The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, in companies that are considered by the Investment Adviser to be positioned for long-term growth. The Fund's fundamental equity growth investment process involves evaluating potential investments based on specific characteristics believed to indicate a high-quality business with sustainable growth, including strong business franchises, favorable long-term prospects, and excellent management. The Investment Adviser will also consider valuation of companies when determining whether to buy and/or sell securities. The Investment Adviser may integrate environmental, social and governance ("ESG") factors alongside traditional fundamental factors as part of its fundamental research process. No one factor or consideration is determinative in the stock selection process. The Investment Adviser may decide to sell a position for various reasons, including when a company's fundamental outlook deteriorates, because of valuation and price considerations, for risk management purposes, or when a company is deemed to be misallocating capital. In addition, the Investment Adviser may sell a position in order to meet shareholder redemptions.
The Fund may invest up to 10% of its Total Assets in fixed income securities, such as government, corporate and bank debt obligations.
The Fund's benchmark index is the Russell 1000®Growth Index.
THE FUND IS "NON-DIVERSIFIED" UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940, AS AMENDED, AND MAY INVEST A LARGER PERCENTAGE OF ITS ASSETS IN FEWER ISSUERS THAN DIVERSIFIED MUTUAL FUNDS.
Principal Risks of the Fund
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Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund.An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") or any government agency. The Fund should not be relied upon as a complete investment program. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Investments in the Fund involve substantial risks which prospective investors should consider carefully before investing. The Fund's principal risks are presented below in alphabetical order, and not in the order of importance or potential exposure.
Foreign and Emerging Countries Risk. Foreign securities may be subject to risk of loss because of more or less foreign government regulation; less public information; less stringent investor protections; less stringent accounting, corporate governance, financial reporting and disclosure standards; and less economic, political and social stability in the countries in which the Fund invests. The imposition of sanctions, exchange controls (including repatriation restrictions), confiscations, trade restrictions (including tariffs) and other government restrictions by the United States and other governments, or from problems in share registration, settlement or custody, may also result in losses. The type and severity of sanctions and other similar measures, including counter sanctions and other retaliatory actions, that may be imposed could vary broadly in scope, and their impact is impossible to predict. For example, the imposition of sanctions and other similar measures could, among other things, cause a decline in the value and/or liquidity of securities issued by the sanctioned country or companies located in or economically tied to the sanctioned country and increase market volatility and disruption in the sanctioned country and throughout the world. Sanctions and other similar measures could limit or prevent the Fund from buying and selling securities (in the sanctioned country and other markets), significantly delay or prevent the settlement of securities transactions, and significantly impact the Fund's liquidity and performance. Foreign risk also involves the risk of negative foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, which may cause the value of
securities denominated in such foreign currency (or other instruments through which the Fund has exposure to foreign currencies) to decline in value. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time. These risks are more pronounced in connection with the Fund's investments in securities of issuers located in, or otherwise economically tied to, emerging countries.
Investment Style Risk. Different investment styles (e.g., "growth", "value" or "quantitative") tend to shift in and out of favor depending upon market and economic conditions and investor sentiment. The Fund may outperform or underperform other funds that invest in similar asset classes but employ different investment styles.
Large Shareholder Transactions Risk. The Fund may experience adverse effects when certain large shareholders purchase or redeem large amounts of shares of the Fund. Such large shareholder redemptions, which may occur rapidly or unexpectedly, may cause the Fund to sell portfolio securities at times when it would not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund's net asset value ("NAV") and liquidity. Similarly, large Fund share purchases may adversely affect the Fund's performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash or otherwise maintains a larger cash position than it ordinarily would. These transactions may also increase transaction costs. In addition, a large redemption could result in the Fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the Fund's expense ratio.
Market Risk.The value of the securities in which the Fund invests may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual companies, particular sectors or governments and/or general economic conditions throughout the world due to increasingly interconnected global economies and financial markets. Events such as war, military conflict, acts of terrorism, social unrest, natural disasters, recessions, inflation, rapid interest rate changes, supply chain disruptions, sanctions, the spread of infectious illness or other public health threats could also significantly impact the Fund and its investments.
Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is non-diversified, meaning that it is permitted to invest a larger percentage of its assets in one or more issuers or in fewer issuers than diversified mutual funds. Thus, the Fund may be more susceptible to adverse developments affecting any single issuer held in its portfolio, and may be more susceptible to greater losses because of these developments.
Sector Risk. To the extent the Fund focuses its investments in securities of issuers in one or more sectors (such as the information technology sector), the Fund will be subject, to a greater extent than if its investments were diversified across different sectors, to the risks of volatile economic cycles and/or conditions and developments that may be particular to that sector, such as: adverse economic, business, political, environmental or other developments.
Stock Risk. Stock prices have historically risen and fallen in periodic cycles. U.S.and foreign stock markets have experienced periods of substantial price volatility in the past and may do so again in the future.
Tax Diversification Risk. The Fund intends to meet the diversification requirements that are applicable to insurance company separate accounts under Subchapter L of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code") (the "Diversification Requirements"). In order for the Fund to qualify for "look through" treatment under the Diversification Requirements, Fund shares must be sold only to persons permitted to hold shares, directly or indirectly (each, a "Permitted Investor"), under Section 817 of the Code and Treasury Regulation 1.817-5(f), as supplemented by published rulings and procedures issued thereunder by the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"). To the extent an investor in Fund shares no longer qualifies as a Permitted Investor, and