The fund invests primarily in a diverse group of U.S. companies in market sectors and industry groups the portfolio managers expect to appreciate in value if the U.S. inflation rate rises or is believed to be rising. The fund seeks to focus its investments in those industries that historically have had, or are expected to have, better performance in periods of inflation, which as of the date of this prospectus include Financial Services, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Metal and non-Metallic Mining, Healthcare and Consumer Staples.
Within the industries correlated with inflation as described above, the fund seeks securities of companies that it expects to have higher returns by placing an enhanced emphasis on securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations and securities of companies with higher profitability and value characteristics. Conversely, the fund seeks to underweight or exclude securities it expects to have lower returns, such as securities of larger companies with lower levels of profitability and less attractive value characteristics. To identify small capitalization companies with higher profitability and value characteristics, the portfolio managers use reported and/or estimated company financials and market data including, but not limited to, shares outstanding, book value and its components, cash flows from operations, and accruals. The portfolio managers define “value characteristics” mainly as adjusted book/price ratio (though other price to fundamental ratios may be considered). The portfolio managers define “profitability” mainly as adjusted cash from operations to book value ratio (though other ratios may be considered). The portfolio managers may also consider other factors when selecting a security, including industry classification, the past performance of the security relative to other securities, its liquidity, its float, and tax, governance or cost considerations, among others. When portfolio managers identify securities with the desired capitalization, profitability, value, and past performance characteristics, they seek to include these securities in the broadly diversified portfolio. To determine the weight of a security within the portfolio, the portfolio managers use the market capitalization of the security relative to that of other eligible securities as a baseline, then overweight or underweight the security based on the characteristics described above. The portfolio managers may dispose of a security if it no longer has the desired market capitalization, profitability, or value characteristics. When determining whether to dispose of a security, the portfolio managers will also consider, among other things, relative past performance, costs, and taxes. The portfolio managers review the criteria for inclusion in the portfolio on a regular basis to maintain a focus on the desired set of industries correlated with inflation.
Under normal market conditions, the fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in equity securities. The fund may invest in companies of all market capitalizations.
The fund may also engage in securities lending and invest its collateral in eligible securities, such as a government money market fund.
The fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (ETF) that does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index. The portfolio managers continually analyze market and financial data to make buy, sell, and hold decisions. When deciding whether to buy or sell a security, and how and when to implement a trade, the portfolio managers may consider the expected implementation costs and tax consequences of the trade in an attempt to gain trading efficiencies, avoid unnecessary risk, minimize tax impact, and/or enhance fund performance.
