Pear Tree Polaris Small Cap Fund

For the Quarter ended September 30, 2026, the Pear Tree Polaris Small Cap Fund’s Ordinary Shares (the “Fund”) outperformed its benchmark, the Russell 2000 Total Return Index (the “Index”). The Fund had a return of (2.36%) at net asset value compared to (7.23%) for the Index.

Market Conditions and Investment Strategies

The Federal Reserve’s first rate hike since 2023 and persistent inflation made for a more selective environment for small caps. A
reversal from last quarter, investors finally shunned speculative plays in favor of quality, a shift that suited the Fund’s holdings. The
Fund beat the Index in eight of 11 sectors, led by Energy, Information Technology (“IT”) and Consumer Discretionary; overweight
Financials and Materials lagged.

In Energy, CVR Energy, Inc. benefited from wider gasoline/diesel margins and higher fertilizer prices. In IT, Avnet, Inc. and Arrow
Electronics, Inc. extended their recovery on demand for electronic components; ePlus inc. gained on security infrastructure
spending and managed services growth; and Progress Software Corp. rebounded as earnings and free cash flow improved and its
acquisition of Domo’s AI and data platform closed in September. Among Industrials, DNOW Inc., an industrial distributor, rose on
energy infrastructure activity and higher volumes, and HNI Corp., an office furniture maker, reported workplace orders up about 5%
organically as its Steelcase Inc. integration tracked toward $120+ million in synergies. Other individual standouts: Aura Minerals Inc.
capitalized on higher gold prices and production growth, and Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. climbed as BAQSIMI sales proved more
resilient than expected and new drug launches carried higher margins.

Conversely, several interest rate- and construction-sensitive holdings trailed as investors grew wary of the economic outlook. In
Financials, SLM Corp. and Southside Bancshares, Inc. declined as rising rates fueled worries about loan repayments and higher
funding costs. Among Industrials, Covenant Logistics Group, Inc. faced elevated insurance, maintenance and driver costs; Acuity
Inc. saw weak commercial construction demand, with data center builds yet to materialize; and Barrett Business Services, Inc. was
restrained by small-business hiring caution. In Materials, Eagle Materials Inc. contended with softer housing demand, higher freight
costs and unplanned plant downtime, while Cabot Corp. cited slower European carbon black volumes. Even so, stock selection helped
the Fund hold up well in a down market.

Portfolio Changes

We exited Ennis, Inc. after it reached our valuation target. New buys were quality businesses we believe the market underestimates:
Waystar Holding Corp. (healthcare payment software with 97% gross revenue retention and about 10% normalized organic growth),
Limbach Holdings, Inc. (building systems for data center build-outs) and HCI Group, Inc. (a Florida property insurer whose majorityowned Exzeo Group, Inc. software sharpens its underwriting).

Outlook

The 10-year Treasury yield above 5.2% and September CPI inflation at 3.7% are raising questions around credit, growth and margins.
Small caps have navigated this before: after COVID, companies repriced and restructured to offset rising inflation, so we view this as a
temporary headwind. We plan to use this period to our advantage, finding market dislocations. The easy money in AI is behind us, but
with a number of AI-related stocks 20%-40% below their peaks and others lumped in with software, we see mispriced opportunities.
The same could be said for other sectors (both with and without AI exposure), and we continue to do our bottom-up fundamental
analysis to uncover attractive opportunities.