opportunities for the Fund, its adviser
uses a value-oriented approach. In implementing its main strategies, the Fund’s equity
investments are primarily in common stocks and real estate investment trusts
(REITs).
Derivatives, which are instruments that have a value based on
another instrument, exchange rate or index, may be used as substitutes for securities in which
the Fund can invest. The Fund may use futures contracts to gain or reduce exposure to its index,
maintain liquidity and minimize transaction costs. In managing cash flows, the Fund buys futures contracts to invest incoming cash in the market or sells futures contracts in response to cash outflows, thereby gaining market
exposure to the index while maintaining a cash balance for liquidity.
Investment Process: In managing the Fund, the adviser employs a process
that ranks stocks based on its proprietary stock ranking system. The rankings are then reviewed and adjusted utilizing fundamental research conducted by the investment team to enhance accuracy and consistency. The adjusted
rankings are used to place stocks into portfolios. As part of its investment process, the adviser
seeks to assess the impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors on many issuers
in the universe in which the Fund may invest. The adviser’s assessment is based on an analysis of key opportunities and risks across industries to seek to identify financially material issues with respect to the Fund’s
investments in securities and ascertain key issues that merit engagement with issuers. These
assessments may not be conclusive and securities of issuers that may be negatively impacted by such factors may be purchased and retained by the Fund while the Fund may divest or not invest in securities of issuers that may
be positively impacted by such factors. In general, stocks are purchased when they are among the
top ranked within their sector. Stocks become candidates for sale when their ranking falls, when they appear unattractive or when the company is no longer a small cap company. The Fund may continue to hold the
securities if it believes further substantial growth is possible. Risk factor exposures are
managed through portfolio construction. Portfolio constraints control for sector weights, position sizes and/or style characteristics of the Fund.
The Fund’s Main Investment Risks
The Fund is subject to management risk and may not achieve its objective if the adviser’s expectations
regarding particular instruments or markets are not met.
An investment in this Fund or any other fund may not provide a complete investment program. The suitability of an investment in the Fund
should be considered based on the investment objective, strategies and risks described in this Prospectus, considered in light of all of the other investments in your
portfolio, as well as your risk tolerance, financial goals and time horizons. You may want to consult with a financial advisor to determine if this Fund is suitable for you.
The Fund is subject to the main risks noted below, any of which may
adversely affect the Fund’s performance and ability to meet its investment objective.
Equity Market Risk. The price of equity securities may rise or fall because of changes in the broad market or changes in a
company’s financial condition, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. These price movements
may result from factors affecting
individual companies, sectors or industries selected for the Fund’s portfolio or the securities market
as a whole, such as changes in economic or political conditions. When the value of the
Fund’s portfolio securities goes down, your investment in the Fund decreases in value.
General Market Risk. Economies and financial markets
throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood
that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in
other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in
comparison to securities in general financial markets, a particular financial market or other asset classes due to a number of factors, including inflation (or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for
deflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, market
instability, financial system instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events. In
addition, 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.
Smaller Company Risk. Investments in smaller companies may be riskier, less liquid, more volatile and more vulnerable to economic, market and industry changes than
investments in larger, more established companies. The securities of smaller companies may trade
less frequently and in smaller volumes than securities of larger companies. As a result, the share price changes may be more sudden or erratic than the prices of other securities, especially over the short
term.
Value Investing Risk. A value stock may decrease in price or may not increase in price as anticipated by the adviser if other
investors fail to recognize the company’s value or the factors that the adviser believes
will cause the stock price to increase do not occur.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives, including futures contracts, 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,