Metals & Mining Industry. As a result of the Fund's concentration in the Metals & Mining Industry, the Fund is subject to the risks associated with that Industry. The Metals & Mining Industry includes producers of aluminum, gold, iron and steel, and related products, as well as 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 and the Fund may incur losses as a result of factors affecting individual companies or issuers or particular industries. In addition, developments related to economic, political, social, public health, market or other conditions 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. Under such conditions, the 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. Governmental authorities and regulators have enacted and continue to enact significant fiscal and monetary policy changes designed to support financial markets, which present heightened risks to markets and Fund investments and are resulting in low interest rates and in some cases, negative yields, and such risks could be even further heightened if these actions are discontinued, disrupted, reversed or are ineffective in achieving their desired outcomes. It is unknown how long current circumstances will persist, whether they will reoccur in the future and whether efforts to support the economy and financial markets will be successful.
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 investments in 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-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.