliminate your sales charge
There are several ways in which you may be able to reduce or eliminate sales charges, regardless of whether you hold your shares directly with the Fund or through a financial intermediary.
Contact Evergreen or your investment professional if you think you may qualify for any of the sales charge reduction or elimination programs described below.
At the time of making a purchase or redemption, it may be necessary for you to inform Evergreen or your investment professional of the existence of other accounts, or any other facts and circumstances, that may be relevant to qualifying for any of these programs and to provide Evergreen or your investment professional with certain information or records, such as account statements, to verify your qualification for any of these programs.
You should provide information and records regarding shares of Evergreen funds held in all accounts with your investment professional or any other financial intermediary by you and/or members of your immediate family. For further details on exactly who is a member of your immediate family, please see the discussion entitled "Immediate family members" at the end of this section.
For more information on the funds' sales charge, sales charge reduction and elimination programs, see "Purchase and Redemption of Shares" in the SAI.
Class A
- Rights of accumulation. You may add the current value of all of your existing Evergreen funds investments in Class A, Class B and Class C shares, excluding amounts invested in Evergreen money market funds on which you have not previously paid a sales charge, to determine the front-end sales charge to be applied to your current Class A purchase. You may include the value of Evergreen funds investments held by the members of your immediate family (please see the discussion entitled "Immediate family members" at the end of this section), including the value of Evergreen funds investments held by you or them in individual retirement plans, such as individual retirement accounts, or IRAs. However, the value of Evergreen funds investments held in employer retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans, is not eligible for inclusion.
- Letter of intent. You may reduce the front-end sales charge on a current purchase if you agree to invest at least $50,000 in Class A shares of one or more Evergreen funds over a 13-month period. You will pay the same sales charge as if you had invested the full amount all at one time. The Fund will hold a certain portion of your investment in escrow until your commitment is met.
- Combined purchases. You may reduce your front-end sales charge for purchases of Class A shares if you purchase Class A, Class B and Class C shares in multiple Evergreen funds, excluding amounts that you intend to invest in any Evergreen money market funds on which no sales charge will be paid, at the same time. The combined dollar amount invested in Class A, Class B and Class C shares will determine the front-end sales charge applied to all of your current Class A purchases. For example, if you invest $75,000 in each of two different Evergreen funds, you pay a sales charge based on a $150,000 purchase (i.e., 3.75% of the offering price, rather than 4.50%).
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NAV purchases. Each Fund may sell Class A shares at NAV, without a
front-end or contingent deferred sales charge except as described below, to the
following:
- Current and retired Directors, Trustees, officers and employees of the Evergreen funds and Wachovia Corporation and its affiliates, and members of each such individual's immediate family (please see the discussion entitled "Immediate family members" at the end of this section).
- Employees of broker-dealer firms that have entered into dealer agreements with EIS, and members of each such individual's immediate family (please see the discussion entitled "Immediate family members" at the end of this section).
- Corporate-sponsored retirement plans and non-qualified deferred compensation plans sponsored by an organization having 100 or more eligible employees. Such purchases are subject to a dealer commission of 1.00% of the amount of purchase paid to the dealer by EIS (subject to recapture by EIS from the dealer if the purchase is redeemed within 12 months after the month of purchase).
- Institutional investors (which may include bank trust departments and registered investment advisors).
- Wrap, or separately managed, accounts, which are accounts held with investment advisors, consultants or financial planners who have entered into an agreement with Evergreen, charge their clients a management, consulting, advisory or other fee and place trades for the accounts of their clients.
- In connection with the court-approved settlement of the lawsuit, O'Malley v. Boris, C.A. No. 15735-NC, a class action involving certain successors in interest to EVEREN Securities, Inc., Evergreen has agreed to permit class members to purchase up to $50,000 in Class A shares of certain eligible mutual funds, including the Fund, at NAV without a front-end sales charge. Class members may transfer this benefit to certain family members and related entities. This benefit expires as of April 29, 2009.
Class B and Class C
You will not be assessed a contingent deferred sales charge for Class B or Class C shares if you redeem shares in the following situations:
- When the shares were purchased through reinvestment of dividends/capital gains.
- Death of a shareholder named on the relevant account, provided the redemption is made prior to registering the account in another name or changing the account registration to remove the decedent's name.
- Disability of a shareholder named on the relevant account incurred after purchase of the shares (this generally excludes accounts registered in the names of trusts and other entities).
- Systematic withdrawals of up to 1.00% of the account balance per month or up to 3.00% of the account balance per quarter.
- Shares in an account that has been closed because it falls below the minimum initial purchase amount.
- Lump-sum distribution from a 401(k) plan or other benefit plan qualified under ERISA.
- Mandatory withdrawals from the ERISA plan of a shareholder who is at least 70½ years old.
- Loan proceeds and financial hardship distributions from a retirement plan.
- Returns of excess contributions or excess deferral amounts made to a retirement plan participant.
- A redemption by an individual participant in a corporate-sponsored retirement plan and non-qualified deferred compensation plan (this waiver is not available in the event such a plan, as a whole, redeems substantially all of its assets) .
Immediate family members
Immediate family members include the following, and only the following:
Your spouse, who is the person to whom you are legally married. We also consider your spouse to include the following:
- an individual of the same sex with whom you have been joined in a civil union, or legal contract similar to marriage;
- a domestic partner, who is an individual (including one of the same sex) with whom you share a primary residence for at least six months, in a relationship as a couple where you, your domestic partner or both of you provide personal or financial welfare of the other without a fee, to whom you are not related by blood and to whom you are not married; and
- an individual with whom you have a common law marriage, which is a marriage in a state where such marriages are recognized between a man and a woman arising from the fact that the two live together and hold themselves out as being married.
Your parents, who are your biological or adoptive mother and father. We also
consider your parents to include any legal guardian, who is the person legally
placed in charge of your affairs if you are a minor or legally incompetent, and
your stepparents. We do not consider your parents to include any mother-in-law,
father-in-law or grandparent.
Your siblings, who are your biological brothers and sisters, stepbrothers and stepsisters. We also consider your siblings to include your adoptive brothers and sisters. We do not consider your siblings to include any brother-in-law or sister-in-law.
Your children, who are your biological or adopted sons and daughters. We also consider your children to include your stepchildren, legal wards and persons for whom you stand in loco parentis. We do not consider your children to include any daughter-in-law, son-in-law or grandchild.