number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance. However, the Fund intends to satisfy the diversification requirements for qualifying as a RIC under the Code. • Passive Investment Risk. The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index. The returns from the types of securities in which the Fund invests may underperform returns from the various general securities markets or different asset classes. This may cause the Fund to underperform other investment vehicles that invest in different asset classes. Different types of securities (for example, large-, mid- and small-capitalization stocks) tend to go through cycles of doing better – or worse – than the general securities markets. In the past, these periods have lasted for as long as several years. • Sector Risk. The Fund’s investing approach may result in an emphasis on certain sectors or sub-sectors of the market at any given time. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in one sector or sub-sector of the market, it thereby presents a more concentrated risk and its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors or sub-sectors. In addition, the value of Shares may change at different rates compared to the value of shares of a fund with investments in a more diversified mix of sectors and industries. An individual sector or sub-sector of the market may have above-average performance during particular periods, but it may also move up and down more than the broader market. The several industries that constitute a sector may all react in the same way to economic, political or regulatory events. The Fund’s performance could also be affected if the sectors or sub-sectors do not perform as expected. Alternatively, the lack of exposure to one or more sectors or sub-sectors may adversely affect performance. ◦ Consumer Discretionary Sector Risk. The success of consumer product manufacturers and retailers is tied closely to the performance of the overall domestic and international economy, interest rates, competition and consumer confidence. Success depends heavily on disposable household income and consumer spending and may be strongly affected by social trends and marketing campaigns. Moreover, the consumer discretionary sector can be significantly affected by several factors, including, without limitation, the performance of domestic and international economies, exchange rates, changing consumer preferences, demographics, marketing campaigns, cyclical revenue generation, consumer confidence, commodity price volatility, labor relations, interest rates, import and export controls, intense competition, technological developments and government regulation. Consumer recessionary fears could impact discretionary spending due to rising interest rates and a high inflationary environment. ◦ Information Technology Sector Risk. Market or economic factors impacting information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technological advances could have a significant effect on the value of the Fund’s investments. The value of stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology is particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence, government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology, especially those of smaller, less-seasoned companies, tend to be more volatile than the overall market. Information technology companies are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability. Additionally, companies in the technology sector may face dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. • Securities Lending Risk. Securities lending involves a risk of loss because the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. If the Fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, it may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement security in the market. Lending securities entails a risk of loss to the Fund if and to the extent that the market value of the loaned securities increases and the collateral is not increased accordingly. Additionally, the Fund will bear any loss on the investment of cash collateral it receives. These events could also trigger adverse tax consequences for the Fund. As securities on loan may not be voted by the Fund, there is a risk that the Fund may not be able to recall the securities in sufficient time to vote on material proxy matters. • Tax Risk. To qualify for the favorable tax treatment generally available to RICs, the Fund must satisfy, among other requirements described in the SAI, certain diversification requirements. In particular, at the close of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year: (A) at least 50% of the value of its total assets must be represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect to any one issuer, to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets and that does not represent more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, including the equity securities of a qualified publicly traded partnership, and (B) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested, including through corporations in which the Fund owns a 20% or more voting stock interest, in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs) of any one issuer or the securities (other than the securities of another RIC) of two or more issuers that the Fund controls and which are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships. While the weighting of the Index is not inconsistent with these rules, given the concentration of the Index in a relatively small number of securities, it may not always be possible for the Fund to fully implement a replication strategy or a representative sampling strategy while satisfying these diversification requirements. The
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