The Underlying Index may include, and the
Fund may acquire and retain, loans of borrowers that are in default.
As of October 31, 2024, the Underlying Index was comprised of 100
constituents.
The Fund
does not purchase all of the securities in the Underlying Index; instead, the Fund utilizes a “sampling” methodology to seek to achieve its investment objective.
Concentration Policy.
The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., invest 25% or more of the value of its total
assets) in securities of issuers in any one industry or group of industries only to the extent that the Underlying Index reflects a concentration in that industry or group of industries. The Fund will not otherwise
concentrate its investments in securities of issuers in any one industry or group of industries.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
The following summarizes the principal risks of investing in the Fund.
The Shares will change in value, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective.
Market Risk. Securities in the Underlying Index are subject to market fluctuations. You should anticipate that the value
of the Shares will decline, more or less, in correlation with any decline in value of the securities in the Underlying Index. Additionally, natural or environmental disasters, widespread disease or other public health
issues, war, military conflicts, acts of terrorism, economic crises or other events could result in increased premiums or discounts to the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”).
Index Risk. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund
does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of the Underlying Index.
Therefore, the Fund would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, even if that security generally is underperforming. Additionally, the Fund rebalances its portfolio in
accordance with the Underlying Index, and, therefore, any changes to the Underlying Index’s rebalance schedule will result in corresponding changes to the Fund’s rebalance schedule.
Senior Loans Risk. The risks associated with senior loans
are similar to the risks of fixed income securities that are rated non-investment grade (commonly
known as “junk bonds”), although senior loans typically are senior and secured, whereas junk bonds often are subordinated and unsecured. Investments in senior loans typically are below investment grade and are considered speculative
because of the credit risk of their issuers. Such companies are more likely to default on their payments of interest and principal owed, and such defaults could reduce the Fund’s NAV and income distributions. An economic
downturn generally leads to a higher non-payment rate, and a senior loan may lose significant value before a default occurs. There is no assurance that the liquidation of the collateral would satisfy the claims of the
borrower's obligations in the event of the non-payment of scheduled interest or principal, or that the collateral could be readily liquidated. Economic and other events (whether real or perceived) can reduce the demand for certain
senior loans or senior loans generally, which may reduce market prices. Senior loans and other debt securities also are subject to the risk of price declines and to increases in prevailing interest rates, although
floating-rate debt instruments such as senior loans in which the Fund may be expected to invest are substantially less exposed to this risk than fixed-rate debt instruments. No active trading market may exist for certain senior loans,
which may impair the ability of the Fund to realize full value in the event of the need to liquidate such assets. Adverse market conditions may impair the liquidity of some actively traded senior loans. Longer interest rate reset
periods generally increase fluctuations in value as a result of changes in market interest rates.
Some loans are subject to the risk that a court, pursuant to fraudulent conveyance or other
similar laws, could subordinate the loans to presently existing or future indebtedness of the borrower or take other action detrimental to lenders, including the Fund, such as invalidation of loans or causing interest previously paid
to be refunded to the borrower. Investments in loans also are subject to the risk of changes in legislation or state or
federal regulations. If such legislation or
regulations impose additional requirements or restrictions on the ability of financial institutions to make loans, the availability of loans for investment by the Fund may be adversely affected. Many loans are not
registered with the SEC or any state securities commission and often are not rated by any nationally recognized rating service. Generally, there is less readily available, reliable information about most loans than is the case
for many other types of securities. Although a loan may be senior to equity and other debt securities in a borrower's capital structure, such obligations may be structurally subordinated to obligations of the borrower's
subsidiaries.
There is no organized exchange on which loans are traded and reliable market quotations may not be readily available. Therefore, elements of judgment may play a greater role in
valuation of loans than for securities with a more developed secondary market and the Fund may not realize full value in the event of the need to sell a loan. To the extent that a secondary market does exist for certain
loans, the market may be subject to volatility, irregular trading activity, wide bid/ask spreads, decreased liquidity and extended trade settlement periods, any of which may impair the Fund's ability to sell loans within its desired
time frame or at an acceptable price and its ability to accurately value existing and prospective investments. Extended trade settlement periods for certain loans may result in cash not being immediately available to the
Fund upon sale of the loan. As a result, the Fund may have to sell other investments with shorter settlement periods or engage in borrowing transactions to raise cash to meet its obligations. Newly originated loans (including
reissuances and restructured loans) may possess lower levels of credit document protections than has historically been the case. Accordingly, in the event of default, the Fund may experience lower levels of recoveries than
has historically been the norm.
Risk of Investing in Loans. Investments in loans are subject to interest rate risk and credit risk. Default in the payment of interest or
principal on a loan will result in a reduction in its value. Although the loans in which the Fund
may invest generally are secured by specific collateral, there can be no assurance that such collateral will satisfy the borrower’s obligation in the event of non-payment of scheduled interest or principal or that such collateral could be
readily liquidated. In the event of the bankruptcy of a borrower, access to the collateral may be limited by bankruptcy or other insolvency loans. There is no organized exchange on which loans are traded and reliable
market quotations may not be readily available. Therefore, elements of judgment may play a greater role in valuation of loans than for securities with a more developed secondary market. To the extent that a secondary
market does exist for certain loans, the market may be subject to volatility, irregular trading activity, wide bid/ask spreads, decreased liquidity and extended trade settlement periods, any of which may impair the ability to
sell loans within a desired time frame or at an acceptable price. Extended trade settlement periods for certain loans may result in cash not being immediately available upon sale of the loan. Some loans are subject to the risk
that a court, pursuant to fraudulent conveyance or other similar laws, could subordinate the loans to presently existing or future indebtedness of the borrower or take other action detrimental to lenders, such as
invalidation of loans or causing interest previously paid to be refunded to the borrower. Investments in loans also are subject to the risk of changes in legislation or state or federal regulations. If such legislation or
regulations impose additional requirements or restrictions on the ability of financial institutions to make loans, the availability of loans for investment may be adversely affected. Many loans are not registered with the SEC or any state securities
commission and often are not rated by any nationally recognized rating service. Generally, there is less readily available, reliable information about most loans than is the case for many other types of securities. Although
a loan may be senior to equity and other debt securities in a borrower’s capital structure, such obligations may be structurally subordinated to obligations of the borrower’s subsidiaries.
Risk of Investing in Loans to Non-U.S. Borrowers. The Fund may
invest all or a portion of its assets in loans of non-U.S. borrowers. The Fund’s investments in loans of non-U.S. borrowers may be affected by