regarding the definition and/or use of sustainability criteria could have a material adverse effect on the fund's ability to invest in accordance with its sustainability strategy.
Focused Investing - To the extent the fund invests in a limited number of countries, regions, sectors, industries or market segments, in a limited number of issuers, or in issuers in related businesses or that are subject to related operating risks, the fund will be more susceptible to negative events affecting those countries, regions, sectors, industries, segments or issuers, and the value of its shares may be more volatile than if it invested more widely.
Value Investing - The prices of securities the sub-adviser believes are undervalued may not appreciate as anticipated or may go down. The value approach to investing involves the risk that stocks may remain undervalued, undervaluation may become more severe, or perceived undervaluation may actually represent intrinsic value. Value stocks as a group may be out of favor and underperform the overall equity market for a long period of time, for example, while the market favors "growth" stocks.
Equity Securities - Equity securities generally have greater risk of loss than debt securities. Stock markets are volatile and the value of equity securities may go up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. The market price of an equity security may fluctuate based on overall market conditions, such as real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions or trends, tariffs and trade disruptions, inflation, substantial economic downturn or recession, changes in interest rates, or adverse investor sentiment. The market price of an equity security also may fluctuate based on real or perceived factors affecting a particular industry or industries or the company itself. If the market prices of the equity securities owned by the fund fall, the value of your investment in the fund will decline. The fund may lose its entire investment in the equity securities of an issuer. A change in financial condition or other event affecting a single issuer may adversely impact securities markets as a whole.
Management - The value of your investment may go down if the investment manager's or sub-adviser's judgments and decisions are incorrect or otherwise do not produce the desired results, or if the investment strategy does not work as intended. You may also suffer losses if there are imperfections, errors or limitations in the quantitative, analytic or other tools, resources, information and data used, investment techniques applied, or the analyses employed or relied on, by the investment manageror sub-adviser, if such tools, resources, information or data are used incorrectly or otherwise do not work as intended, or if the investment manager's or sub-adviser's investment style is out of favor or otherwise fails to produce the desired results. Any of these things could cause the fund to lose value or its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.
Active Trading - The fund may engage in active trading of its portfolio. Active trading will increase transaction costs and could detract from performance. Active trading may be more pronounced during periods of market volatility and may generate greater amounts of short-term capital gains.
Counterparty - The fund could lose money if the counterparties to derivatives, repurchase agreements and/or other financial contracts entered into for the fund do not fulfill their contractual obligations. In addition, the fund may incur costs and may be
hindered or delayed in enforcing its rights against a counterparty. These risks may be greater to the extent the fund has more contractual exposure to a counterparty.
Currency - The value of a fund's investments in securities denominated in foreign currencies increases or decreases as the rates of exchange between those currencies and the U.S. dollar change. U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers may also be affected by currency risk. Currency exchange rates can be volatile and may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time. Currency conversion costs and currency fluctuations could reduce or eliminate investment gains or add to investment losses. A fund may be unable or may choose not to hedge its foreign currency exposure or any hedge may not be effective.
Cybersecurity - Cybersecurity incidents, both intentional and unintentional, may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to fund assets, fund or shareholder data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, cause the fund or its service providers (including, but not limited to, the fund's investment manager, any sub-adviser(s), transfer agent, distributor, custodian, fund accounting agent and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or loss of operational functionality, or prevent fund investors from purchasing, redeeming or exchanging shares, receiving distributions or receiving timely information regarding the fund or their investment in the fund. Cybersecurity incidents may result in financial losses to the fund and its shareholders, and substantial costs may be incurred in order to prevent or mitigate any future cybersecurity incidents.
Depositary Receipts - Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as are the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted, and they may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. In addition, depositary receipts expose the fund to risk associated with the non-uniform terms that apply to depositary receipt programs, credit exposure to the depositary bank and to the sponsors and other parties with whom the depositary bank establishes the programs. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited voting rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the value of depositary receipts because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert equity shares into depositary receipts and vice versa.
Derivatives - The use of derivatives involves a variety of risks, which may be different from, or greater than, the risks associated with investing in traditional securities, such as stocks and bonds. Risks of derivatives include leverage risk, liquidity risk, interest rate risk, valuation risk, market risk, counterparty risk and credit risk. Use of derivatives can increase fund losses, increase costs, reduce opportunities for gains, increase fund volatility, and not produce the result intended. Certain derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment. Even a small investment in derivatives can have a disproportionate impact on the fund. Derivatives may be difficult or impossible to sell, unwind or value, and the counterparty (including, if applicable, the fund's clearing broker, the derivatives exchange or the clearinghouse) may default on its obligations to the fund. In certain cases, the fund may incur costs and may be hindered or delayed in enforcing its rights against or closing out derivatives instruments with a counterparty, which may result in additional losses. Derivatives are also generally subject to the risks applicable to the assets,