the value of the Fund’s investments
may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism,
environmental disasters, natural disasters or events, country instability, and infectious disease
epidemics or pandemics.
Short Selling Risk. The Fund will incur a loss as a result of a short sale or other short equity position if the price of the
security sold short increases in value between the date of the short sale and the date on which
the fund purchases the security to replace the borrowed security or is required to pay under the
swap agreement. In addition, when the Fund engages in short sales, a lender may request, or market conditions may dictate, that securities sold short be returned to the lender on short notice, and the Fund may have to buy
the securities sold short at an unfavorable price. If this occurs, any anticipated gain to the
Fund may be reduced or eliminated or the short sale may result in a loss. The Fund’s losses are potentially unlimited in a short sale transaction or other short equity position. Short sales or other short equity positions are
speculative transactions and involve special risks, including greater reliance on the adviser’s ability to accurately anticipate the future value of a security. Furthermore, taking short positions in
securities results in a form of leverage which may cause the Fund to be more volatile.
Swap Agreement Risk. In addition to the risks associated
with derivatives in general, the Fund will also be subject to risks related to swap agreements.
The Fund may use swaps to establish both long and short positions in order to gain the desired
exposure. Because certain swap agreements are not cleared and exchange-traded, but are private contracts into which the Fund and a swap counterparty enter as principals, the Fund may experience a loss or delay in
recovering assets if the counterparty defaults on its obligations.
Large Cap Company Risk. Because the Fund invests principally in large cap company securities, it may underperform other funds during periods when the Fund’s large cap securities are out of favor.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives, including swaps may be riskier than other types of investments and may increase the volatility
of the Fund. Derivatives may be sensitive to changes in economic and market conditions and may
create leverage, which could result in losses that significantly exceed the Fund’s original
investment. The Fund may be more volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged because the leverage tends to exaggerate any effect on the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Certain derivatives expose the
Fund to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the derivative counterparty will not fulfill
its contractual obligations (and includes credit risk associated with the counterparty). Certain derivatives are synthetic instruments that attempt to replicate the performance of certain reference assets. With regard to such
derivatives, the Fund does not have a claim on the reference assets and is subject to enhanced
counterparty risk. Derivatives may not perform as expected, so the Fund may not realize the intended benefits. When used for hedging, the change in value of a derivative may not correlate as expected with the
security or other risk being hedged. In addition, given their complexity, derivatives expose the
Fund to risks of mispricing or improper valuation. Derivatives also can expose the Fund to derivative liquidity risk, which includes risks involving the liquidity demands that derivatives can create to make
payments of margin, collateral, or settlement payments to counterparties, legal risk, which
includes the risk of loss resulting from insuf
ficient or unenforceable contractual documentation, insufficient capacity or authority of a Fund’s
counterparty and operational risk, which includes documentation or settlement issues, system
failures, inadequate controls and human error.
Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in foreign issuers are subject to additional risks, including political and economic risks, unstable governments, greater volatility,
decreased market liquidity, civil conflicts and war, currency fluctuations, sanctions or other
measures by the United States or other governments, expropriation and nationalization risks, higher
transaction costs, delayed settlement, possible foreign controls on investment and less stringent
investor protection and disclosure standards of foreign markets. The securities markets of many
foreign countries are relatively small, with a limited number of companies representing a small number of industries. If foreign securities are denominated and traded in a foreign currency, the value of the
Fund’s foreign holdings can be affected by currency exchange rates and exchange control
regulations. In certain markets where securities and other instruments are not traded
“delivery versus payment,” the Fund may not receive timely payment for securities or other instruments it has delivered or receive delivery of securities paid for and may be subject to increased risk that the
counterparty will fail to make payments or delivery when due or default completely. Foreign
market trading hours, clearance and settlement procedures, and holiday schedules may limit the Fund's ability to buy and sell securities. Events and evolving conditions in certain economies or markets may alter
the risks associated with investments tied to countries or regions that historically were
perceived as comparatively stable becoming riskier and more volatile.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may engage in
active and frequent trading leading to increased portfolio turnover, higher transaction costs,
and the possibility that the recognition of capital gains will be accelerated, including short-term capital gains that will generally be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income.
Industry and Sector Focus Risk. At times, the Fund may increase the relative emphasis of its investments in a particular industry or sector. The prices of securities of issuers in a particular industry or sector may be more susceptible to
fluctuations due to changes in economic or business conditions, government regulations,
availability of basic resources or supplies, contagion risk within a particular industry or sector or to other industries or sectors, or other events that affect that industry or sector more than securities of issuers in other
industries and sectors. To the extent that the Fund increases the relative emphasis of its
investments in a particular industry or sector, the value of the Fund’s shares may fluctuate in response to events affecting that industry or sector.
Technology Sector Risk. Market or economic factors impacting technology companies could have a major effect on the value of the Fund’s investments. The value of stocks of technology companies is particularly vulnerable to rapid
changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence and frequent new product
introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified
personnel, and government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally,
including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Stocks of