In managing the Fund, the Portfolio Managers select companies based on fundamental and quantitative research.  Each company is evaluated relative to its global peers based on the Portfolio Managers’ analysis of various factors, that may include, but are not limited to: valuation (e.g., earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization yield), income (e.g., dividend yield), quality (e.g., capital discipline, profitability, and solvency ratios), momentum (e.g., price momentum), sentiment (e.g., whether company executives sound positive or negative on earnings calls and other public discussions of the company), risk assessment (e.g., price volatility), growth (e.g., a company’s research and development expenditures relative to its market capitalization), and contribution to the overall risk of the portfolio.  The Portfolio Managers seek to identify companies with attractive characteristics across multiple factors, rather than those that rank highest on any single factor.

The Portfolio Managers seek to reduce risk by investing across many companies, sectors and industries. At times, the Portfolio Managers may emphasize certain sectors or industries that they believe may benefit from market or economic trends. Although the Fund has the flexibility to invest a significant portion of its assets in one country or region, it generally intends to invest across a broad range of countries and geographical regions. The Fund may invest in depositary receipts (including American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) and European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”)), as well as real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) and exchange traded funds (“ETFs”).