Shares of ETFs may trade at
a discount or a premium to an ETF’s net asset value which may result in an ETF’s market price being more or less than the value of the index that the ETF tracks especially
during periods of market volatility or disruption. There may also be additional trading costs due to an ETF’s bid-ask spread, and/or the underlying fund may suspend sales of
its shares due to market conditions that make it impracticable to conduct such transactions,
any of which may adversely affect the Fund.
Passive Investment and Index Performance Risk
—
A third party (the “Index
Provider”), who is unaffiliated with the Fund or Adviser, maintains and exercises complete control over the Index. The Index Provider may delay or add a rebalance date, which may
adversely impact the performance of the Fund and its correlation to the Index. There is no guarantee that the methodology used by the Index Provider to identify
constituents for the Index will achieve its intended result or positive performance. The Index relies on various sources of information to assess the potential constituents of the
Index, including information that may be based on assumptions or estimates. There is no assurance that the sources of information are reliable, and the Adviser does not assess the due
diligence conducted by the Index Provider with respect to the data it uses or the Index construction and computation processes. There can be no guarantee that the methodology
underlying the Index or the daily calculation of the Index or its methodology will be free from error or that an error will be identified and/or corrected, which may have an adverse
impact on the Fund. The Fund generally will not
change its investment exposures, including by buying or selling securities or instruments, in response to market conditions. For example, the Fund generally will not sell an Index
constituent due to a decline in its performance or based on changes to the prospects of an Index constituent, unless that constituent is removed from the Index with which
the Fund seeks correlated performance.
Market Risk
— The Fund’s investments are subject
to changes in general economic conditions, general market fluctuations and
the risks inherent in investment in securities markets. Investment markets can be volatile and prices of investments can change substantially due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic
growth or recession, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of issuers, general market liquidity, exchange trading suspensions and
closures, geopolitical events, natural disasters, and public health risks. Interest rates and inflation rates may change frequently and drastically due to various factors and the Fund’s investments may
be adversely impacted.
Information Technology Sector Risk — The value of stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology is
particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence, government regulation, and competition, both domestically and
internationally, including competition from competitors with lower production costs. In addition, many information technology companies have limited product lines, markets, financial
resources or personnel. The prices of information technology companies and companies that
rely heavily on technology,
especially those of smaller, less-seasoned companies, tend to be more volatile and less liquid than the overall market. Information technology companies are heavily dependent
on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability. Additionally, companies in the information technology sector may
face dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Companies in the application software industry, in particular,
may also be negatively affected by the risk that subscription renewal rates for their products and services decline or fluctuate, leading to declining revenues. Companies in the
systems software industry may be adversely affected by, among other things, actual or perceived security vulnerabilities in their products and services, which may result in individual or class
action lawsuits, state or federal enforcement actions and other remediation costs. Companies in the computer software industry may also be affected by the availability and price of
computer software technology components.
Mid-Capitalization Company
Risk - Mid-capitalization companies often have narrower markets for their goods and/or services, more limited product lines, services, markets, managerial and financial
resources, less stable earnings, or are dependent on a small management group. In addition, because these stocks are not well known to the investing public, do not have significant
institutional ownership and are followed by relatively few security analysts, there will normally be less publicly available information concerning these securities compared to
what is available for the securities of larger companies. As a result, the price of mid-capitalization companies can be more volatile and they may be less liquid than large-capitalization
companies, which could increase the volatility of the Fund’s portfolio.
Large-Capitalization Company Risk — Large-capitalization companies typically have significant financial resources, extensive product lines and
broad markets for their goods and/or services. However, they may be less able to adapt to changing market conditions or to respond quickly to competitive challenges or to
changes in business, product, financial, or market conditions and may not be able to maintain growth at rates that may be achieved by well-managed smaller and mid-size
companies, which may affect the companies’ returns.
Liquidity Risk — Holdings of the Fund may be difficult
to buy or sell or may be illiquid, particularly during times of market
turmoil. There is no assurance that a security or derivative instrument that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in
changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to buy or sell an illiquid security or derivative instrument at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain
market conditions or restrictions may prevent the Fund from limiting losses,
realizing gains or achieving its investment objective. In certain market
conditions the Fund may be one of many market participants that is attempting to transact in the securities of the Index. Under such circumstances, the market for securities of the Index may lack
sufficient liquidity for all