Equity securities may fluctuate in value in response to the activities of individual companies and general market and economic conditions.
A Smart Beta strategy does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified cap-weighted index and as such may underperform such an index. The factors to which a Smart Beta strategy seeks to deliver exposure may themselves undergo cyclical performance. As such, a Smart Beta strategy may underperform the market or other Smart Beta strategies exposed to similar or other targeted factors.
A “low volatility” style of investing can exhibit relative low volatility and excess returns compared to the Index over the long term; both portfolio investments and returns may differ from those of the Index. The fund may not experience lower volatility or provide returns in excess of the Index and may provide lower returns in periods of a rapidly rising market.
A "quality" style of investing emphasizes companies with high returns, stable earnings, and low financial leverage. This style of investing is subject to the risk that the past performance of these companies does not continue or that the returns on "quality" equity securities are less than returns on other styles of investing or the overall stock market.
A “value” style of investing that emphasizes undervalued companies with characteristics for improved valuations, which may never improve and may actually have lower returns than other styles of investing or the overall stock market.
Companies with large market capitalisations go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Larger companies tend to be less volatile than companies with smaller market capitalisations. In exchange for this potentially lower risk, the value of the security may not rise as much as companies with smaller market capitalisations.
Investments in mid-sized companies may involve greater risks than in those of larger, better known companies, but may be less volatile than investments in smaller companies.
Investing in foreign domiciled securities may involve risk of capital loss from unfavorable fluctuation in currency values, withholding taxes, from differences in generally accepted accounting principles or from economic or political instability in other nations. Investments in emerging or developing markets may be more volatile and less liquid than investing in developed markets and may involve exposure to economic structures that are generally less diverse and mature and to political systems which have less stability than those of more developed countries.
