Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
The Fund seeks to meet its objective by investing, normally, at least 80% of its net assets in securities of large-cap companies. In complying with this 80% investment requirement, the Fund will invest primarily in common stocks.
Generally, large-cap companies will include companies whose market capitalizations, at the time of purchase, are equal to or greater than the market capitalization of the smallest company in the Russell 1000® Index during the most recent 12-month period. As of July 31, 2024, the median stock by market capitalization in the Index was approximately $15 billion and the largest stock by market capitalization was $3.5 trillion. The size of the companies in the Index changes with market conditions and the composition of the Index.
The Fund's Subadviser focuses on investing the Fund's assets in the stocks of companies it believes to have above average earnings growth potential compared to other companies. Growth companies tend to have stock prices that are high relative to their earnings, dividends, book value, or other financial measures.
The Fund's Subadviser uses an active bottom-up investment approach to buying and selling investments for the Fund. Investments are selected primarily based on fundamental analysis of individual issuers and their potential in light of their financial condition, and market, economic, political, and regulatory conditions. Factors considered may include analysis of an issuer's earnings, cash flows, competitive position, and management ability. The Subadviser may also consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in its fundamental investment analysis where the Subadviser believes such factors could materially impact the economic value of an issuer. ESG factors considered may include, but are not limited to, climate change, resource depletion, an issuer's governance structure and practices, data protection and privacy issues, and diversity and labor practices. Quantitative screening tools that systematically evaluate an issuer's valuation, price and earnings momentum, earnings quality, and other factors may also be considered.
The Fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets in foreign securities.
In order to generate additional income, the Fund may lend portfolio securities to broker-dealers and other financial institutions provided that the value of the loaned securities does not exceed 30% of the Fund's total assets. These loans earn income for the Fund and are collateralized by cash and securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S.
Government or its agencies or instrumentalities. Investors will be given at least 60 days' written notice in advance of any change to the Fund's 80% investment policy set forth above.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
As with any mutual fund, there can be no assurance that the Fund's investment objective will be met or that the net return on an investment in the Fund will exceed what could have been obtained through other investment or savings vehicles. Shares of the Fund are not bank deposits and are not guaranteed or insured by any bank, government entity or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. If the value of the assets of the Fund goes down, you could lose money.
The following is a summary of the principal risks of investing in the Fund.
Management Risk. The investment style or strategy used by the subadviser may fail to produce the intended result. The subadviser's assessment of a particular security or company may prove incorrect, resulting in losses or underperformance.
Dividend-paying Stocks Risk. There is no guarantee that the issuers of the stocks held by the Fund will declare dividends in the future or that, if dividends are declared, they will remain at their current levels or increase over time. Dividend-paying stocks may not participate in a broad market advance to the same degree as other stocks, and a sharp rise in interest rates or economic downturn could cause a company to unexpectedly reduce or eliminate its dividend.
Equity Securities Risk. The Fund invests primarily in equity securities and is therefore subject to the risk that stock prices will fall and may underperform other asset classes. Individual stock prices fluctuate from day-to-day and may decline significantly. The prices of individual stocks may be negatively affected by poor company results or other factors affecting individual prices, as well as industry and/or economic trends and developments affecting industries or the securities market as a whole.
ESG Investment Risk. The Fund's adherence to its ESG criteria and application of related analyses when selecting investments may impact the Fund's performance, including relative to similar funds that do not adhere to such criteria or apply such analyses. Additionally, the Fund's adherence to its ESG criteria and application of related analyses in connection with identifying and selecting investments may require subjective analysis and may be more difficult if data about a particular company or market is limited, such as with respect to issuers in