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Market risk – Portfolio securities may decline in value due to factors affecting securities markets generally, such as real or perceived adverse economic, political, or regulatory conditions, inflation, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investor sentiment, public health issues, including widespread disease and virus epidemics or pandemics, war, terrorism or natural disasters, among others. Adverse market conditions may be prolonged and may not have the same impact on all types of securities.  The values of securities may fall due to factors affecting a particular issuer, industry or the securities market as a whole.

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Equity securities risk – Common and preferred stocks represent equity ownership in a company.  Stock markets are volatile, and equity securities generally have greater price volatility than fixed-income securities.  The price of equity or equity-related securities will fluctuate and can decline and reduce the value of a portfolio investing in equity or equity-related securities.  The value of equity or equity-related securities purchased or held by the Fund could decline if the financial condition of the companies the Fund invests in decline or if overall market and economic conditions deteriorate.  They may also decline due to factors that affect a particular industry or industries, such as labor shortages or an increase in production costs and competitive conditions within an industry.  In addition, they may decline due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a company or industry, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or generally adverse investor sentiment.

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Large-capitalization investing risk – Large-capitalization stocks as a group could fall out of favor with the market, which may cause the Fund to underperform funds that focus on other types of stocks.

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Mid-capitalization and small-capitalization investing risk – The securities of mid-capitalization and small-capitalization companies involve greater risks than those associated with larger, more established companies and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements. Securities of such issuers may lack sufficient market liquidity to enable a Fund to effect sales at an advantageous time or without a substantial drop in price. Both mid-capitalization and small-capitalization companies often have narrower markets and more limited managerial and financial resources than larger, more established companies. As a result, their performance can be more volatile and they face greater risk of business failure, which could increase the volatility of a Fund’s portfolio. Generally, the smaller the company size, the greater these risks become.

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License termination risk – The Fund may rely on licenses from a third party (licensor) that permit the Fund to use that party’s intellectual property in connection with the Fund’s name and/or investment strategies.  The license may be terminated by the licensor, and as a result the Fund may lose its ability to use the licensed name or strategy, or receive important data from the licensor.  Accordingly, a license may have a significant effect on the future operation of the Fund, including the need to change the investment strategy.

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Derivatives risk – Investments in derivatives, which are financial instruments whose value depends on, or is derived from, the value of underlying assets, reference rates, or indices, can be highly volatile and may be subject to transaction costs and certain risks, such as unanticipated changes in securities prices and global currency investment.  Derivatives also are subject to leverage risk, liquidity risk, interest rate risk, market risk, counterparty risk, and credit risk.  They also involve the risk of mispricing or improper valuation and the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, interest rate or index. Gains or losses from derivatives can be substantially greater than the derivatives’ original cost.

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Exchange-traded funds investing risk – An investment in an ETF generally presents the following risks:  (i) the same primary risks as an investment in a conventional fund (i.e., one that is not exchange-traded) that has the same investment objectives, strategies and policies; (ii) the risk that an ETF may fail to accurately track the market segment or index that underlies its investment objective; (iii) price fluctuation, resulting in a loss to the Fund; (iv) the risk that an ETF may trade at a discount to its net asset value; (v) the risk that an active market for an ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained; and (vi) the risk that an ETF may no longer meet the listing requirements of any applicable exchanges on which that ETF is listed. When the Fund invests in an ETF, shareholders of the Fund bear their proportionate share of the ETF’s fees and expenses as well as their share of the Fund’s fees and expenses.

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Passive investment risk – The Fund is not actively managed. Unlike with an actively managed fund, the Fund does not use techniques or defensive strategies designed to lessen the effects of market volatility or to reduce the impact of periods of market decline. This means that, based on market and economic conditions, the Fund’s performance could be lower than actively managed funds that realign their portfolios more frequently based on the real-time market trends.

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Index investing risk – The Fund’s indexing strategy does not attempt to manage volatility, use defensive strategies, or reduce the effects of any long-term periods of poor stock performance.  Should the Fund engage in index sampling, the performance of the securities selected will not provide investment performance tracking that of the Index. Fund performance may not exactly correspond with the performance of the relevant index for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to: the timing of purchases and redemptions of the Fund’s shares, changes in the composition of the index, and the Fund’s expenses.  Certain regulatory limitations, such as fund diversification requirements, may limit the ability of the Fund to completely replicate an index.

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Tracking error risk – Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the Index. The Fund’s return may not track the return of the Index for a number of reasons. Tracking error may occur because of differences between the securities and other instruments held in the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the Index, pricing differences, differences in transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of or the valuation of dividends or interest, tax gains or losses, changes to the Index or the costs to the Fund of complying with various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, while the Index does not. However, the Fund may be required to deviate its investments from the securities and relative weightings of the Index to comply with the 1940 Act, as amended to meet the issuer diversification requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, applicable to regulated investment companies, or as a result of local market restrictions, or other legal reasons, including regulatory limits or other restrictions on securities that may be purchased by the Investment Adviser and its affiliates.

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Securities lending risk – Securities lending involves the risk of loss or delays in recovery of the loaned securities or loss of rights in the collateral if the borrower fails to return the security loaned or becomes insolvent.