conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, Iran, Hamas and other
militant groups in the Middle East, have caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the
markets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities
have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies
of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes,
including the imposition of tariffs, and other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions
on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion.
If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading
Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Fund’s assets may go down. A public health crisis and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and
central banks may cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects.
As the COVID-19 global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries
more significantly than others. Advancements in technology may also adversely impact markets and the overall performance of the
Fund. For instance, the economy may be significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased regulation of artificial
intelligence. Additionally, cyber security breaches of both government and non-government entities could have negative impacts
on infrastructure and the ability of such entities, including the Fund, to operate properly. These events, and any other future events,
may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.
CYBER SECURITY RISK. The Fund is susceptible to operational, information security and related risks through
breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that
may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity, any of which could result in
a material adverse effect on the Fund or its shareholders. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage,
additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. Emerging threats
like ransomware or zero-day exploits could also cause disruptions to Fund operations. In addition, cyber security breaches of
the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests or the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, among many other third-party service providers, can also subject the Fund to many of the
same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Further, errors, misconduct, or compromise of accounts of employees of the
Fund or its third-party service providers can also create material cybersecurity risks. Although the Fund has established risk management
systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed,
especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers. Cyber security
incidents may also trigger Fund obligations under data privacy laws, potentially increasing notification and compliance burdens. Cyber
security incidents affecting issuers in whose securities the Fund invests may also have a negative impact on the value of the securities
of such issuers, and in turn, the value of the Fund.
DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS RISK. Depositary receipts represent equity interests in a foreign company that trade on
a local stock exchange. Depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary
trading market. Any distributions paid to the holders of depositary receipts are usually subject to a fee charged by the depositary. Holders
of depositary receipts may have limited voting rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the
value of depositary receipts because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert the equity shares into depositary receipts and vice
versa. Such restrictions may cause the equity shares of the underlying issuer to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of
the depositary receipts.
DIVIDENDS RISK. The Fund’s investment in dividend-paying securities could cause the Fund to underperform similar funds that invest without consideration of an issuer’s track record of paying dividends. Companies that issue dividend-paying securities are not required to continue to pay dividends on such securities. Therefore, there is the possibility
that such companies could reduce or eliminate the payment of dividends in the future, which could negatively affect the Fund’s performance.
EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The value of the Fund's shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity
securities in which it invests. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility,
or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest
rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or
extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company,
industry or sector of the market.
FINANCIAL COMPANIES RISK. Financial companies, such as retail and commercial banks, insurance companies and
financial services companies, are especially subject to the adverse effects of economic recession, currency
exchange rates, extensive government regulation, decreases in the availability of capital, volatile interest rates, portfolio
concentrations in geographic markets, industries or products (such as commercial and residential real estate loans), competition from
new entrants and blurred distinctions in their fields of business.
INDEX CONCENTRATION RISK. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent
that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its
assets in a single asset class or the securities of