Financials Sector Risk. The Fund's investments are exposed to
issuers conducting business in the Financials Sector. The Financials Sector includes companies involved in banking, financial services (including commercial
and residential mortgage finance), consumer finance, capital markets (including asset management and custody banks, investment banking and brokerage), Mortgage Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), and insurance. Certain Financials Sector issuers serve as counterparties with which the Fund may enter into derivatives agreements or other similar contractual arrangements. 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 Financials Sector, which may adversely affect a company's ability to fulfill its obligations as a financial counterparty. Companies operating in the Financials Sector are subject to extensive government regulation, which may limit the financial commitments they can make and the interest rates and fees they can charge. Profitability is largely dependent on the availability and cost of capital funds and may fluctuate significantly when interest rates change or due to increased competition.
Information Technology Sector Risk. The Fund's investments are
exposed to issuers conducting business in the Information Technology Sector. The Information Technology Sector includes companies that offer software and information technology services, manufacturers and distributors of technology hardware and equipment such as communications equipment, cellular phones, computers and peripherals, electronic equipment and related instruments and semiconductors. 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 Information Technology Sector. The prices of the securities of companies operating in the Information Technology Sector are closely tied to market competition, increased sensitivity to short product cycles and aggressive pricing, and problems with bringing products to market.
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.
Shareholder Trading Risk—The Fund may be used as a tool for certain investors
that employ trading strategies involving frequent trading. Such trading strategies may lead to increased portfolio turnover in the Fund, higher transaction costs, and the possibility of increased short-term capital gains (which will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them) and/or long-term capital gains. Large movements of assets into and out of the Fund due to active or frequent trading also may adversely affect the Fund's ability to achieve its investment objective.
Short Sale and Short Exposure Risk—Short selling a security involves selling a
borrowed security with the expectation that the value of that security will decline, so that the security may be purchased at a lower price when returning the borrowed security. A short exposure through a derivative exposes the Fund to counterparty credit and leverage risks. The loss on a short sale or other short exposure, which, in some cases, may be theoretically unlimited, may be greater than a direct investment in the security itself because the price of the borrowed security may rise, thereby increasing the price at which the security must be purchased. Government actions also may affect the Fund’s ability to engage in short selling.
Tracking Error Risk—The Advisor may not be able to cause the Fund’s
performance to correlate to that of the Fund’s benchmark, either on a daily or aggregate basis. Factors such as Fund expenses, imperfect correlation between the Fund’s investments and those of the underlying index, rounding of share prices, changes to the composition of the underlying index, regulatory policies, high portfolio turnover rate, and the use of leverage all contribute to tracking error. Tracking error may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than you expect.
Trading Halt Risk—The Fund typically will hold futures contracts and short-term options. The major exchanges on
which these contracts are traded, such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, have established limits on how much the trading price of a futures contract or option may decline over various time periods within a day, and may halt trading in a contract that exceeds such limits. If a trading halt occurs, the Fund may temporarily be unable to