Investment Objective
The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in equity securities of companies located in emerging market countries, in accordance with the Fund’s sustainability and corporate responsibility criteria.
Investment Strategy
The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of companies located in emerging market countries. The Subadvisor considers emerging market countries to be those included in the Fund's benchmark index, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index; countries determined by the World Bank to have a low to middle income economy; and other countries or markets with similar emerging market characteristics as determined by the Subadvisor. A company is considered to be located in an emerging market if it has a class of securities whose principal securities market is in an emerging country; is organized under the laws of, or has a principal office in, an emerging country; derives 50% or more of its total revenues or earnings from goods produced, sales made, or services provided in one or more emerging countries; or maintains 50% or more of its assets in one or more emerging countries. The Subadvisor seeks to identify companies located in emerging market countries that are trading at a discount to what the Subadvisor believes to be their intrinsic value but have the potential to increase their book value. To this end, the Subadvisor combines a top-down approach to country analysis with a bottom-up approach to fundamental company research. The Fund seesk to invest in emerging market companies whose products/services or industrial/business practices contribute towards addressing one or more global sustainability challenges in their localand/or international markets, including development, poverty and health; environment and climate change; and rights and governance.
Investment Risk
Investment in mutual funds involves risk, including possible loss of principal invested. You could lose money on your investment in the Fund, or the Fund could underperform, because of the following risks: the market prices of stocks held by the Fund may fall; individual investments of the Fund may not perform as expected, and/or the Fund’s portfolio management practices may not achieve the desired result. Investing in foreign securities involves additional risks relating to political, social, and economic developments abroad; differences between the regulations that apply to U.S. and foreign issuers and markets; the potential for foreign markets to be less liquid and more volatile than U.S. markets; and currency risk associated with securities that trade or are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. In addition, the risks of investing in emerging market securities are greater than those of investing in securities of developed foreign countries. The Fund is non-diversified and may be more volatile than a diversified fund.
