in which small and medium banks typically
compete is highly competitive and failure to maintain or increase market share may result in the loss of market value. The marketing and expansion strategies of many regional banks may place a significant strain on
their risk management, financial controls, operations systems, personnel and other resources. There can be no assurance that these banks will complete the necessary improvements to their systems, procedures and
controls necessary to support their future operations or rapid growth. The performance of small and medium banks may be impacted by a number of factors, such as adverse economic or regulatory occurrences affecting small and
medium banks, economic conditions of the region or depositor base that the bank serves, negative
public perception and decreased liquidity in credit markets. To the extent that certain
regulatory requirements are relaxed for small and medium banks, such banks could increase their overall risk profile, which may also result in greater overall risk in the banking industry and the financials sector in general.
Industry Concentration Risk. In following its methodology, the Underlying Index will be concentrated to a significant degree in
securities of issuers operating in a single industry or industry group. As a result, the Fund
will also concentrate its investments in such industries or industry groups to approximately the
same extent. By concentrating its investments in an industry or industry group, the Fund faces more risks than if it were diversified broadly over numerous industries or industry groups. Such industry-based risks, any of which may
adversely affect the companies in which the Fund invests, may include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions or cyclical market patterns that could negatively affect supply and demand in a
particular industry; competition for resources; adverse labor relations; political or world events; obsolescence of technologies; and increased competition or new product introductions that may affect the profitability or
viability of companies in an industry. In addition, at times, such industry or industry group may be out of favor and underperform other industries or the market as a whole.
Banking Industry Risk. The Fund may be susceptible to adverse economic or regulatory occurrences affecting the banking industry.
Banks are subject to extensive government regulation that may affect the scope of their
activities, their profitability, the prices that they can charge and the amount of capital and liquid assets that they must maintain. In addition, changes in interest rates can have a disproportionate effect on the banking industry;
banks whose securities the Fund may purchase may themselves have concentrated portfolios of loans
or investments that make them vulnerable to economic conditions that affect that industry. Credit, borrower, asset, depositor and counterparty concentration can negatively impact banks in which the Fund invests. Negative public perception
and increased competition also may adversely affect the profitability or viability of banks.
Equity Risk. Equity risk is the risk that the value of
equity securities, including common stocks, may fall due to both changes in general economic
conditions that impact the market as a whole, as well as factors that directly relate to a specific company or its industry. Such general economic conditions include changes in interest rates, periods of market turbulence or instability, or general
and prolonged periods of economic decline and cyclical change. It is possible that a drop in the stock market may depress the price of most or all of the common stocks that the Fund holds. In addition, equity risk
includes the risk that investor sentiment toward one or more industries will become negative, resulting in those investors exiting their investments in those industries, which could cause a reduction in the value of
companies in those industries more broadly. The value of a company's common stock may fall solely because of factors, such as an increase in production costs, that negatively impact other companies in the same region, industry
or sector of the market. A company's common stock also may decline significantly in price over a
short period of time due to factors specific to that company, including decisions made by its
management or lower demand for the company's products or services. For example, an adverse event, such as an
unfavorable earnings report or the failure
to make anticipated dividend payments, may depress the value of common stock.
Small-Capitalization Company Risk. Investing in securities
of small-capitalization companies involves greater risk than customarily is associated with
investing in larger, more established companies. These companies' securities may be more volatile than those of more established companies. Securities of small-capitalization companies may be more thinly traded (that is, less liquid) than
those of more established companies, making it more difficult for the Fund to buy and sell them. These securities may have returns that vary, sometimes significantly, from the overall securities market. Often
small-capitalization companies and the industries in which they focus are still evolving, and, as a result, they may be more sensitive to changing market conditions.
Issuer-Specific Changes Risk. The value of an individual security or particular type of security may be more volatile than the market as a
whole and may perform differently from the value of the market as a whole.
Non-Correlation Risk. The Fund's return may not match the return of the Underlying Index for a number of reasons. For example, the
Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Underlying Index, and incurs costs in buying
and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund's securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Underlying Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Underlying Index may vary due to asset
valuation differences and differences between the Fund's portfolio and the Underlying Index resulting from legal restrictions, costs or liquidity constraints.
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only authorized participants (“APs”) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The
Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as APs and such APs have no obligation to submit creation or redemption orders. Consequently, there is no assurance that APs will establish or maintain an active trading
market for the Shares. This risk may be heightened to the extent that securities held by the Fund are traded outside a collateralized settlement system. In that case, APs may be required to post collateral on certain
trades on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants), which only a limited number of APs may be able to do. In addition, to the extent that APs exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation
and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other AP is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units (as defined below), this may result in a significantly diminished trading market for Shares,
and Shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to the Fund's NAV and to face trading halts and/or delisting. Additionally, investments in non-U.S. securities may have lower trading volumes or could
experience extended market closures or trading halts. To the extent that the Fund invests in non-U.S. securities, it may face increased risks that APs may not be able to effectively create or redeem Creation Units, or that the
Shares may be halted and/or delisted.
Market Trading Risk. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for the Shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, and
disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. In stressed market conditions, the market for Shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s portfolio
holdings, which may cause a variance in the market price of Shares and their underlying NAV. In addition, an exchange or market may issue trading halts on specific securities or financial instruments. As a result, the ability to trade
certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may disrupt the Fund’s creation/redemption process, potentially affect the price at which Shares trade in the secondary market, and/or result in the Fund being
unable to trade certain securities or financial instruments at all. In these circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial
trading losses. Any of these factors may lead to the Shares trading at a premium or discount to the Fund's NAV.
Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risks arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to,
human error,