The Fund invests primarily in equity securities.
The principal type of equity security in which the Fund invests is common stock.
The Fund will concentrate its investments in the securities of issuers engaged primarily in
energy-related industries. The Fund considers an issuer to be doing business in energy-related industries if it meets at least one of the following tests: (1) at least 50% of its gross income or its net sales come from activities in
energy-related industries; (2) at least 50% of its total assets are devoted to producing revenues in energy-related industries; or (3) based on other available information, the Fund’s portfolio managers determine that its
primary business is within energy-related industries. Such other available information may include industry
classifications from any one or more third-party providers, such as the Global Industry Classification
Standard (GICS®), the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), or the Bloomberg Industry Classification System (BICS). Companies in energy-related
industries include, but are not limited to, oil companies, oil and gas exploration companies, natural gas
pipeline companies, refinery companies, energy conservation companies, coal companies, alternative energy
companies and innovative energy technology companies. Generally, the companies in which the Fund invests
fall within the three main energy sub-industries: (1) integrated oil and gas issuers; (2) oil and
gas equipment and services issuers; and (3) oil and gas exploration/production issuers. Portfolio weightings among these and other sub-industries will be adjusted according to current economic conditions.
The Fund may invest up to 100% of its net assets in securities of foreign issuers
doing business in energy-related industries, which may include securities of issuers located in emerging market countries, i.e., those that are generally in the early stages of their industrial cycles. The Fund may invest in securities of issuers of
all capitalization sizes.
The Fund can invest in derivative
instruments, including forward foreign currency contracts.
The Fund can use forward foreign currency contracts to hedge against adverse movements in the foreign currencies in which portfolio securities are denominated; though the Fund has not
historically used these instruments.
The Fund is non-diversified, which means it can invest a greater percentage of its
assets in a small group of issuers or any one issuer than a diversified fund can.
The investment team primarily uses a fundamental bottom-up analysis to seek to
identify investments with quality management teams and quality assets trading at attractive valuations. The investment strategy places emphasis on valuation and risk/reward profiles of potential investments. In valuing companies, the investment team takes
a long-term view on commodity prices and uses a constant marginal cost of production commodity price. The
commodity price does not change unless a persistent structural change in the commodity occurs. Price-to-cash flow (P/CF), price-to-net asset value (P/NAV) and price-to-earnings (P/E) are the valuation metrics the investment team uses to
assess the attractiveness of a security. Top-down macroeconomic research, including an assessment of
factors such as worldwide economic activity, government policy, employment, inflation, supply/demand
dynamics, currency market dynamics, international trade, technological advances, as well as business,
equity and credit market cycle analysis, is also considered as a check and balance to sub-industry
allocation that results from bottom-up analysis.
The portfolio managers will consider selling a security if, among other things,
(1) a security reaches its target price; (2) a change in fundamentals occurs-either company specific or industry wide; (3) a change in corporate focus and/or management occurs; or (4) a more attractive investment opportunity is identified.
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, military conflict, acts of terrorism, economic crisis 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.
Energy Sector Risk. Changes in worldwide energy prices, exploration and production spending, government regulation, war, world events,
local and international politics, economic conditions, exchange rates, transportation and storage costs and
labor relations can affect companies in the energy sector. In addition, these companies are at an increased risk of civil liability and environmental damage claims, and are also subject to the risk of loss from terrorism and natural
disasters. Commodity price volatility, imposition of import controls, increased competition, depletion of resources, development of alternative energy sources, and technological developments may also impact the energy sector. Investments
in the energy sector may be cyclical and/or highly volatile and subject to swift price fluctuations. Energy
markets are subject to both short- and long-term trends that impact demand for and supply of energy
commodities. A decrease in the production of energy commodities or a decrease in the volume of such commodities available may adversely impact the financial performance of companies operating in the energy sector. In addition,
significant declines in the price of oil may contribute to significant market volatility, which may adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
Foreign Securities
Risk. The Fund's foreign investments may be adversely affected by political and social instability, changes in economic or taxation policies, difficulty in
enforcing obligations, decreased liquidity or increased volatility. Foreign investments also involve the risk of the possible seizure, nationalization or expropriation of the issuer or foreign deposits (in which the Fund could lose its entire
investments in a certain market) and the possible adoption of foreign governmental restrictions such as exchange controls. Foreign companies generally may be subject to less stringent regulations than U.S. companies, including
financial reporting requirements and auditing and accounting controls, and may therefore be more