from membership in the E.U. In addition, if one or more other countries were to exit the E.U. or abandon the use of the euro as a currency, the value of investments tied to those countries or the euro could decline significantly and unpredictably. Any such event could have a material adverse impact on the value and risk profile of the Funds’ portfolios.
Foreign Investment Risk. Returns on investments in foreign securities could be more volatile than, or trail the returns on, investments in U.S. securities. Exposures to foreign securities entail special risks, including due to: differences in information available about foreign issuers; differences in investor protection standards in other jurisdictions; capital controls risks, including the risk of a foreign jurisdiction imposing restrictions on the ability to repatriate or transfer currency or other assets; political, diplomatic and economic risks; regulatory risks; and foreign market and trading risks, including the costs of trading and risks of settlement in foreign jurisdictions. In addition, a Fund’s investments in securities denominated in other currencies could decline due to changes in local currency relative to the value of the U.S. dollar, which may affect such Fund’s returns.
Index-Related Risk. Each Fund is managed with an investment strategy that attempts to track the performance of the Target Index. As a result, the Funds expect to hold constituent securities of the Target Index regardless of their current or projected performance. Maintaining investments in securities regardless of market conditions or the performance of individual securities could cause a Fund’s return to be lower than if the Funds employed an active strategy.
There is no assurance that the Index Provider will compile each Target Index accurately, or that each Target Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While the Index Provider provides descriptions of what each Target Index is designed to achieve, the Index Provider does not guarantee the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in respect of its indices, and does not guarantee that each Target Index will be in line with its described index methodology. Any gains, losses or costs to a Fund that are caused by Index Provider errors will therefore be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To the extent a Target Index is new it will have a limited performance history. The foregoing risks may be greater for a new index.
Internet Companies Risk. Companies involved with the internet, technology and e-commerce are exposed to risks associated with rapid advances in technology, obsolescence of current products and services, the finite life of patents and the constant threat of global competition and substitutes. In addition to these risks, these companies may be adversely impacted by market and economic cyclicality and changing industry standards.
Market Events Risk. The market values of the Fund’s investments, and therefore the value of the Fund’s shares, will go up and down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry or section of the economy, or it may affect the market as a whole. Turbulence in the financial markets and reduced liquidity may negatively affect issuers, which could have an adverse effect on the Fund. In addition, there is a risk that policy changes by the U.S. Government, Federal Reserve and/or other government actors, such as increasing interest rates, could cause increased volatility in financial markets and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund, which could have a negative impact on the Fund.
Small and Mid-Capitalization Securities Risk. Investing in securities of small and medium capitalization issuers involves greater risk than customarily is associated with investing in larger, more established companies. These issuers’ securities may be more volatile and less liquid than those of more established issuers. These securities may have returns that vary, sometimes significantly, from the overall securities market. Small and medium capitalization issuers are sometimes more dependent on key personnel or limited product lines than larger, more diversified issuers. Often, small and medium capitalization issuers and the industries in which they focus are still evolving and, as a result, they may be more sensitive to changing market conditions.
Multifactor Risk. A Fund’s Target Index, and thus the corresponding Fund, seeks to achieve specific factor exposures identified in the Fund’s principal investment strategies. There can be no assurance that targeting exposure to such factors will enhance a Fund’s performance over time and targeting exposure to certain factors may detract from performance in some market environments. There is no guarantee the Index Provider’s methodology will be successful in creating an index that achieves the specific factor exposures identified above.
