The Fund invests primarily in equity securities. The principal type of equity securities in which the Fund invests is
common stock. The Fund may invest in the securities of issuers of all capitalization sizes and, a substantial
number of the issuers in which the Fund invests are large-capitalization issuers.
The Fund may invest up to 25% of its net assets in foreign securities, which include foreign debt and foreign equity securities.
The Fund can invest in derivative instruments, including futures contracts and
forward foreign currency contracts.
The Fund can use futures contracts,
including index futures, to gain exposure to the broad market by equitizing cash and as a hedge against
downside risk.
The Fund can use forward foreign currency contracts to hedge against adverse
movements in the foreign currencies in which portfolio securities are denominated.
The portfolio managers use fundamental research to select securities for the
Fund’s portfolio, which is comprised of both growth and value stocks. While the process may change over time or vary in particular cases, in general the selection process currently uses a fundamental approach in analyzing issuers on factors such as a
company’s financial performance, company strength and prospects, industry position, and business model and management strength. Industry outlook, market trends and general economic conditions may also be considered. The
portfolio is constructed and regularly monitored based upon several analytical tools, including
quantitative investment models. Quantitative models are used as part of the idea generation process to rank
securities within each sector to identify potential buy and sell candidates for further fundamental analysis. The Fund aims to maintain a broadly diversified portfolio across major economic sectors by applying investment parameters for
both sector and position size. The portfolio managers use the following sell criteria: the stock price is
approaching its target, deterioration in the company’s competitive position, poor execution by the
company’s management, or identification of more attractive alternative investment ideas.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
As with any mutual fund investment, loss of money is a risk of investing. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit in a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. The risks associated with an investment in the Fund can increase during times of significant market volatility. The
principal risks of investing in the Fund are:
Market Risk. The market values of the Fund’s investments, and therefore the value of the Fund’s shares, will go up and down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. Market risk may
affect a single issuer, industry or section of the economy, or it may affect the market as a whole. The value of the Fund’s investments may go up or down due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to the
particular issuer, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general outlook
for revenues or corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates, regional or global instability, natural or environmental disasters, widespread disease or other public health issues, war, acts of terrorism or adverse investor sentiment generally. During
a general downturn in the financial markets, multiple asset classes may decline in value. When markets
perform well, there can be no assurance that specific investments held by the Fund will rise in value.
Investing in Stocks Risk. The value of the Fund’s portfolio may be affected by changes in the stock markets. Stock markets may experience
significant short-term volatility and may fall or rise sharply at times. Adverse events in any part of the
equity or fixed-income markets may have unexpected negative effects on other market segments. Different stock
markets may behave differently from each other and U.S. stock markets may move in the opposite direction
from one or more foreign stock markets.
The prices of individual stocks generally do not
all move in the same direction at the same time. However, individual stock prices tend to go up
and down more dramatically than those of certain other types
of investments, such as bonds. A variety of factors can negatively affect the price of a particular
company’s stock. These factors may include, but are not limited to: poor earnings reports, a loss of customers, litigation against the company, general unfavorable performance of the company’s sector or industry, or changes in government regulations
affecting the company or its industry. To the extent that securities of a particular type are emphasized (for
example foreign stocks, stocks of small- or mid-cap companies, growth or value stocks, or stocks of
companies in a particular industry), fund share values may fluctuate more in response to events affecting the market for those types of securities.
Value Investing Risk. Value investing entails the risk that if the market does not recognize that a selected security is undervalued, the prices of that security might not appreciate as
anticipated. A value approach could also result in fewer investments that increase rapidly during times of market gains and could cause a fund to underperform funds that use a growth or non-value approach to investing. Value investing
has gone in and out of favor during past market cycles and when value investing is out of favor or when
markets are unstable, the securities of “value” companies may underperform the securities of “growth” companies or the overall stock market.
Growth Investing Risk. If a growth company’s earnings or stock price fails to increase as anticipated, or if its business plans do not
produce the expected results, the value of its securities may decline sharply. Growth companies may be
newer or smaller companies that may experience greater stock price fluctuations and risks of loss than larger, more established companies. Newer growth companies tend to retain a large part of their earnings for research, development or
investments in capital assets. Therefore, they may not pay any dividends for some time. Growth investing
has gone in and out of favor during past market cycles and is likely to continue to do so. During periods
when growth investing is out of favor or when markets are unstable, it may be more difficult to sell growth company securities at an acceptable price. Growth stocks may also be more volatile than other securities because of investor
speculation.
Small- and Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk. Investing in securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies involves greater risk than customarily is associated with investing in larger, more established companies. Stocks of small- and mid-capitalization
companies tend to be more vulnerable to changing market conditions, may have little or no operating history
or track record of success, and may have more limited product lines and markets, less experienced management and fewer financial resources than larger companies. These companies’ securities may be more volatile and less liquid than
those of more established companies. They may be more sensitive to changes in a company’s earnings
expectations and may experience more abrupt and erratic price movements. Smaller companies’
securities often trade in lower volumes and in many instances, are traded over-the-counter or on a regional securities exchange, where the frequency and volume of trading is substantially less than is typical for securities of larger companies
traded on national securities exchanges. Therefore, the securities of smaller companies may be subject to
wider price fluctuations and it might be harder for the Fund to dispose of its holdings at an acceptable price when it wants to sell them. Since small- and mid-cap companies typically reinvest a high proportion of their earnings in their business, they may not pay
dividends for some time, particularly if they are newer companies. It may take a substantial period of time to realize a gain on an investment in a small- or mid-cap company, if any gain is realized at all.
Sector Focus Risk. The Fund may from time to time have a significant amount of its assets invested in one market sector or group of
related industries. In this event, the Fund’s performance will depend to a greater extent on the
overall condition of the sector or group of industries and there is increased risk that the Fund will lose significant value if conditions adversely affect that sector or group of industries.