Risk Table - MFS International Equity Fund
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Risk [Text Block] |
| Principal Risks |
Principal Risks As with any mutual fund, the
fund may not achieve its objective and/or you could lose money on your investment in the fund. An investment
in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
or any other governmental agency. The principal risks of investing
in the fund are:
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| Risk Lose Money [Member] |
As with any mutual fund, the
fund may not achieve its objective and/or you could lose money on your investment in the fund.
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| Risk Not Insured [Member] |
An investment
in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
or any other governmental agency.
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| Investment Selection Risk |
Investment Selection Risk: MFS'
investment analysis and its selection of investments may not produce the intended results and/or can
lead to an investment focus that results in the fund underperforming other funds with similar investment
strategies and/or underperforming the markets in which the fund invests. In addition, to the extent
MFS considers quantitative tools in managing the fund, such tools may not produce the intended results.
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| Equity Market Risk/Company Risk |
Equity Market Risk/Company Risk: Equity
markets are volatile and can decline significantly in response to changes in, or investor perceptions
of, issuer, market, economic, industry, political, regulatory, geopolitical, environmental, public health,
and other conditions. These conditions can affect a single issuer or type of security, issuers within
a broad market sector, industry or geographic region, or the equity markets in general. Certain events
can have a dramatic adverse effect on equity markets and may lead to periods of high volatility in an
equity market or a segment of an equity market. The value of an investment held by the fund may decline
due to factors directly related to the issuer.
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| Growth Company Risk |
Growth
Company Risk: The stocks of growth companies can be more sensitive to the
company’s earnings and more volatile than the market in general.
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| Value Company Risk |
Value Company
Risk: The stocks of value companies can continue to be undervalued
for long periods of time and not realize their expected value and can be more volatile than the market
in general.
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| Foreign Risk |
Foreign Risk: Exposure
to foreign markets through issuers or currencies can involve additional risks relating to market, economic,
industry, political, regulatory, geopolitical, environmental, public health, and other conditions. These
factors can make foreign investments, especially those tied economically to emerging markets or countries
subject to sanctions or the threat of new or modified sanctions, more volatile and less liquid than U.S.
investments. In addition, foreign markets can react differently to these conditions than the U.S. market.
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| Emerging Markets Risk |
Emerging Markets Risk: Investments
tied economically to emerging markets, especially frontier markets, can involve additional and greater
risks than the risks associated with investments in developed markets. Emerging markets can have less
developed markets, greater custody and operational
risk, less developed legal, regulatory, and accounting systems, greater government involvement in the
economy, greater risk of new or inconsistent government treatment of or restrictions on issuers and instruments,
and greater political, social, geopolitical, and economic instability than developed markets.
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| Currency Risk |
Currency
Risk: The value of foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar fluctuates in response
to market, economic, industry, political, regulatory, geopolitical, environmental, public health, and
other conditions, and changes in currency exchange rates impact the financial condition of companies
or other issuers and may change the value in U.S. dollars of investments denominated in foreign currencies.
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| Focus Risk |
Focus Risk: Issuers in a single industry,
sector, country, or region can react similarly to market, currency, political, economic, regulatory,
geopolitical, environmental, public health, and other conditions, and the fund's performance will be
affected by the conditions in the industries, sectors, countries, and regions to which the fund is exposed. Furthermore, investments in particular industries, sectors,
countries, or regions may be more volatile than the broader market as a whole.
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| Liquidity Risk |
Liquidity
Risk: It may be difficult to value, and it may not be possible to
sell, certain investments, types of investments, and/or investments in certain segments of the market,
and the fund may have to sell certain of these investments at prices or times that are not advantageous
in order to meet redemptions or other cash needs.
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| Large Shareholder Risk |
Large Shareholder
Risk: From time to time, shareholders of the fund (which may include institutional investors,
financial intermediaries, or other MFS funds) may make relatively large redemptions or purchases of fund
shares. These transactions may cause the fund to sell securities or invest additional cash, as the case
may be, at disadvantageous prices. Redemptions of a large number of shares also may increase transaction
and other costs or have adverse tax consequences for shareholders of the fund by requiring a sale of
portfolio securities. Purchases of a large number of shares may adversely affect the fund's performance
to the extent that it takes time to invest new cash and the fund maintains a larger cash position than
it ordinarily would.
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