least a quarterly basis to better
capitalize on current market conditions and opportunities while seeking to provide predictable
returns in all market cycles.
The Fund’s Main
Investment Risks
The Fund is subject to management risk and may
not achieve its objective if the adviser’s expectations regarding particular instruments or
markets are not met.
An investment in this Fund or any other fund may not provide a complete investment program. The suitability of an investment in the Fund
should be considered based on the investment objective, strategies and risks described in this prospectus, considered in light of all of the other investments in your
portfolio, as well as your risk tolerance, financial goals and time horizons. You may want to consult with a financial advisor to determine if this Fund is suitable for you.
The Fund is subject to the main risks noted below, any of which may
adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (NAV), market price, performance and ability to meet its investment objective.
Equity Market Risk. The price of equity securities may rise or fall because of changes in the broad market or changes in a
company’s financial condition, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. These price movements
may result from factors affecting individual companies, sectors or industries selected for the
Fund’s portfolio or the securities market as a whole, such as changes in economic or
political conditions. When the value of the Fund’s securities goes down, your investment in the Fund decreases in value.
General Market Risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or
conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries
or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in general financial markets, a particular financial market or other asset classes due to a number of factors, including inflation
(or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates,
global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, financial system instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, trade wars, retaliatory trade measures, sanctions and other trade barriers,
supply chain disruptions, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control programs
and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters
or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics or the threat or
potential of one or more such factors and occurrences.
Strategy Risk. The Fund’s investment strategies may not always provide greater market protection than other equity instruments, particularly in rising equity markets when
the Fund is expected to underperform traditional long-only equity strategies. In addition, as a
result of the structure of the options overlay strategy, the Fund is not expected to provide as much market protection during times when the market is only down slightly; during such periods, the Fund is
expected to perform in line with broad equity markets. While the equity portfolio
invests significantly in companies included
in the Index, differences in holdings between the Fund’s equity portfolio and the Index or
S&P 500 ETFs may also lead to a less efficient hedge.
Options Risk. The value of the Fund’s option
positions will fluctuate in response to changes in the value of the underlying index. The value
of options is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of the securities held by the S&P 500 ETFs or represented in the Index underlying the option, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived
volatility of the S&P 500 ETFs or the Index and the remaining time to the options expiration,
as well as trading conditions in the options market. Selling call options can reduce equity market risk, but it limits the opportunity to profit from an increase in the market value of stocks in exchange for upfront cash
at the time of selling the call option. The Fund also risks losing all or part of the cash paid
for purchasing put options. Unusual market conditions or the lack of a ready market for any particular option at a specific time may reduce the effectiveness of the Fund’s option strategies, and for these and other
reasons, the Fund’s option strategies may not reduce the Fund’s volatility to the extent desired and could result in losses.
Large Cap Company Risk. Because the Fund invests in large cap company securities, it may underperform other funds during periods when the Fund’s large cap securities
are out of favor.
Smaller Company Risk. Investments in securities of smaller companies (mid cap and small cap companies) may be riskier, less liquid, more volatile and more vulnerable to economic, market and industry changes than securities of
larger, more established companies. The securities of smaller companies may trade less frequently
and in smaller volumes than securities of larger companies. As a result, changes in the price of securities issued by such companies may be more sudden or erratic than the prices of securities of larger companies,
especially over the short term. These risks are higher for small cap companies.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives, including options and
futures contracts, may be riskier than other types of investments and may increase the volatility
of the Fund. Derivatives may be sensitive to changes in economic and market conditions and may
create leverage, which could result in losses that significantly exceed the Fund’s original investment. The Fund may be more volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged because the leverage tends to exaggerate any
effect on the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Certain derivatives expose the Fund
to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the derivative counterparty will not fulfill its contractual obligations (and includes credit risk associated with the counterparty). Certain derivatives are synthetic instruments
that attempt to replicate the performance of certain reference assets. With regard to such
derivatives, the Fund does not have a claim on the reference assets and is subject to enhanced counterparty risk. Derivatives may not perform as expected, so the Fund may not realize the intended benefits. When used
for hedging, the change in value of a derivative may not correlate as expected with the security
or other risk being hedged. In addition, given their complexity, derivatives expose the Fund to risks of mispricing or improper valuation. Derivatives also can expose the Fund to derivative liquidity risk, which includes
risks involving the liquidity demands that derivatives can create to make payments of margin,
collateral, or settlement payments to counterparties, legal risk, which includes the risk of loss resulting from insufficient or unenforceable contractual documentation, insufficient