companies engaged in the
production, extraction or mining of copper ore, silver and other metals (including precious metals) and minerals. The prices of the securities of companies in the
Metals & Mining Industry may fluctuate widely due to events relating to international political and economic developments, energy conservation, the success of
exploration projects, commodity prices, and taxes. Investments in companies in the Metals & Mining Industry may be speculative and may be subject to greater price volatility than investments in other types of companies. Legislative or regulatory changes and increased government supervision also may affect companies in the Metals & Mining Industry. The Metals & Mining Industry is a separate industry within the Materials Sector.
Market Risk—The value of, or income
generated by, the investments held by the Fund may fluctuate rapidly and unpredictably. These fluctuations may be frequent and significant. In addition, the Fund
may incur losses as a result of various market and economic factors, such as those affecting individual companies or issuers or particular industries, or from broader influences, such as general market conditions. In addition, developments related to economic, political (including geopolitical), social, public health, market, extreme weather, natural or man-made disasters or other conditions or events may cause volatility in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or debt markets, which could adversely impact the Fund and its investments and their value and performance. Under such conditions, the Fund (or an underlying fund) may experience significant redemption activity by shareholders and could be forced to sell portfolio securities or other assets at unfavorable prices in an effort to generate sufficient cash to pay redeeming shareholders. The Fund’s investments may perform poorly or underperform the general securities markets or other types of securities.
Mid-Capitalization Securities Risk—The Fund
is subject to the risk that mid-capitalization securities may underperform other segments of the equity market or the equity market as a whole. Securities of
mid-capitalization companies may be more speculative, volatile and less liquid than securities of large companies. Mid-capitalization companies tend to have inexperienced management as well as limited product and market diversification and
financial resources and may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than large capitalization companies.
Non-Diversification Risk—The Fund is considered non-diversified and can invest a greater portion of its assets in
securities of individual issuers than a diversified fund. As a result, changes in the market value of a single issuer's securities could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.
Portfolio Turnover Risk—The Fund’s strategy may frequently involve buying and selling portfolio securities, which
may lead to increased costs to the Fund. Portfolio turnover risk may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than you expect.
Regulatory and Legal Risk—U.S. and non-U.S. governmental agencies and other
regulators regularly implement additional regulations and legislators pass new laws that affect the investments held by the Fund, the strategies used by the Fund or the level of regulation or taxation applying to the Fund (such as regulations related to the use of derivatives and other transactions). These regulations and laws impact the investment strategies, performance, costs and operations of the Fund or taxation of shareholders.
Sector Risk—To the extent the Fund’s holdings have significant exposure to
one or more market sectors, the Fund may be especially sensitive to the developments affecting and risks of such market sectors. As of June 30, 2024, the Fund is subject to the Sector Risk described below.
Materials
Sector Risk. The Fund's investments are exposed to issuers conducting business in the Materials Sector. The Materials Sector includes companies that manufacture chemicals, construction materials, glass, paper, forest products and related packaging products, and metals, minerals and mining companies, including producers of steel. The Fund is subject to the risk that the securities of such issuers will underperform the market as a whole due to legislative or regulatory changes, adverse market conditions and/or increased competition affecting the Materials Sector. The prices of the securities of companies operating in the Materials Sector may fluctuate widely due to the level and volatility of commodity prices, the exchange value of the U.S. dollar, import controls, worldwide competition, liability for environmental damage, depletion of resources, and mandated expenditures for safety and pollution control devices.