Principal Investment
Strategies
The Fund invests in equity securities of companies located throughout
the world, including the United States. Under normal market conditions, the Fund’s subadviser invests the Fund’s assets primarily in common stocks. The Fund may invest
in issuers of any market capitalization, including smaller companies. The Fund typically invests in at least five countries including the United States. The Fund also may invest in emerging market countries. Emerging market countries typically are developing and
low- or middle-income countries, and may be found in regions such as Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Many of the securities in which the Fund invests are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. The Fund’s subadviser normally allocates the Fund’s investments across different countries and regions. The Fund may have significant investments in one or more countries or in particular sectors.
In buying and selling securities for the Fund, the subadviser relies on fundamental analysis, which involves a bottom-up
assessment of a company’s potential for success in light of factors including its financial condition, earnings outlook, strategy, management, industry position, and economic and market conditions. The Fund may engage in frequent and active trading of
portfolio securities.
The Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective.
As with any fund, the value of the Fund’s investments—and therefore, the value of Fund shares—may fluctuate. These changes may occur because of:
Equity securities risk– stock markets are volatile. The price of an equity security
fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions.
Foreign securities risk – foreign securities often are more volatile, harder to price and less liquid than U.S. securities.
Foreign currencies – foreign securities may be denominated or quoted in currencies other than the
U.S. dollar. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates affect the value of the Fund’s portfolio. Generally, when the U.S. dollar rises in value against a foreign currency, a security denominated in that currency loses value because the currency is worth fewer U.S. dollars.
Conversely, when the U.S. dollar decreases in value against a foreign currency, a security denominated in that currency gains value because the currency is worth more U.S. dollars.
Market risk – the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go
down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. This occurs due to numerous factors, including interest rates, the outlook for
corporate profits, the health of the national and world economies, and the fluctuation of other securities markets around the world. These risks may be magnified if certain social, political, economic and other conditions and events (such as natural
disasters, epidemics and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts, trade disputes and social unrest or rapid technological developments such as artificial intelligence) adversely interrupt the global economy.
Smaller company risk – smaller companies are usually less stable in price and less
liquid than larger, more established companies. Smaller companies are more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business and economic developments and may have more limited resources. Therefore, they generally involve greater risk.
Selection risk – the risk that the securities selected by the Fund’s
subadviser will underperform the markets, the relevant indexes or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies.
Emerging markets risk – emerging markets are riskier than more developed markets because they tend to develop unevenly and may never fully
develop. Investments in emerging markets are considered speculative. Emerging markets are more likely to experience hyperinflation and currency devaluations, which adversely affect
returns to U.S. investors. In addition, many emerging securities markets have far lower trading volumes and less liquidity than developed markets. Since these markets are smaller than developed markets, they may be more likely to suffer sharp and frequent price changes or long-term price
depression because of adverse publicity, investor perceptions or the actions of a few large investors. Practices in relation to settlement of securities transactions in emerging markets involve higher risks than those in developed markets, in part because the Fund will need to use brokers and counterparties that are less well capitalized, and custody and registration of assets in some countries are unreliable compared to developed markets. Companies in emerging market countries generally are subject to less
stringent financial reporting, accounting and auditing standards than companies in more developed countries. In addition, information about such companies may be less available and reliable. Many emerging markets also have histories of political