measures similar to those of the Underlying Index. The fund may or may not hold all of the securities in the Underlying Index when using a representative sampling indexing strategy. The fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets (but typically far more) in component securities (including depositary receipts in respect of such securities) of the Underlying Index.
As of July 31, 2024, the Underlying Index consisted of 205 securities, with an average market capitalization of approximately $24.42 billion and a minimum market capitalization of approximately $4.31 billion. Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Index is rebalanced monthly. The fund changes its portfolio in accordance with the Underlying Index, and, therefore, any changes to the Underlying Index's rebalance schedule will result in corresponding changes to the fund's schedule of portfolio changes.
The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in the equity securities of Japanese issuers and in instruments designed to hedge against the fund's exposure to the Japanese yen. As of July 31, 2024, the Underlying Index was solely comprised of securities of issuers from Japan.
The fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent that its Underlying Index is concentrated. As of July 31, 2024, a significant percentage of the Underlying Index was comprised of issuers in the industrials, consumer discretionary and financials sectors. The fund's exposure to particular sectors may change over time to correspond to changes in the Underlying Index.
The fund may become "non-diversified," as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the index that the fund is designed to track. Shareholder approval will not be sought when the fund crosses from diversified to non-diversified status under such circumstances.
The fund or securities referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by MSCI (the "Index Provider"), and MSCI bears no liability with respect to the fund or securities or any index on which the fund or securities are based.
Derivatives. The fund may invest in derivatives, which are financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset, security or index. In particular, portfolio management may use deliverable or non-deliverable forward ("NDF") currency to hedge the fund's currency exposure.
Portfolio management may also use futures contracts, options on futures contracts and other types of derivatives in seeking performance that corresponds to its Underlying Index and will not use such instruments for speculative purposes. The amount of forward contracts in the fund is
based on the aggregate exposure of the fund and Underlying Index to the Japanese yen based on currency weights as of the beginning of each month.
Securities lending. The fund may lend securities (up to one-third of total assets) to approved institutions, such as registered broker-dealers, pooled investment vehicles, banks and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund receives liquid collateral in an amount that is based on the type and value of the securities being lent, with riskier securities generally requiring higher levels of collateral.
Main Risks
As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the fund, and the fund's performance could trail that of other investments. The fund is subject to the main risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the fund's net asset value ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective, as well as numerous other risks that are described in greater detail in the section of this Prospectus entitled "Additional Information About Fund Strategies, Underlying Index Information and Risks" and in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI"). An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
Stock market risk. When stock prices fall, you should expect the value of your investment to fall as well. Stock prices can be hurt by poor management on the part of the stock's issuer, shrinking product demand and other business risks. These may affect single companies as well as groups of companies. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the fund makes, which could adversely affect a stock's price, regardless of how well the company performs, or the fund's ability to sell a stock at an attractive price. There is a chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. Events in the US and global financial markets, including actions taken by the US Federal Reserve or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, may at times result in unusually high market volatility which could negatively affect performance. High market volatility may also result from significant shifts in momentum of one or more specific stocks due to unusual increases or decreases in trading activity. Momentum can change quickly, and securities subject to shifts in momentum may be more volatile than the market as a whole and returns on such securities may drop precipitously. To the extent that the fund invests in a particular geographic region, capitalization or sector, the fund's performance may be affected by the general performance of that region, capitalization or sector.
Market disruption risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world have become increasingly interconnected, which has increased the likelihood that events or