its total assets in securities of foreign issuers which are listed on a U.S. stock exchange or are represented by American Depositary Receipts (ADRs). The Fund may have significant investments in the industrials, information technology and healthcare sectors. The Adviser seeks to keep the Fund’s assets reasonably fully invested, to maintain modest portfolio turnover rates and to moderate risk by investing in a diversified portfolio of equity securities.
The Adviser may sell the Fund’s portfolio securities for a variety of reasons, such as to secure gains, limit losses, or redeploy assets into more promising opportunities.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
All investments have risks. The Fund is designed for long-term investors. You should be prepared to accept fluctuations in portfolio value as the Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective. The Fund cannot provide assurance that it will achieve its objective. Losing all or a portion of your investment is a risk of investing in the Fund. The Fund’s principal risks are presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks and comparing them with the risks of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. The following additional risks could affect the value of your investment. You should understand these risks before investing. The main risks of investing in the Fund are:
Common Stock Risk
Common stocks held by the Fund will fluctuate in value based on the earnings of the company and on general industry and market conditions, leading to fluctuations in the Fund’s share price.
Fund Management Risk
Active management by the Adviser in selecting and maintaining a portfolio of securities that will achieve the Fund’s investment objective could cause the Fund to underperform compared to other funds having similar investment objectives.
Healthcare Sector Risk
To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the healthcare sector, the Fund will be sensitive to changes in, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the healthcare sector. Companies in the healthcare sector are subject to extensive government regulation and their profitability can be significantly affected by regulatory changes. Other risk factors include rising costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure and limited product
lines, loss or impairment of intellectual property rights and litigation regarding product or service liability.
Industrials Sector Risk
To the extent that the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the industrials sector, the Fund will be sensitive to changes in, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the industrials sector. The industrials sector may be significantly affected by general economic trends, including such factors as import controls, commodity prices, and worldwide competition.
Information Technology Sector Risk
To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the information technology sector, the Fund will be sensitive to changes in, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the information technology sector. Companies in the information technology sector and companies that rely heavily on technology are particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence, government regulation and competition.
Large-Cap Risk
Large-cap companies perform differently from, and at times and for extended periods of time worse than, stocks of mid- and small-cap companies. Larger, more established companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges.
Minnesota/Upper Midwest Geographic Risk
The Adviser focuses generally on securities of companies that are located in the Upper Midwest region of the U.S. The Fund typically emphasizes companies located in Minnesota, in particular. The Fund may be impacted by events or conditions affecting the region to a greater extent than if the Fund invested in more geographically diverse investments. For example, political and economic conditions and changes in regulatory, tax or economic policy in a state or region could affect the economy or particular business operations of companies located in the state or region.
Recent Market Events Risk; General Market Events Risk
U.S. and international markets have experienced and may continue to experience significant periods of volatility in recent years and months due to a number of economic, political and global macro factors including uncertainty regarding inflation and central banks’ interest rate increases, the possibility of a national or global recession, trade tensions,