The fund focuses its investments in securities outside the U.S. and seeks to diversify broadly across a variety of industries in developed and emerging market countries throughout the world. The fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets in non-U.S. stocks. Depending on market conditions, the fund’s portfolio is normally composed of investments in at least 10 countries and 100 different companies. The fund relies on MSCI Inc., a third-party provider of benchmark indexes and data services, or another unaffiliated data provider to determine the country assigned to a security.

While the adviser invests with an awareness of the global economic backdrop and the adviser’s outlook for certain industries, sectors, and individual countries, the adviser’s decision-making process focuses on bottom-up stock selection. Country allocation is driven largely by stock selection, though the adviser may limit investments in markets or industries that appear to have poor overall prospects.

The fund typically focuses its investments in small- and mid-cap companies.

Security selection reflects a growth style. The adviser relies on a global team of investment analysts dedicated to in-depth fundamental research in an effort to identify high-quality companies capable of achieving and sustaining above-average, long-term earnings growth. The adviser seeks to purchase stocks of companies at reasonable prices in relation to present or anticipated earnings, cash flow, or book value.

The fund typically has significant investments in Asian and developed European countries.

At times, the fund may have a significant portion of its assets invested in the same economic sector, such as industrial and business services sector.