averaged over the past five years
multiplied by the ratio of average equity to average assets; (ii) cash flow, taken as the company operating cash flow averaged over the past five years; (iii) dividend plus buybacks, calculated using the average
dividends paid and share buybacks over the past five years; and (iv) book value, taken as the most recent company book value. The Underlying Index is composed of securities selected from companies in the large/mid
company universe, which is the universe of companies that rank in the top 86% of cumulative
fundamental weight.
The Underlying Index uses five signals to determine a company’s overall ESG score: environment, social,
governance, diversity and financial discipline. The environment, social, governance and diversity scores are determined using data provided by Vigeo Eiris, a third-party ESG data and ratings provider (the “ESG
Data Provider”). The ESG Data Provider assesses hundreds of different factors within a framework of sustainability criteria based on international standards in determining the environment, social and governance
scores. The ESG Data Provider also considers numerous different metrics relating to gender diversity in determining the diversity scores. The financial discipline score is determined by the Index Provider and is
intended to identify companies with high profitability, low investment, low issuance and low accruals. To construct the Underlying Index, companies are sorted in descending order by their environment, social,
governance, diversity and financial discipline scores, respectively.
Companies in the bottom 10% by fundamental weight, for each respective
signal, are excluded. In addition, companies classified by the ESG Data Provider as having major involvement in the following areas are excluded: tobacco, gambling, weapons - civilian firearms and military, fossil fuels, coal, tar sands and
oil shale. Selected companies are weighted by their fundamental weight, adjusted by the companies’ respective overall ESG scores. As of September 30, 2025, the Underlying Index consisted of 261 Component
Securities.
The Underlying Index is reconstituted annually on the
last Friday of March and rebalanced on a quarterly staggered basis on the last Friday day of
March, June, September and third Friday of December. For example, the Underlying Index will be divided into four identical tranches. At the first quarterly rebalance, the first tranche (i.e., 25% of the Underlying Index) is rebalanced, but the remaining three tranches (i.e., the other
75% of the Underlying Index) are not rebalanced and will continue to drift until the next quarterly rebalance. At the next quarterly rebalance, the second tranche is rebalanced while the other three tranches (including the tranche that was
rebalanced at the prior quarter-end) are not rebalanced. This staggered rebalancing is intended
to diversify risk and decrease market impact of trading.
PIMCO uses an indexing approach in managing the Fund’s investments. The Fund is expected to employ a
replication strategy in seeking to achieve its investment objective. In using this strategy, PIMCO seeks to replicate the composition and weighting of the Underlying Index by investing all, or substantially all, of the
Fund’s assets in the Component Securities, holding each Component Security in approximately the same proportion as its weighting in the Underlying Index. However, in some circumstances it may not be possible or
practicable to invest all, or
substantially all, of the Fund’s assets in the Component Securities, in which case the Fund may employ a
representative sampling strategy by investing in a combination of Component Securities and other
instruments, or in Component Securities but in different proportions as compared to the weighting
of the Underlying Index, such that the portfolio effectively provides exposure to the Underlying Index. In using a representative sampling strategy, the Fund may not track its Underlying Index with the same degree of
accuracy as a fund that replicates the composition and weighting of the Underlying Index. Unlike
many investment companies, the Fund does not attempt to outperform the index the Fund tracks. An indexing approach may eliminate the chance that the Fund will substantially outperform its Underlying Index but also may reduce some
of the risks of active management. Indexing seeks to achieve lower costs by keeping portfolio
turnover low in comparison to actively managed investment companies.
The Fund may invest, without limitation, in equity and equity-related
securities, including common and preferred securities. The Fund may also invest in derivative
instruments, such as options, futures contracts or swap agreements.
It is possible to lose money on an investment in the Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund, which could adversely affect its net asset value, yield and total return,
are listed below.
Small Fund Risk: the risk that a smaller fund may not achieve investment or trading efficiencies or may be limited in ability to participate in certain investment
opportunities due to its size. Additionally, a smaller fund may be more adversely affected by large
purchases or redemptions by investors
Market Trading Risk: the risk that an active secondary trading market for Fund shares does not continue once developed, that the
Fund may not continue to meet a listing exchange’s trading or listing requirements, that
trading in Fund shares may be halted or become less liquid or that Fund shares trade at prices other than the Fund’s net asset value, and are subject to trading costs. These risks may be exacerbated if the creation/redemption process
becomes less effective, particularly during times of market stress or volatility
Equity Risk: the risk that the value of equity or equity-related securities, such as common stocks and preferred
securities, may decline due to general market conditions which are not specifically related to a
particular company or to factors affecting a particular industry or industries. Equity or
equity-related securities generally have greater price volatility than fixed income securities. In addition, preferred securities may be subject to greater credit risk or other risks, such as risks related to deferred and omitted
distributions, limited voting rights, liquidity, interest rates, regulatory changes and special redemption rights
Credit Risk: the risk that the Fund could experience losses if the counterparty to a derivative contract, or the issuer or
guarantor of collateral, is unable or unwilling, or is perceived (whether by market