Disclosure
Shares are ETF investments and have risks similar to stocks. There are risks involved with investing in ETFs including the possible loss of money. Ordinary brokerage commissions apply.
PRINCIPAL RISKS
The ETF is subject to a number of risks that may affect the value of its shares, including: ETF Risk, ETF Foreign Investing Risk, ETF Management Risk, ETF Market Risk, ETF Multi-Manager Risk, ETF Recent Market Events Risk, ETF Securities Lending Risk, ETF Temporary Defensive Position Risk, ETF Trading Risk and ETF Value Stock Risk.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial contracts whose value depends on, or is derived from, the value of underlying assets, such as a reference security, rate or index. Since the value of derivatives is calculated and derived from the value of other assets,instruments or references, there is a risk that they will be improperly valued. The ETF may use derivatives, such as futures contracts and foreign currency forward contracts, as a hedge against foreign currency fluctuations. If one of the investment sub-advisers incorrectly forecasts currency exchange rates in utilizing a derivatives strategy for an ETF, the ETF could lose money. For certain derivatives, it is possible to lose more than the amount invested in the derivative. There can be no assurance that any strategy used will succeed.
Derivatives also are subject to market risk, liquidity risk, and credit and counterparty risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that the counterparty on a derivative transaction will be unable to honor its financial obligations to the ETF. Derivatives also involve the risk that changes in their value may not correlate perfectly with the assets, rates, or indices they are designed to hedge or closely track. The ETFs’ Statement of Additional Information contains a description of the various derivatives the ETF may utilize.
ETF Risk. The Shares may trade above or below their NAV. The NAV of each ETF will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the ETF’s holdings. The market prices of Shares, however, will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply of, and demand for, Shares on the Exchange. The trading price of Shares may deviate significantly from NAV during periods of market volatility. The Manager cannot predict whether Shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for Shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the securities held by an ETF. However, given that Shares can be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their NAV), and the ETFs’ portfolio holdings are disclosed on a daily basis, the Manager believes that large discounts or premiums to the NAV of Shares should not be sustained.
Foreign Investing Risk. Overseas investing carries potential risks not associated with domestic investments. Such risks include, but are not limited to: (1) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (2) social, political and financial instability, (3) less liquidity of foreign investments, (4) lack of uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, (5) less government regulation and supervision of foreign stock exchanges, brokers and listed companies, (6) increased price volatility, (7) delays in transaction settlement in some foreign markets, and (8) less availability of information for an investment sub-adviser to determine a company’s financial condition.
Management Risk. Securities selected by the investment sub-adviser for the ETF may not perform to expectations. This could result in the ETF’s underperformance compared to other funds with similar investment objectives.
Market Risk. Since the ETF invests most or a substantial portion of its assets in stocks, it is subject to stock market risk. Market risk involves the possibility that the value of the ETF’s investments in stocks will decline due to drops in the stock market. In general, the value of the ETF will move in the same direction as the overall stock market in which the ETF invests, which will vary from day to day in response to the activities of individual companies, as well as general market, regulatory, political and economic conditions. Multi-Manager Risk. Because each investment sub-adviser makes investment decisions independently, it is possible that the security selection process of the investment sub-advisers may not complement one another. As a result, the ETF’s exposure to a given security, industry sector or market capitalization could be smaller or larger than would be the case if the ETF were managed by a single sub-adviser.
Recent Market Events Risk. Recent unprecedented turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in credit and fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers worldwide, which may have an adverse effect on the ETF. Securities Lending Risk. Each ETF may make secured loans of its portfolio securities. Borrowers of the ETF’s securities may provide collateral in the form of cash that is reinvested in securities. The securities in which the collateral is invested may not perform sufficiently to cover the return collateral payments owed to borrowers. In addition, delays may occur in the recovery of securities from borrowers, which could interfere with the ETF’s ability to vote proxies or to settle transactions. To the extent the ETF lends its securities, it may be subject to these risks.
Temporary Defensive Position Risk. Under adverse market conditions, the ETF may, for temporary defensive purposes, invest up to 100% of its assets in cash or cash equivalents, including investment grade short-term obligations. A larger percentage of such investments could moderate an ETF’s investment results. An ETF may not achieve its investment objective using this type of investing.
Trading Risk. Although the Shares will be listed on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active or liquid trading market for them will develop or be maintained. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. Further, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the ETF will continue to be met or will remain unchanged.
Value Stock Risk. Value stocks are subject to the risk that their intrinsic value may never be realized by the market or that their prices may go down. While the ETF’s investments in value stocks may limit its downside risk over time, the ETF may produce more modest gains than riskier stock funds as a trade-off for this potentially lower risk.