aggressive pricing (including fixed-rate pricing), technological developments (including product-specific technological change), changing domestic demand, and the ability to attract and retain skilled employees; availability and price of components; dependence on intellectual property rights, and potential loss or impairment of those rights; research and development costs; rapid product obsolescence; cyclical market patterns; evolving industry standards; and frequent new product introductions requiring timely and successful introduction of new products and the ability to service such products. The software and services industry may also be affected by risks that affect the broader information technology industry.
• Large-Cap Company Investment Risk — Although returns on investments in large-cap companies are often perceived as being less volatile than the returns of companies with smaller market capitalizations, the return on large-cap securities could trail the returns on investments in smaller and mid-sized companies for a number of reasons. For example, large-cap companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies.
• Foreign Investments Risk/Emerging Market Risk — Exposure to securities of foreign issuers may provide the Fund with increased risk. Various factors related to foreign investments may negatively impact the Fund’s and the Index’s performance, such as: i) fluctuations in the value of the applicable foreign currency; ii) differences in securities settlement practices; iii) uncertainty associated with evidence of ownership of investments in countries that lack centralized custodial services; iv) possible regulation of, or other limitations on, investments by U.S. investors in foreign investments; v) potentially higher brokerage commissions; vi) the possibility that a foreign government may withhold portions of interest and dividends at the source; vii) taxation of income earned in foreign countries or other foreign taxes imposed; viii) foreign exchange controls, which may include suspension of the ability to transfer currency from a foreign country; ix) less publicly available information about foreign issuers; x) changes in the denomination currency of a foreign investment; and xi) less certain legal systems in which the Fund may encounter difficulties or be unable to pursue legal remedies. Foreign investments also may be more susceptible to political, social, economic and regional factors than may be the case with U.S. securities. In addition, markets for foreign investments are usually less liquid, more volatile and significantly smaller than markets for U.S. securities, which may affect, among other things, the Fund’s ability to purchase or sell foreign investments at appropriate times and prices. Because of differences in settlement times and/or foreign market holidays, transactions in a foreign market may take place one or more days after the necessary exposure to these investments is determined. Until the transactions are
effected, the Fund is exposed to increased foreign currency risk and market risk and, ultimately, increased correlation risk.
Because the Fund’s foreign investment exposure may include issuers domiciled in developing or “emerging market” countries, all the aforementioned factors are heightened and foreign investments risk is higher. Economic, business, political, or social instability may adversely affect the value of emerging market investments more acutely than investments tied to developed foreign countries. Furthermore any of these developments may result in a decline in the value of a country’s currency. Emerging markets are riskier than more developed markets because they may develop unevenly or may never fully develop. Investments in emerging markets are considered speculative.
• Natural Disaster/Epidemic Risk — Natural or environmental disasters, such as earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis and other severe weather-related phenomena generally, and widespread disease, including pandemics and epidemics (for example, the novel coronavirus COVID-19), have been and can be highly disruptive to economies and markets and have recently led, and may continue to lead, to increased market volatility and significant market losses. Such natural disaster and health crises could exacerbate political, social, and economic risks, and result in significant breakdowns, delays, shutdowns, social isolation, and other disruptions to important global, local and regional supply chains affected, with potential corresponding results on the operating performance of the Fund and its investments. A climate of uncertainty and panic, including the contagion of infectious viruses or diseases, may adversely affect global, regional, and local economies and reduce the availability of potential investment opportunities, and increases the difficulty of performing due diligence and modeling market conditions, potentially reducing the accuracy of financial projections. Under these circumstances, the Fund may have difficulty achieving its investment objectives which may adversely impact Fund performance. Further, such events can be highly disruptive to economies and markets, significantly disrupt the operations of individual companies (including, but not limited to, the Fund’s investment advisor, third party service providers, and counterparties), sectors, industries, markets, securities and commodity exchanges, currencies, interest and inflation rates, credit ratings, investor sentiment, and other factors affecting the value of the Fund’s investments. These factors can cause substantial market volatility, exchange trading suspensions and closures, changes in the availability of and the margin requirements for certain instruments, and can impact the ability of the Fund to complete redemptions and otherwise affect Fund performance and Fund trading in the secondary market. A widespread crisis would also affect the global economy in ways that