"Adviser"), the investment adviser to the Fund, either may invest the Fund's assets in a subset of securities in the Index or may invest the Fund's assets in substantially all of the securities represented in the Index in approximately the same proportions as the Index, as determined by the Adviser to be in the best interest of the Fund in pursuing its objective.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund generally invests substantially all, but at least 80%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the Index. In addition, in seeking to track the Index, the Fund may invest in equity securities that are not included in the Index. The Fund may also invest in cash and cash equivalents or money market instruments (including money market funds advised by the Adviser) for cash management purposes. In seeking to track the Index, the Fund's assets may be concentrated in an industry or group of industries, but only to the extent that the Index concentrates in a particular industry or group of industries. Futures contracts (a type of derivative instrument) may be used by the Fund in seeking performance that corresponds to the Index and in managing cash flows.
The Index is designed to measure the performance of companies in the S&P Composite 1500® Index (the "Parent Index") that have followed a policy of increasing or maintaining dividends every year for at least seven consecutive years while maintaining sector weights that correspond to the Parent Index. The Parent Index is designed to measure the performance of the broad exchange-traded U.S. equity securities universe. To be eligible for inclusion in the Index, a company must also have (i) a float-adjusted market capitalization of at least $2 billion ($1.5 billion for current Index constituents) and (ii) a three-month median daily value traded of at least $5 million ($4 million for current Index constituents). After determining the eligible companies, the Index Provider (defined below) calculates the median annual dividend yield of the eligible companies within each Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) sector to obtain a sector median dividend yield. Eligible companies with dividend yields above their corresponding sector median dividend yield will be selected for inclusion in the Index. At each rebalance, companies within the Index are weighted by float-adjusted market capitalization within their corresponding sector. Each sector is then weighted to mirror the corresponding sector weight within the Parent Index.
The Index is reconstituted annually after the closing of the last business day of January and rebalanced quarterly after the closing of the last business day of January, April, July and October. If between annual reviews the Index Provider determines, based on publicly available information, that an Index constituent has omitted a scheduled dividend payment, announced it will cease paying dividends for an undetermined period, or announced a reduced dividend amount and will no longer qualify for the Index at the subsequent reconstitution, the Index constituent will be removed from the Index effective prior to the open of the first business day of the following month. As of August 31, 2024, a significant portion of the Index comprised companies in the technology sector, although this may change from time to time. As of July 31, 2024, the Index comprised 272 stocks.
The Index is sponsored by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (the "Index Provider"), which is not affiliated with the Fund or the Adviser. The Index Provider determines the composition of the Index, relative weightings of the securities in the Index and publishes information regarding the market value of the Index.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
As with all investments, there are certain risks of investing in the Fund. Fund Shares will change in value, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Market Risk: The Fund's investments are subject to changes in general economic conditions, general market fluctuations and the risks inherent in investment in securities markets. Investment markets can be volatile and prices of investments can change substantially due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic growth or recession, changes in interest rates, inflation, changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of issuers, and general market liquidity. The Fund is subject to the risk that geopolitical events will disrupt securities markets and adversely affect global economies and markets. Local, regional or global events such as war, military conflicts, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments.
Equity Investing Risk: The market prices of equity securities owned by the Fund may go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that may directly relate to the issuer and also may decline due to general industry or market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles, which may cause stock prices to fall over short or extended periods of time.
Dividend Paying Securities Risk: Securities that pay dividends, as a group, can fall out of favor with the market, causing such companies to underperform companies that do not pay dividends. In addition, changes in the dividend policies of the companies held by the Fund or the capital resources available for such company's dividend payments may adversely affect the Fund.