capitalization companies
included in the Index. As of February 28, 2025, the market capitalization range of the companies in the Index was between approximately $294.624 million and $1.108 trillion. The
size of the companies in the Index changes with market conditions and the composition of the
Index.
The subadviser’s selection process is designed to
select stocks for the Portfolio that have favorable exposure to certain factors,
including but not limited to – quality, value, momentum and alternative. Factors are common characteristics that relate to a group of issuers or securities that are important in
explaining the returns and risks of those issuers’ securities. The “quality” factor incorporates measurements such as return on equity, earnings variability, cash return on
assets and leverage. The “value” factor incorporates measurements such as price to earnings, price to forward earnings, price to book value and dividend yield. The
“momentum” factor incorporates measurements such as 6‑month risk
adjusted price momentum and 12‑month risk adjusted price momentum. The
“alternative” factor incorporates measurements such as short interest and option implied volatility from the equity options market.
The subadviser uses a proprietary model to assign a quantitative factor score for each issuer
in the Portfolio’s investible universe based on that issuer’s factor
exposures. Each stock is then further analyzed based on the assigned factor
scores, but taking into account certain sector weight limits and security weight limit constraints determined by, among others, the portfolio management team.
Under normal market conditions, the Portfolio holds 175 to 250 of the common stocks in the Index. The subadviser selects such stocks on a monthly basis;
however, it may change the position size of a stock, determine to buy a new stock
or sell an existing one between its monthly selection if the stock scores change materially or if there are adverse developments concerning a particular stock, an industry, the economy or the stock market
generally.
During the selection process, the subadviser
applies a proprietary ESG (environmental, social and governance) rating
methodology to all stocks. The subadviser determines the most relevant underlying Environmental, Social and Governance sub-factors to a company’s returns and risk. These E, S and G
sub-factors are assigned a score which, when combined, allow to establish an
overall ESG score for each stock. The subadviser seeks to invest in stocks which score high on its multi-factor selection process and also have an ESG score equal to or higher than the
median ESG score of the
Index. The subadviser may, however, invest up to 10% of the Portfolio’s net assets in
stocks which have an ESG score below this threshold, for risk control purposes if
necessary, as assessed by the portfolio management team. The Portfolio aims to
have high scores to the multifactor selection process and the ESG process that is
substantially higher than the Index at each quarterly rebalance.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Portfolio
As with any mutual fund, there can be no assurance that the
Portfolio’s investment goal will be met or that the net return on an investment in the Portfolio will exceed what could have been obtained through other investment or savings vehicles. Shares of the Portfolio 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 Portfolio goes down, you could lose money.
The following is a summary of the principal risks of investing in the Portfolio.
Equity Securities Risk. The Portfolio invests principally 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.
ESG Investment Risk. The Portfolio’s adherence to its ESG criteria and application of related analyses when selecting investments may impact the
Portfolio’s performance, including relative to similar funds that do not
adhere to such criteria or apply such analyses. Additionally, the
Portfolio’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 emerging markets countries. The Portfolio may invest in
companies that do not reflect the beliefs and values of any particular investor. Socially responsible norms differ by country and region, and a company’s ESG practices or the
subadviser’s assessment of such may change over time. ESG characteristics may
not be the only factors considered in selecting investments and as a result, the
Portfolio’s investments may not have favorable ESG characteristics or high ESG ratings.
Factor-Based Investing Risk. With respect to a strategy that uses a factor-based process, there can be no assurance that the multi-factor selection process employed by the subadviser will enhance
performance.