Active Management Risk

The adviser may actively allocate the Fund’s assets among subadvisers and, in addition, certain subadvisers provide active management. As a result, the Fund’s performance will reflect in part the adviser’s or subadvisers’ ability to make investment decisions that are suited to achieving the Fund’s investment objective. To the extent it is actively managed, the Fund could under-perform other mutual funds with similar investment objectives.

Derivatives Risk

In general, a derivative instrument, including options, typically involves leverage, i.e., it provides exposure to potential gain or loss from a change in the level of the market price of the underlying security, currency or commodity (or a basket or index) in a notional amount that exceeds the amount of cash or assets required to establish or maintain the derivative instrument. Adverse changes in the value or level of the underlying asset or index, which the Fund may not directly own, can result in a loss to the Fund substantially greater than the amount invested in the derivative itself. The use of derivative instruments also exposes the Fund to additional risks and transaction costs. A risk of the Fund’s use of derivatives is that the fluctuations in their values may not correlate perfectly with the overall securities markets. The use of derivatives may also involve counterparty risk, which is the risk that other parties to an agreement or other participants in a transaction (e.g., a broker or swap counterparty), may default on a contract or fail to perform by failing to pay amounts due or failing to fulfill delivery conditions of the contract or transaction.

Equity Securities Risk

Since it purchases equity securities, the Fund is subject to the risk that stock prices will fall over short or extended periods of time. Historically, the equity markets have moved in cycles, and the value of the Fund’s securities may fluctuate drastically from day to day. Individual companies may report poor results or be negatively affected by industry and/or economic trends and developments. The prices of securities issued by such companies may suffer a decline in response.

Micro‑Sized Company Risk

The Fund is also subject to the general risk that the stocks of micro‑sized companies can involve greater risks than those associated with larger, more established companies. Micro‑sized company stocks may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements due to a number of reasons, including that the stocks are traded in lower volume and that the issuers are more sensitive to changing conditions and have less certain growth prospects. Also, there are fewer market makers for these stocks and wider spreads between quoted bid and ask prices in the over‑the‑counter market for these stocks. Micro‑sized stocks tend to be less liquid, particularly during periods of market disruption. There normally is less publicly available information concerning these securities. Micro‑sized companies in which the Fund may invest typically have limited product lines, markets or financial resources or may be dependent on a small management group.

Foreign Securities and Currency Risks:

The Fund is also subject to the risk that international equity securities may under-perform other segments of the equity markets or the equity markets as a whole. Securities of companies traded in some countries outside of the U.S., particularly in emerging markets, may be subject to further risks due to the inexperience of local investment professionals and financial institutions. Additionally, foreign stock exchanges may be subject to less regulation, and there may be delays in the settlement of foreign stock exchange transactions.

The risks of international investing are particularly significant in emerging markets. Investing in emerging markets generally involves exposure to economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and to political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries. Risk of loss may also be greater due to more or less foreign government regulation, less public information, and less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards. 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. In addition, issuers in emerging markets typically are subject to a greater degree of change in earnings and business prospects than are companies in developed markets.

Because the foreign securities in which the Fund invests, except for American Depositary Receipts, generally trade in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, changes in currency exchange rates will affect the Fund’s net asset value, the value of dividends and interest earned, and gains and losses realized on the sale of securities. A strong U.S. dollar relative to those other currencies will adversely affect the value of the Fund.

Non‑U.S. companies may not be subject to uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards or to other regulatory requirements applicable to U.S. companies. As a result, less information may be available to investors concerning non‑U.S. investments.

Some countries restrict foreign investments in their securities markets. In some circumstances, these restrictions may limit or preclude investment in certain countries or may increase the cost of investing in securities of particular companies.

International investing subjects investors to the risk of political, social, or economic instability in the country of the issuer of a security, the difficulty of predicting international trade patterns, the possibility of the imposition of exchange controls, limits on removal of currency or other assets, and nationalization of assets.

In order to hedge against adverse movements in currency exchange rates, the Fund may enter into forward foreign currency exchange contracts. If the adviser’s or subadviser’s forecast of exchange rate movements is incorrect, the Fund may realize losses on its foreign currency transactions. Additionally, the Fund’s hedging transactions may prevent the Fund from realizing the benefits of a favorable change in the value of foreign currencies.

Exchange-Traded Fund (“ETF”) and Underlying Investment Company Risk

The risks of owning an ETF or other investment company generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities they are designed to track, although lack of liquidity in an ETF or investment company could result in its value being more volatile than the underlying portfolio of securities. Disruptions in the markets for the securities underlying ETFs and underlying investment companies purchased or sold by the Fund could result in losses on the Fund’s investment. ETFs and other investment companies also have management fees that increase their costs versus the costs of owning the underlying securities directly.

Tax‑Managed Investment Risk

Market conditions may limit the Fund’s ability to generate tax losses or to generate dividend income taxed at favorable rates. Use of a tax‑managed strategy for a portion of the Fund’s assets may affect the investment decisions made for the Fund. For example, the Fund’s tax‑managed strategy may cause the Fund to hold a security in order to achieve more favorable tax treatment or to sell a security in order to create tax losses. The Fund’s ability to utilize various tax‑management techniques may be curtailed or eliminated in the future by tax legislation or regulation. Although a smaller portion of the Fund’s total return may consist of taxable distributions to shareholders as compared to non‑tax managed funds, there can be no assurance about the size of taxable distributions to shareholders. The performance of the Fund may deviate from that of non‑tax managed funds and may not provide as high a return before consideration of U.S. federal income tax consequences as non‑tax managed funds. Although a tax‑managed strategy is used with respect to a portion of the Fund’s assets, the Fund can realize capital gains.

Market Risk

The price of equity securities may fluctuate, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. Market risk may impact individual securities based on general market or economic conditions and/or real or perceived factors affecting specific industries or individual company fundamentals. These factors may include corporate earnings outlooks, changes in interest rates, investor sentiment, or industry competitive conditions. Additionally, events such as war, military conflict, geopolitical disputes, acts of terrorism, social or political unrest, natural disasters, recessions, inflation, rapid interest rate changes, supply chain disruptions, tariffs and other restrictions on trade, sanctions, the spread of infectious illness or other public health threats, or the threat or potential of one or more such events and developments, could also have a significant impact. Equity markets tend to be cyclical, with periods when prices generally rise and periods when prices generally decline, and are also generally more volatile than fixed income markets.