Geographic Focus
Risk. The Fund may focus its investments in one or more regions or small groups of countries. As
a result, the Fund’s performance may be subject to greater volatility than a more
geographically diversified fund.
Depositary Receipts
Risk. The Fund’s investments may take the form of depositary receipts, including
unsponsored depositary receipts. Unsponsored depositary receipts may not provide as much
information about the underlying issuer and may not carry the same voting privileges as sponsored depositary receipts. Unsponsored depositary receipts are issued by one or more depositaries in response to market demand,
but without a formal agreement with the company that issues the underlying
securities.
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 securities of smaller companies (mid cap and small cap companies) may be riskier, less liquid, more volatile and more vulnerable to economic, market and industry changes than securities of
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, changes in the price of securities issued by such companies may be more sudden or erratic than the prices of securities of large capitalization
companies, especially over the short term. These risks are higher for small cap
companies.
Real Estate Securities Risk. The Fund’s investments in real estate securities, including REITs, are subject to the same risks as
direct investments in real estate and mortgages, and their value will depend on the value of the
underlying real estate interests. These risks include default, prepayments, changes in value
resulting from changes in interest rates and demand for real and rental property, and the
management skill and credit-worthiness of REIT issuers. The Fund will indirectly bear its
proportionate share of expenses, including
management fees, paid by each REIT in which it invests in addition to the expenses of the
Fund.
Greater China Region Risk. In addition to the risks listed under “Foreign Securities and Emerging Markets Risk,”
investments in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are subject to significant legal, regulatory,
monetary and economic risks, as well as the potential for regional and global conflicts, including actions that are contrary to the interests of the U.S.
Investments in Mainland China involve political and legal uncertainties, currency fluctuations and aggressive currency controls, the risk of confiscatory taxation, and
nationalization or expropriation of assets, which could adversely affect and significantly
diminish the values of the Mainland Chinese companies in which the Fund invests. The Mainland Chinese securities markets are emerging markets characterized by greater price volatility. Mainland China is dominated
by the one-party rule of the Communist Party, and the Mainland Chinese government exercises
significant control over Mainland China’s economic growth. There is the potential of increased tariffs and restrictions on trade between the United States and Mainland China. An increase in tariffs or trade
restrictions, or even the threat of such developments, could lead to a significant reduction in
international trade, which could have a negative impact on Mainland Chinese companies and a commensurately negative impact on the Fund. There is also the risk that the U.S. government or other governments may sanction Chinese
issuers or otherwise prohibit U.S. persons (such as the Fund) from investing in certain Chinese
issuers, which may negatively affect the liquidity and price of their securities.
The political reunification of Mainland China and Taiwan, over which
Mainland China continues to claim sovereignty, is a highly complex issue. There is the potential for future political, military or economic disturbances that may have an adverse impact on the values of the Fund’s investments in
Mainland China and elsewhere, or make certain Fund investments impractical or impossible. Any
escalation of hostility between Mainland China and Taiwan would likely have a significant adverse impact on the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments in both Mainland China and elsewhere, causing
substantial investment losses for the Fund.
Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Since Hong Kong reverted to
Chinese sovereignty in 1997, it has been governed by the Basic Law. Under the Basic Law, Hong
Kong was guaranteed a high degree of autonomy in certain matters, including economic matters,
until 2047. Attempts by the government of Mainland China to exert greater control over Hong
Kong’s economic, political or legal structures or its existing social policy could negatively
affect investor confidence in Hong Kong (as has been the case previously during certain periods),
which in turn could negatively affect markets and business performance.
Chinese operating companies sometimes rely on VIE structures to raise
capital from non-Chinese investors, even though such arrangements are not formally recognized under Chinese law. In a VIE structure, a Mainland China-based operating company establishes an entity (typically offshore) that
enters into service and other contracts (such as powers of attorney, equal pledge agreements and
other services or business cooperation agreements) with the Mainland Chinese company designed to provide economic exposure to the company. The offshore entity then