Information Technology Sector Risk. The information technology sector
includes companies in the software and services, technology hardware and equipment, and semiconductors and semiconductor equipment industry groups. Companies in the information technology sector are subject to rapid obsolescence of existing technology, short product cycles, falling prices and profits, competition from new market entrants, and general economic conditions. Stocks of companies in the information technology sector, especially those of smaller, less-seasoned companies, tend to be more volatile than the overall market. Technological developments, fixed rate pricing, and the ability to retain skilled employees can significantly affect the industries in the information technology sector.
Materials Sector Risk. The materials sector includes companies in the chemicals, construction materials, containers and packaging,
metals and mining, and paper and forest products industries. Changes in world events, political, environmental and economic conditions, energy conservation, environmental
policies, commodity price volatility, changes in currency exchange rates, imposition of import and export controls, increased competition, and labor relations may adversely
affect companies engaged in the production and distribution of materials. Other risks may include liabilities for environmental damage, depletion of resources, and mandated expenditures for safety and pollution control. Companies in the chemicals industry may be subject to risks associated with the production, handling and disposal of hazardous components. Metals and mining companies could be affected by supply and demand, operational costs, and liabilities for environmental damage.
Real Estate Sector Risk. The real estate sector includes companies involved
in real estate management and development and issuers of equity real estate investment trusts (REITs). Securities of companies in the real estate sector may be adversely
affected by, among other things, rental income fluctuation, depreciation, property tax value changes, differences in real estate market values, overbuilding and extended vacancies, increased competition, costs of materials, operating expenses or zoning laws, costs of environmental clean-up or damages from natural disasters, cash flow fluctuations, and defaults by borrowers and tenants.
Utilities Sector Risk. The utilities sector includes electric utilities, gas
utilities, water utilities, multi-utilities (electric, gas and water), and independent power and renewable electricity producers. Companies in the utilities sector are
affected by supply and demand, consumer incentives, operating costs, government regulation, environmental factors, liabilities for environmental damage and general civil liabilities, and rate caps or rate changes. The value of regulated utility company stocks may have an inverse relationship to the movement of interest rates. Also, certain utility companies have experienced full or partial deregulation in recent years, which may permit them to diversify outside of their original geographic regions and their traditional lines of business. Conversely, companies that remain heavily regulated may be at a competitive disadvantage, making them less profitable. In addition, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, government intervention or other factors may render a utility company’s equipment unusable and may have an adverse impact on profitability. Utility companies are subject to the high cost of borrowing to finance capital construction during inflationary periods, restrictions on operations and increased costs and delays associated with compliance with environmental and nuclear safety regulations, and the difficulties involved in obtaining natural gas for resale or fuel for generating electricity at reasonable prices. Other risks include those related to the construction and operation of nuclear power plants, the effects of energy conservation, and the effects of regulatory changes.
Operational and Cybersecurity Risk. Cybersecurity breaches may allow an
unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary information, or cause the Fund or its service providers to lose proprietary information,
suffer data corruption, or lose operational functionality. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Similar incidents affecting issuers of the Fund’s portfolio companies may negatively impact performance. Operational risk may arise from human error, errors by third parties, communication errors, or technology failures, among other causes. The Fund also relies on a range of services from third-parties, including custody. Any delay or failure in the services provided to the Fund may negatively affect the Fund and its ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund’s investment adviser seek to reduce operational risks through controls and/or procedures, it is not possible to identify and address all such risks and there is no way to completely protect against or mitigate such risks, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cybersecurity systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund can invest a larger portion of its assets
in the stocks of a limited number of companies than a diversified fund, which means it may have more exposure to the price movements of a single security or small group of
securities than funds that diversify their investments among many companies.
New Fund Risk. Because a new fund begins operations with few assets,
operating expenses for a new fund are relatively high until the fund begins to manage sufficient assets to achieve operating efficiencies. While the Advisor has
contractually agreed to reimburse Fund expenses over a certain level for a period of time to keep shareholder expenses at a certain specific level, there is a risk that the expense limitation agreement is not continued and the expenses of the Fund increase significantly until the Fund reaches scale. There is also the risk that the Fund never reaches scale, that the investment strategies do not work as expected and that the Fund fails to achieve its stated investment objective.