Principal Investment
Strategies
The Fund invests primarily in equity securities of
large-capitalization U.S. companies. Large-capitalization U.S. companies in which the Fund invests generally are those with market capitalizations similar to those of companies
included in the S&P 500® Index. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of U.S. companies. For these purposes, equity securities represent an ownership interest in an issuer, and a U.S. company is one whose stock trades on the
New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ.
The Fund may also invest in stocks of foreign companies. The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its net assets in stocks of
companies that are not companies with larger capitalizations. The Fund may use derivatives, primarily futures contracts, to gain exposure to its index or certain securities in its index or to more effectively gain targeted equity exposure from its cash positions. To the extent the Fund invests in index futures with exposure to securities in the index, it may have the effect of increasing the Fund’s exposure to a relatively small number of securities, making the Fund’s shares more sensitive to the economic results of those securities.
The Fund generally weights industry sectors similarly to how such sectors are weighted in the S&P 500® Index. Within each sector, the Fund focuses on those stocks that the subadviser considers most undervalued and seeks to outperform the S&P 500® Index through stock selection. By emphasizing these undervalued stocks, the subadviser seeks to produce returns that exceed
those of the S&P 500® Index.
In managing the Fund, the subadviser employs a three-step process that combines research,
valuation and stock selection. The subadviser takes an in-depth look at company prospects, which is designed to provide insight into a company’s real growth potential. The research findings allow the subadviser to rank the companies in each sector group according to its assessment of their relative value. The subadviser assesses the impacts that various factors, such as governance, accounting and tax policies, disclosure and investor communication, shareholder rights and remuneration policies may have on the cash flows of companies
in which it may invest relative to other issuers. The subadviser generally buys equity securities that it determines to be undervalued, and considers selling them when they appear to be overvalued.
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.
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.
Sector risk – investments in particular
industries or sectors may be more volatile than the overall stock market. Therefore, if the Fund emphasizes one or more industries or economic sectors, it will be more susceptible
to financial, market or economic events affecting the particular issuers and industries participating in such sectors than funds that do not emphasize particular industries or sectors.
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.
Foreign securities risk – foreign securities often are more volatile, harder to price and less liquid than U.S. securities. The prices of
foreign securities may be further affected by other factors, such as changes in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the currencies in which the securities are traded.
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.