Derivatives
Risk—Derivatives and other instruments (collectively referred to in this paragraph as “derivatives”) pose risks in addition to and greater than those associated with investing directly in securities, currencies or other investments, including risks relating to leverage, market conditions and market risk, imperfect correlations with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, high price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty credit, liquidity, valuation, operational and legal restrictions and risk. Their use is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in leverage, which may cause the Fund to be more volatile and riskier than if it had not been leveraged. Changes in the value of a derivative also may create sudden margin delivery or settlement payment obligations for the Fund, which can materially affect the performance of the Fund, its liquidity, and other aspects of the Fund’s risk profile. The Fund’s use of derivatives to obtain short exposure, if any, may result in greater volatility of the Fund's net asset value (“NAV”) per share. If the Advisor is incorrect about its expectations of market conditions, the use of derivatives also could result in a loss, which in some cases may be unlimited. Certain risks are specific to the particular type of derivative instrument in which the Fund may invest. For example, some of the derivatives in which the Fund invests may be traded (and privately negotiated) in the OTC market. OTC derivatives are subject to heightened counterparty, credit, legal, liquidity and valuation risks.
Futures Contracts Risk—Futures contracts are exchange-traded contracts that call for the future delivery of an asset
at a certain price and date, or cash settlement of the terms of the contract. Risks of futures contracts include imperfect correlation between the movements in
the price of the instruments and the price of the underlying assets. In addition, there is a risk that the Fund may not be able to enter into a closing
transaction because of an illiquid market. Exchanges can limit the number of futures positions that can be held or controlled by the Fund or the Advisor, thus limiting the ability to implement the Fund’s strategies. Futures markets are highly volatile and the use of futures may increase the volatility of the Fund’s NAV. Futures also are subject to leverage and liquidity risks. The Fund may invest in standard futures contracts, e-mini futures contracts, and micro e-mini futures contracts depending on the investment exposure needs of the Fund. E-mini futures contracts and micro e-mini futures contracts are similar to standard futures contracts, except that they are electronically traded and e-mini futures contracts generally are one-fifth the size of standard futures contracts and micro e-mini futures contracts generally are one-tenth the size of e-mini futures contracts.
Options Risk—Options and options on futures contracts give the holder of the option the right, but not the
obligation, to buy (or to sell) a position in a security or in a contract to the writer of the option, at a certain price. Options are subject to correlation risk because there may be an imperfect correlation between the options and the markets for underlying instruments that could cause a given transaction to fail to achieve its objectives. The successful use of options depends on the Advisor’s ability to predict correctly future price fluctuations and the degree of correlation between the markets for options and the underlying instruments. Exchanges can limit the number of options positions that can be held or controlled by the Fund or the Advisor, thus limiting the ability to implement the Fund’s strategies. Options also are particularly subject to leverage risk and can be subject to liquidity risk.
Swap Agreements Risk—Swap agreements are contracts among the Fund and a
counterparty to exchange the return of the pre-determined underlying investment (such as the rate of return of the underlying index). Swap agreements may be negotiated bilaterally and traded OTC between two parties or, for certain standardized swaps, must be exchange-traded through a futures commission merchant and/or cleared through a clearinghouse that serves as a central counterparty. Risks associated with the use of swap agreements are different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions, due in part to the fact they could be considered illiquid and many swaps trade on the OTC market. Swaps are particularly subject to counterparty credit, correlation, valuation, liquidity and leveraging risks. While exchange trading and central clearing are intended to reduce counterparty credit risk and increase liquidity, they do not make swap transactions risk-free. Additionally, applicable regulators have adopted rules imposing certain margin requirements, including minimums, on OTC swaps, which may result in the Fund and its counterparties posting higher margin amounts for OTC swaps, which could increase the cost of swap transactions to the Fund and impose added operational complexity.
Early Closing Risk—The Fund is subject to the risk that unanticipated early
closings of securities exchanges and other financial markets may result in the Fund’s inability to buy or sell securities or other financial instruments on
that day and may cause the Fund to incur substantial trading losses.