p id="xdx_A8D_eoef--StrategyNarrativeTextBlock_z9LEwPeUwoCD" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt"The Fund uses a growth style of investment in equity securities, including common stocks and other equity securities of issuers, and under normal market conditions, invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of borrowings for investment purposes) in the equity securities of non-U.S. small capitalization companies. The investment adviser considers non-U.S. small capitalization companies to be companies located in the same countries and within the same market capitalization range at the time of investment as those included in the MSCI All Country World ex USA Small Cap Growth Index. For the avoidance of doubt, while the reference index is “float-adjusted,” meaning it excludes closely held and other shares unavailable to investors, the investment adviser does not consider a float-adjustment when determining the market capitalization of a company. As of March 31, 2026, approximately 92% of the MSCI All Country World ex USA Small Cap Growth Index consisted of companies with a market capitalization of less than $9 billion. The market capitalizations of companies included in the MSCI All Country World ex USA Small Cap Growth Index will change with market conditions. The /p p style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center" /p p style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt"Fund seeks to be opportunistic in pursuing companies that meet its criteria regardless of geographic location and, therefore, at certain times, the Fund could have sizeable positions in either developed countries or emerging markets. In addition, while the Fund will invest primarily in the equity securities of non-U.S. companies, the Fund may also from time to time invest up to a maximum of 20% of its assets in the equity securities of U.S. companies. The Fund may invest in companies with limited or no operating histories. The Fund may frequently and actively trade its portfolio securities. /p p style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center" /p p style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt"The Fund generally defines an “emerging market” as including, but not limited to, any of the countries or markets represented in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, or any other country or market with similar emerging characteristics. The amount of the Fund’s assets invested in emerging markets will vary over time and could be substantial. The Fund is not limited to a specific percentage of assets that may be invested in a single emerging market country, although at all times the Fund must be invested in at least three countries (not limited to emerging markets countries). /p p style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center" /p p style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt"Investment decisions for the Fund’s growth style of investing, for those companies with operating histories, are based on the determination that a company’s revenue and earnings growth can materially exceed market expectations and that the security is at an attractive entry point. These decisions involve evaluating fundamental factors, including the company’s business model, the competitive landscape, upcoming product introductions and recent and projected financial metrics. The decision is also informed by the evaluation of technical or market factors, including price and volume trends, relative strength and institutional interest. To a lesser extent, the Fund’s investment adviser also utilizes macroeconomic or country-specific analyses to evaluate the sustainability of a company’s growth rate. The Fund sells holdings for a variety of reasons, including the deterioration of the earnings profile, the violation of specific technical thresholds, to shift into securities with more compelling risk/reward characteristics or to alter sector or country exposure. /p