The fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in companies located (or with primary operations) in Japan. 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. Any derivatives that provide exposure to the investment focus suggested by the fund’s name, or to one or more market risk factors associated with the investment focus suggested by the fund’s name, are counted (as applicable) toward compliance with the fund’s 80% investment policy.

The fund may purchase the stocks of companies of any size and seeks to invest across a wide range of Japanese industries and companies. While the adviser invests with an awareness of the adviser’s outlook for industries and sectors within the country, the adviser’s decision-making process focuses on bottom-up stock selection.

The fund takes a core approach to stock selection, which does not emphasize either growth or value styles of investing. 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.

Sector and style exposures are closely managed, and the focus of security selection is on opportunities where the adviser sees upside relative to the risks priced in the market (asymmetric risk-reward).

In selecting investments the adviser generally favors companies with one or more of the following characteristics:

At times, the fund may have a significant portion of its assets invested in the same economic sector.