SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund is subject to the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective, as well as other risks that are described in greater detail in the Additional Information About the Funds’ Strategies and Risks section of the Prospectus and in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").

 

ADR/GDR Risk: To the extent the Fund seeks exposure to foreign companies, the Fund’s investments may be in the form of depositary receipts or other securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers, including ADRs and GDRs. While the use of ADRs and GDRs, which are traded on exchanges and represent an ownership in a foreign security, provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in ADRs and GDRs continue to be subject to certain of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.

Asian Economic Risk: Decreasing Asian imports, new trade regulations, changes in exchange rates, a recession in Asia or a slowing of economic growth in this region could have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy.

 

Asset Class Risk: Securities in the Underlying Index or the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general securities markets or other asset classes.

 

Concentration Risk: Because the Fund's investments are concentrated in Chinese securities and in the consumer sector, the Fund will be susceptible to loss due to adverse occurrences affecting this country and sector. To the extent that the Underlying Index concentrates in the securities of issuers in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund will also concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. By concentrating its investments in a country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund faces more risks than if it were diversified broadly over numerous countries, industries, markets, asset classes, or sectors. Such risks, any of which may adversely affect the companies in which the Fund invests, may include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions or cyclical market patterns that could negatively affect supply and demand; competition for resources, adverse labor relations, political or world events; obsolescence of technologies; and increased competition or new product introductions that may affect the profitability or viability of companies in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector. In addition, at times, such country, industry, market, asset class, or sector may be out of favor and underperform other similar categories or the market as a whole. For additional details on these risks, please see Risks Related to Investing in China, Risks Related to Investing in the Consumer Discretionary Sector, and Risks Related to Investing in the Consumer Staples Sector .

 

Currency Risk: Because the Fund's NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund's NAV could decline if China's currency depreciates against the U.S. dollar.

Custody Risk: Less developed markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settling of trades and the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories.

 

Emerging Market Risk: China is an emerging market country, which may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in developed markets. Securities markets of emerging market countries are less liquid, subject to greater price volatility, have smaller market capitalizations, have less government regulation, and are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, financial, and other reporting requirements as the securities markets of more developed countries.

 

Equity Securities Risk: Equity securities are subject to changes in value and their values may be more volatile than other asset classes, as a result of such factors as a company’s business performance, investor perceptions, stock market trends and general economic conditions.

 

Foreign Security Risk: Investments in the securities of foreign issuers (including investments in ADRs and GDRs) are subject to the risks associated with investing in those foreign markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. In addition, securities of foreign issuers may lose value due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. During periods of social, political or economic instability in a country or region, the value of a foreign security traded on U.S. exchanges, nonetheless, could be affected by, among other things, increasing price volatility, illiquidity, or the closure of the primary market on which the security (or the security underlying the ADR or GDR) is traded. You may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market.

Geographic Risk: A natural disaster could occur in China, which could affect the economy or particular business operations of companies economically tied to China.

 

Investable Universe of Companies Risk: The investable universe of companies in which a Fund may invest may be limited. If a company no longer meets the Index Provider’s criteria for inclusion in the Underlying Index, the Fund may need to reduce or eliminate its holdings in that company. The reduction or elimination of the Fund’s holdings in the company may have an adverse impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings and on Fund performance.

Issuer Risk: Fund performance depends on the performance of individual companies in which the Fund invests. Changes to the financial condition of any of those companies may cause the value of their securities to decline.

 

Management Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s investment management strategy may cause the Fund to underperform the market or its relevant benchmark or adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

Market Risk: The Fund's NAV could decline over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during market downturns.

 

Market Trading Risk: The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors may lead to the Shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV.

Non-Correlation Risk: The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Underlying Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Underlying Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Underlying Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Underlying Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index resulting from legal restrictions, costs or liquidity constraints.

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that it will be more volatile than a diversified fund because the Fund may invest its assets in a smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. As a result, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s NAV and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds.

 

Passive Investment Risk: The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser does not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of its Underlying Index. Therefore, it would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.

 

Privatization Risk: China has privatized certain entities and industries. Privatized entities may lose money or be re-nationalized.

Reliance on Trading Partners Risk: The Fund invests in the Chinese economy, which is heavily dependent upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading, including as a result of adverse economic conditions in a trading partner’s economy, may cause an adverse impact on the economy in which the Fund invests.

 

Risks Related to Investing in China: Investment exposure to China subjects the Fund to risks specific to China. China may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and social instability. China is a developing market and demonstrates significantly higher volatility from time to time in comparison to developed markets. Over the past 25 years, the Chinese government has undertaken reform of economic and market practices and expansion of the sphere for private ownership of property in China. However, Chinese markets generally continue to experience inefficiency, volatility and pricing anomalies resulting from governmental influence, a lack of publicly available information and/or political and social instability. Internal social unrest or confrontations with other neighboring countries, including military conflicts in response to such events, may also disrupt economic development in China and result in a greater risk of currency fluctuations, currency convertibility, interest rate fluctuations and higher rates of inflation. Export growth continues to be a major driver of China’s rapid economic growth. Reduction in spending on Chinese products and services, institution of tariffs or other trade barriers, or a downturn in any of the economies of China’s key trading partners may have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy.

Risks Related to Investing in the Consumer Discretionary Sector: The consumer discretionary sector may be affected by changes in domestic and international economies, exchange and interest rates, competition, consumers’ disposable income and consumer preferences, social trends and marketing campaigns.

Risks Related to Investing in the Consumer Staples Sector: The consumer staples sector may be affected by marketing campaigns, changes in consumer demands, government regulations and changes in commodity prices.

Securities Lending Risk: Securities lending involves a risk of loss because the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. If the Fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, it may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement security in the market. Lending securities entails a risk of loss to the Fund if and to the extent that the market value of the loaned securities increases and the collateral is not increased accordingly. Additionally, the Fund will bear any loss on the investment of cash collateral it receives. These events could also trigger adverse tax consequences for the Fund. As securities on loan may not be voted by the Fund, there is a risk that the Fund may not be able to recall the securities in sufficient time to vote on material proxy matters.

 

Securities Market Risk: Because certain securities markets in China are small in size, underdeveloped, and are less regulated and less correlated to global economic cycles than those markets located in more developed countries, the securities markets in China are subject to greater risks associated with market volatility, lower market capitalization, lower trading volume, illiquidity, inflation, greater price fluctuations and uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets.

 

Tracking Error Risk: The performance of the Fund may diverge from that of the Underlying Index.

 

Trading Halt Risk: An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses.

U.S. Economic Risk: A decrease in U.S. imports, new trade regulations, changes in the U.S. dollar exchange rates or an economic slowdown in the United States may have an adverse impact on China's economy and, as a result, securities to which the Fund has exposure.

 

Valuation Risk: The sales price the Fund could receive for a security may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security and may differ from the value used by the Underlying Index, particularly for securities that trade in low value or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. The value of the securities in the Fund's portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund's Shares.

SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund is subject to the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective, as well as other risks that are described in greater detail in the Additional Information About the Funds’ Strategies and Risks section of the Prospectus and in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").

 

ADR/GDR Risk: To the extent the Fund seeks exposure to foreign companies, the Fund’s investments may be in the form of depositary receipts or other securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers, including ADRs and GDRs. While the use of ADRs and GDRs, which are traded on exchanges and represent an ownership in a foreign security, provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in ADRs and GDRs continue to be subject to certain of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.

Asian Economic Risk: Decreasing Asian imports, new trade regulations, changes in exchange rates, a recession in Asia or a slowing of economic growth in this region could have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy.

 

Asset Class Risk: Securities in the Underlying Index or the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general securities markets or other asset classes.

 

Concentration Risk: Because the Fund's investments are concentrated in Chinese securities and in the energy and utilities sectors, the Fund will be susceptible to loss due to adverse occurrences affecting this country and sector. To the extent that the Underlying Index concentrates in the securities of issuers in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund will also concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. By concentrating its investments in a country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund faces more risks than if it were diversified broadly over numerous countries, industries, markets, asset classes, or sectors. Such risks, any of which may adversely affect the companies in which the Fund invests, may include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions or cyclical market patterns that could negatively affect supply and demand; competition for resources, adverse labor relations, political or world events; obsolescence of technologies; and increased competition or new product introductions that may affect the profitability or viability of companies in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector. In addition, at times, such country, industry, market, asset class, or sector may be out of favor and underperform other similar categories or the market as a whole. For additional details on these risks, please see Risks Related to Investing in China , Risks Related to Investing in the Energy Sector , and Risks Related to Investing in the Utilities Sector .

 

Currency Risk: Because the Fund's NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund's NAV could decline if China's currency depreciates against the U.S. dollar.

 

Custody Risk: Less developed markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settling of trades and the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories.

 

Emerging Market Risk: China is an emerging market country, which may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in developed markets. Securities markets of emerging market countries are less liquid, subject to greater price volatility, have smaller market capitalizations, have less government regulation, and are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, financial, and other reporting requirements as the securities markets of more developed countries.

 

Equity Securities Risk: Equity securities are subject to changes in value and their values may be more volatile than other asset classes, as a result of such factors as a company’s business performance, investor perceptions, stock market trends and general economic conditions.

 

Foreign Security Risk: Investments in the securities of foreign issuers (including investments in ADRs and GDRs) are subject to the risks associated with investing in those foreign markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. In addition, securities of foreign issuers may lose value due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. During periods of social, political or economic instability in a country or region, the value of a foreign security traded on U.S. exchanges, nonetheless, could be affected by, among other things, increasing price volatility, illiquidity, or the closure of the primary market on which the security (or the security underlying the ADR or GDR) is traded. You may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market.

 

Geographic Risk: A natural disaster could occur in China, which could affect the economy or particular business operations of companies economically tied to China.

Investable Universe of Companies Risk: The investable universe of companies in which a Fund may invest may be limited. If a company no longer meets the Index Provider’s criteria for inclusion in the Underlying Index, the Fund may need to reduce or eliminate its holdings in that company. The reduction or elimination of the Fund’s holdings in the company may have an adverse impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings and on Fund performance.

Issuer Risk: Fund performance depends on the performance of individual companies in which the Fund invests. Changes to the financial condition of any of those companies may cause the value of their securities to decline.

 

Management Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s investment management strategy may cause the Fund to underperform the market or its relevant benchmark or adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

Market Risk: The Fund's NAV could decline over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during market downturns.

 

Market Trading Risk: The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors may lead to the Shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV.

Non-Correlation Risk: The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Underlying Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Underlying Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Underlying Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Underlying Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index resulting from legal restrictions, costs or liquidity constraints.

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that it will be more volatile than a diversified fund because the Fund may invest its assets in a smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. As a result, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s NAV and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds.

 

Passive Investment Risk: The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser does not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of its Underlying Index. Therefore, it would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.

Premium/Discount Risk: Disruptions to creations and redemptions, the existence of extreme market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for Shares may result in Shares trading at a significant premium or discount to NAV. If a shareholder
purchases Shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells Shares at a time when the market price
is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses.

Privatization Risk: China has privatized certain entities and industries. Privatized entities may lose money or be re-nationalized.

 

Reliance on Trading Partners Risk: The Fund invests in the Chinese economy, which is heavily dependent upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading, including as a result of adverse economic conditions in a trading partner’s economy, may cause an adverse impact on the economy in which the Fund invests.

Risks Related to Investing in China: Investment exposure to China subjects the Fund to risks specific to China. China may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and social instability. China is a developing market and demonstrates significantly higher volatility from time to time in comparison to developed markets. Over the past 25 years, the Chinese government has undertaken reform of economic and market practices and expansion of the sphere for private ownership of property in China. However, Chinese markets generally continue to experience inefficiency, volatility and pricing anomalies resulting from governmental influence, a lack of publicly available information and/or political and social instability. Internal social unrest or confrontations with other neighboring countries, including military conflicts in response to such events, may also disrupt economic development in China and result in a greater risk of currency fluctuations, currency convertibility, interest rate fluctuations and higher rates of inflation. Export growth continues to be a major driver of China’s rapid economic growth. Reduction in spending on Chinese products and services, institution of tariffs or other trade barriers, or a downturn in any of the economies of China’s key trading partners may have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy.

 

Risks Related to Investing in the Energy Sector: The value of securities issued by companies in the energy sector may decline for many reasons, including, without limitation, changes in energy prices; international politics; energy conservation; the success of exploration projects; natural disasters or other catastrophes; changes in exchange rates, interest rates, or economic conditions; changes in demand for energy products and services; and tax and other governmental regulatory policies.

Risks Related to Investing in the Utilities Sector: Companies in the utilities sector may be adversely affected by changes in exchange rates, domestic and international competition and governmental regulations on rates charged to customers. Privatization in the utilities sector may subject companies to greater competition and losses in profitability. Companies in the utilities industry may have difficulty obtaining an adequate return on invested capital, raising capital, or financing large construction programs during periods of inflation or unsettled capital markets.

  

Securities Market Risk: Because certain securities markets in China are small in size, underdeveloped, and are less regulated and less correlated to global economic cycles than those markets located in more developed countries, the securities markets in China are subject to greater risks associated with market volatility, lower market capitalization, lower trading volume, illiquidity, inflation, greater price fluctuations and uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets.

 

Tracking Error Risk: The performance of the Fund may diverge from that of the Underlying Index.

Trading Halt Risk: An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses.

U.S. Economic Risk : A decrease in U.S. imports, new trade regulations, changes in the U.S. dollar exchange rates or an economic slowdown in the United States may have an adverse impact on China's economy and, as a result, securities to which the Fund has exposure.

Valuation Risk: The sales price the Fund could receive for a security may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security and may differ from the value used by the Underlying Index, particularly for securities that trade in low value or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. The value of the securities in the Fund's portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund's Shares.

SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund is subject to the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective, as well as other risks that are described in greater detail in the Additional Information About the Funds’ Strategies and Risks section of the Prospectus and in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").

 

ADR/GDR Risk: To the extent the Fund seeks exposure to foreign companies, the Fund’s investments may be in the form of depositary receipts or other securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers, including ADRs and GDRs. While the use of ADRs and GDRs, which are traded on exchanges and represent an ownership in a foreign security, provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in ADRs and GDRs continue to be subject to certain of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.  

Asian Economic Risk: Decreasing Asian imports, new trade regulations, changes in exchange rates, a recession in Asia or a slowing of economic growth in this region could have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy.

Asset Class Risk: Securities in the Underlying Index or the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general securities markets or other asset classes.

 

Concentration Risk: Because the Fund's investments are concentrated in Chinese securities and in the financials sector, the Fund will be susceptible to loss due to adverse occurrences affecting this country and sector. To the extent that the Underlying Index concentrates in the securities of issuers in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund will also concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. By concentrating its investments in a country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund faces more risks than if it were diversified broadly over numerous countries, industries, markets, asset classes, or sectors. Such risks, any of which may adversely affect the companies in which the Fund invests, may include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions or cyclical market patterns that could negatively affect supply and demand; competition for resources, adverse labor relations, political or world events; obsolescence of technologies; and increased competition or new product introductions that may affect the profitability or viability of companies in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector. In addition, at times, such country, industry, market, asset class, or sector may be out of favor and underperform other similar categories or the market as a whole. For additional details on these risks, please see Risks Related to Investing in China and Risks Related to Investing in the Financials Sector .

 

Currency Risk: Because the Fund's NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund's NAV could decline if China's currency depreciates against the U.S. dollar.

 

Custody Risk: Less developed markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settling of trades and the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories.

 

Emerging Market Risk: China is an emerging market country, which may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in developed markets. Securities markets of emerging market countries are less liquid, subject to greater price volatility, have smaller market capitalizations, have less government regulation, and are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, financial, and other reporting requirements as the securities markets of more developed countries.

 

Equity Securities Risk: Equity securities are subject to changes in value and their values may be more volatile than other asset classes, as a result of such factors as a company’s business performance, investor perceptions, stock market trends and general economic conditions.

 

Foreign Security Risk: Investments in the securities of foreign issuers (including investments in ADRs and GDRs) are subject to the risks associated with investing in those foreign markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. In addition, securities of foreign issuers may lose value due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. During periods of social, political or economic instability in a country or region, the value of a foreign security traded on U.S. exchanges, nonetheless, could be affected by, among other things, increasing price volatility, illiquidity, or the closure of the primary market on which the security (or the security underlying the ADR or GDR) is traded. You may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market.

 

Geographic Risk: A natural disaster could occur in China, which could affect the economy or particular business operations of companies economically tied to China.

 

Investable Universe of Companies Risk: The investable universe of companies in which a Fund may invest may be limited. If a company no longer meets the Index Provider’s criteria for inclusion in the Underlying Index, the Fund may need to reduce or eliminate its holdings in that company. The reduction or elimination of the Fund’s holdings in the company may have an adverse impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings and on Fund performance.

Issuer Risk: Fund performance depends on the performance of individual companies in which the Fund invests. Changes to the financial condition of any of those companies may cause the value of their securities to decline.

 

Management Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s investment management strategy may cause the Fund to underperform the market or its relevant benchmark or adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

Market Risk: The Fund's NAV could decline over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during market downturns.

 

Market Trading Risk: The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors may lead to the Shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV.

Non-Correlation Risk: The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Underlying Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Underlying Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Underlying Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Underlying Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index resulting from legal restrictions, costs or liquidity constraints.  

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that it will be more volatile than a diversified fund because the Fund may invest its assets in a smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. As a result, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s NAV and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds.

 

Passive Investment Risk: The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser does not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of its Underlying Index. Therefore, it would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.

Privatization Risk: China has privatized certain entities and industries. Privatized entities may lose money or be re-nationalized.

 

Reliance on Trading Partners Risk: The Fund invests in the Chinese economy, which is heavily dependent upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading, including as a result of adverse economic conditions in a trading partner’s economy, may cause an adverse impact on the economy in which the Fund invests.

Risks Related to Investing in China: Investment exposure to China subjects the Fund to risks specific to China. China may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and social instability. China is a developing market and demonstrates significantly higher volatility from time to time in comparison to developed markets. Over the past 25 years, the Chinese government has undertaken reform of economic and market practices and expansion of the sphere for private ownership of property in China. However, Chinese markets generally continue to experience inefficiency, volatility and pricing anomalies resulting from governmental influence, a lack of publicly available information and/or political and social instability. Internal social unrest or confrontations with other neighboring countries, including military conflicts in response to such events, may also disrupt economic development in China and result in a greater risk of currency fluctuations, currency convertibility, interest rate fluctuations and higher rates of inflation. Export growth continues to be a major driver of China’s rapid economic growth. Reduction in spending on Chinese products and services, institution of tariffs or other trade barriers, or a downturn in any of the economies of China’s key trading partners may have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy.

Risks Related to Investing in the Financials Sector: Performance of companies in the financials sector may be adversely impacted by many factors, including, among others, government regulations, economic conditions, credit rating downgrades, changes in interest rates, and decreased liquidity in credit markets. Chinese financial sector regulation and ownership may be more intrusive than in the United States and other developed countries, especially with respect to the regulation of non-Chinese banks and other non-Chinese financial companies. Greater Chinese governmental involvement in the financial sector may pose additional risks for investors. Market conditions in China may be particularly subject to change based on government policy. This sector has experienced significant losses in the recent past, and the impact of more stringent capital requirements and of recent or future regulation on any individual financial company or on the sector as a whole cannot be predicted.

 

Securities Market Risk: Because certain securities markets in China are small in size, underdeveloped, and are less regulated and less correlated to global economic cycles than those markets located in more developed countries, the securities markets in China are subject to greater risks associated with market volatility, lower market capitalization, lower trading volume, illiquidity, inflation, greater price fluctuations and uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets.

Tracking Error Risk: The performance of the Fund may diverge from that of the Underlying Index.

Trading Halt Risk: An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses.

U.S. Economic Risk: A decrease in U.S. imports, new trade regulations, changes in the U.S. dollar exchange rates or an economic slowdown in the United States may have an adverse impact on China's economy and, as a result, securities to which the Fund has exposure.

Valuation Risk: The sales price the Fund could receive for a security may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security and may differ from the value used by the Underlying Index, particularly for securities that trade in low value or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. The value of the securities in the Fund's portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund's Shares.

SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund is subject to the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective, as well as other risks that are described in greater detail in the Additional Information About the Funds’ Strategies and Risks section of the Prospectus and in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").

 

ADR/GDR Risk: To the extent the Fund seeks exposure to foreign companies, the Fund’s investments may be in the form of depositary receipts or other securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers, including ADRs and GDRs. While the use of ADRs and GDRs, which are traded on exchanges and represent an ownership in a foreign security, provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in ADRs and GDRs continue to be subject to certain of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.  

Asian Economic Risk: Decreasing Asian imports, new trade regulations, changes in exchange rates, a recession in Asia or a slowing of economic growth in this region could have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy.

 

Asset Class Risk: Securities in the Underlying Index or the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general securities markets or other asset classes.

 

Concentration Risk: Because the Fund's investments are concentrated in Chinese securities and in the industrials sector, the Fund will be susceptible to loss due to adverse occurrences affecting this country and sector. To the extent that the Underlying Index concentrates in the securities of issuers in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund will also concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. By concentrating its investments in a country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund faces more risks than if it were diversified broadly over numerous countries, industries, markets, asset classes, or sectors. Such risks, any of which may adversely affect the companies in which the Fund invests, may include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions or cyclical market patterns that could negatively affect supply and demand; competition for resources, adverse labor relations, political or world events; obsolescence of technologies; and increased competition or new product introductions that may affect the profitability or viability of companies in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector. In addition, at times, such country, industry, market, asset class, or sector may be out of favor and underperform other similar categories or the market as a whole. For additional details on these risks, please see Risks Related to Investing in China and Risks Related to Investing in the Industrials Sector . 

 

Currency Risk: Because the Fund's NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund's NAV could decline if China's currency depreciates against the U.S. dollar.

 

Custody Risk: Less developed markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settling of trades and the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories.

 

Emerging Market Risk: China is an emerging market country, which may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in developed markets. Securities markets of emerging market countries are less liquid, subject to greater price volatility, have smaller market capitalizations, have less government regulation, and are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, financial, and other reporting requirements as the securities markets of more developed countries.

 

Equity Securities Risk: Equity securities are subject to changes in value and their values may be more volatile than other asset classes, as a result of such factors as a company’s business performance, investor perceptions, stock market trends and general economic conditions.

 

Foreign Security Risk: Investments in the securities of foreign issuers (including investments in ADRs and GDRs) are subject to the risks associated with investing in those foreign markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. In addition, securities of foreign issuers may lose value due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. During periods of social, political or economic instability in a country or region, the value of a foreign security traded on U.S. exchanges, nonetheless, could be affected by, among other things, increasing price volatility, illiquidity, or the closure of the primary market on which the security (or the security underlying the ADR or GDR) is traded. You may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market.

 

Geographic Risk: A natural disaster could occur in China, which could affect the economy or particular business operations of companies economically tied to China.

Investable Universe of Companies Risk: The investable universe of companies in which a Fund may invest may be limited. If a company no longer meets the Index Provider’s criteria for inclusion in the Underlying Index, the Fund may need to reduce or eliminate its holdings in that company. The reduction or elimination of the Fund’s holdings in the company may have an adverse impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings and on Fund performance.

Issuer Risk: Fund performance depends on the performance of individual companies in which the Fund invests. Changes to the financial condition of any of those companies may cause the value of their securities to decline.

 

Management Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s investment management strategy may cause the Fund to underperform the market or its relevant benchmark or adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

Market Risk: The Fund's NAV could decline over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during market downturns.

 

Market Trading Risk: The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors may lead to the Shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV.

Non-Correlation Risk: The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Underlying Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Underlying Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Underlying Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Underlying Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index resulting from legal restrictions, costs or liquidity constraints.  

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that it will be more volatile than a diversified fund because the Fund may invest its assets in a smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. As a result, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s NAV and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds.

 

Passive Investment Risk: The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser does not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of its Underlying Index. Therefore, it would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.

Privatization Risk: China has privatized certain entities and industries. Privatized entities may lose money or be re-nationalized.

 

Reliance on Trading Partners Risk: The Fund invests in the Chinese economy, which is heavily dependent upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading, including as a result of adverse economic conditions in a trading partner’s economy, may cause an adverse impact on the economy in which the Fund invests.

Risks Related to Investing in China: Investment exposure to China subjects the Fund to risks specific to China. China may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and social instability. China is a developing market and demonstrates significantly higher volatility from time to time in comparison to developed markets. Over the past 25 years, the Chinese government has undertaken reform of economic and market practices and expansion of the sphere for private ownership of property in China. However, Chinese markets generally continue to experience inefficiency, volatility and pricing anomalies resulting from governmental influence, a lack of publicly available information and/or political and social instability. Internal social unrest or confrontations with other neighboring countries, including military conflicts in response to such events, may also disrupt economic development in China and result in a greater risk of currency fluctuations, currency convertibility, interest rate fluctuations and higher rates of inflation. Export growth continues to be a major driver of China’s rapid economic growth. Reduction in spending on Chinese products and services, institution of tariffs or other trade barriers, or a downturn in any of the economies of China’s key trading partners may have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy.

 

Risks Related to Investing in the Industrials Sector: Investments in securities in the industrials sector are subject to fluctuations in supply and demand for their specific product or service. The products of manufacturing companies may face product obsolescence due to rapid technological developments. Government regulation, world events and economic conditions affect the performance of companies in the industrials sector. Companies also may be adversely affected by environmental damage and product liability claims.

  

Securities Market Risk: Because certain securities markets in China are small in size, underdeveloped, and are less regulated and less correlated to global economic cycles than those markets located in more developed countries, the securities markets in China are subject to greater risks associated with market volatility, lower market capitalization, lower trading volume, illiquidity, inflation, greater price fluctuations and uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets.

 

Tracking Error Risk: The performance of the Fund may diverge from that of the Underlying Index.

Trading Halt Risk: An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses.

U.S. Economic Risk: A decrease in U.S. imports, new trade regulations, changes in the U.S. dollar exchange rates or an economic slowdown in the United States may have an adverse impact on China's economy and, as a result, securities to which the Fund has exposure.

Valuation Risk: The sales price the Fund could receive for a security may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security and may differ from the value used by the Underlying Index, particularly for securities that trade in low value or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. The value of the securities in the Fund's portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund's Shares.

SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund is subject to the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective, as well as other risks that are described in greater detail in the Additional Information About the Funds’ Strategies and Risks section of the Prospectus and in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").

 

ADR/GDR Risk: To the extent the Fund seeks exposure to foreign companies, the Fund’s investments may be in the form of depositary receipts or other securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers, including ADRs and GDRs. While the use of ADRs and GDRs, which are traded on exchanges and represent an ownership in a foreign security, provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in ADRs and GDRs continue to be subject to certain of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.

Asian Economic Risk: Decreasing Asian imports, new trade regulations, changes in exchange rates, a recession in Asia or a slowing of economic growth in this region could have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy.

 

Asset Class Risk: Securities in the Underlying Index or the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general securities markets or other asset classes.

 

Concentration Risk: Because the Fund's investments are concentrated in Chinese securities and in the materials sector, the Fund will be susceptible to loss due to adverse occurrences affecting this country and sector. To the extent that the Underlying Index concentrates in the securities of issuers in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund will also concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. By concentrating its investments in a country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund faces more risks than if it were diversified broadly over numerous countries, industries, markets, asset classes, or sectors. Such risks, any of which may adversely affect the companies in which the Fund invests, may include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions or cyclical market patterns that could negatively affect supply and demand; competition for resources, adverse labor relations, political or world events; obsolescence of technologies; and increased competition or new product introductions that may affect the profitability or viability of companies in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector. In addition, at times, such country, industry, market, asset class, or sector may be out of favor and underperform other similar categories or the market as a whole. For additional details on these risks, please see Risks Related to Investing in China and Risks Related to Investing in the Materials Sector . 

 

Currency Risk: Because the Fund's NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund's NAV could decline if China's currency depreciates against the U.S. dollar.

 

Custody Risk: Less developed markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settling of trades and the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories.

 

Emerging Market Risk: China is an emerging market country, which may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in developed markets. Securities markets of emerging market countries are less liquid, subject to greater price volatility, have smaller market capitalizations, have less government regulation, and are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, financial, and other reporting requirements as the securities markets of more developed countries.

 

Equity Securities Risk: Equity securities are subject to changes in value and their values may be more volatile than other asset classes, as a result of such factors as a company’s business performance, investor perceptions, stock market trends and general economic conditions.

Foreign Security Risk: Investments in the securities of foreign issuers (including investments in ADRs and GDRs) are subject to the risks associated with investing in those foreign markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. In addition, securities of foreign issuers may lose value due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. During periods of social, political or economic instability in a country or region, the value of a foreign security traded on U.S. exchanges, nonetheless, could be affected by, among other things, increasing price volatility, illiquidity, or the closure of the primary market on which the security (or the security underlying the ADR or GDR) is traded. You may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market.

 

Geographic Risk: A natural disaster could occur in China, which could affect the economy or particular business operations of companies economically tied to China.

 

Investable Universe of Companies Risk: The investable universe of companies in which a Fund may invest may be limited. If a company no longer meets the Index Provider’s criteria for inclusion in the Underlying Index, the Fund may need to reduce or eliminate its holdings in that company. The reduction or elimination of the Fund’s holdings in the company may have an adverse impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings and on Fund performance.

Issuer Risk: Fund performance depends on the performance of individual companies in which the Fund invests. Changes to the financial condition of any of those companies may cause the value of their securities to decline.

 

Management Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s investment management strategy may cause the Fund to underperform the market or its relevant benchmark or adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

Market Risk: The Fund's NAV could decline over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during market downturns.

 

Market Trading Risk: The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors may lead to the Shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV.

Non-Correlation Risk: The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Underlying Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Underlying Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Underlying Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Underlying Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index resulting from legal restrictions, costs or liquidity constraints.  

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that it will be more volatile than a diversified fund because the Fund may invest its assets in a smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. As a result, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s NAV and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds.

 

Passive Investment Risk: The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser does not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of its Underlying Index. Therefore, it would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.

Privatization Risk: China has privatized certain entities and industries. Privatized entities may lose money or be re-nationalized.

 

Reliance on Trading Partners Risk: The Fund invests in the Chinese economy, which is heavily dependent upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading, including as a result of adverse economic conditions in a trading partner’s economy, may cause an adverse impact on the economy in which the Fund invests.

Risks Related to Investing in China: Investment exposure to China subjects the Fund to risks specific to China. China may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and social instability. China is a developing market and demonstrates significantly higher volatility from time to time in comparison to developed markets. Over the past 25 years, the Chinese government has undertaken reform of economic and market practices and expansion of the sphere for private ownership of property in China. However, Chinese markets generally continue to experience inefficiency, volatility and pricing anomalies resulting from governmental influence, a lack of publicly available information and/or political and social instability. Internal social unrest or confrontations with other neighboring countries, including military conflicts in response to such events, may also disrupt economic development in China and result in a greater risk of currency fluctuations, currency convertibility, interest rate fluctuations and higher rates of inflation. Export growth continues to be a major driver of China’s rapid economic growth. Reduction in spending on Chinese products and services, institution of tariffs or other trade barriers, or a downturn in any of the economies of China’s key trading partners may have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy.

 

Risks Related to Investing in the Materials Sector: Investments in securities in the materials sector are subject to changes in commodity prices, exchange rates, import controls and worldwide competition. At times, worldwide production of industrial materials has exceeded demand, leading to poor investment returns or outright losses. Issuers in the materials sector are at risk of depletion of resources, technical progress, labor relations, governmental regulations and environmental damage and product liability claims.

  

Securities Market Risk: Because certain securities markets in China are small in size, underdeveloped, and are less regulated and less correlated to global economic cycles than those markets located in more developed countries, the securities markets in China are subject to greater risks associated with market volatility, lower market capitalization, lower trading volume, illiquidity, inflation, greater price fluctuations and uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets.

 

Tracking Error Risk: The performance of the Fund may diverge from that of the Underlying Index.

Trading Halt Risk: An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses.

U.S. Economic Risk: A decrease in U.S. imports, new trade regulations, changes in the U.S. dollar exchange rates or an economic slowdown in the United States may have an adverse impact on China's economy and, as a result, securities to which the Fund has exposure.

 

Valuation Risk: The sales price the Fund could receive for a security may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security and may differ from the value used by the Underlying Index, particularly for securities that trade in low value or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. The value of the securities in the Fund's portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund's Shares.

SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund is subject to the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective, as well as other risks that are described in greater detail in the Additional Information About the Funds’ Strategies and Risks section of the Prospectus and in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").

 

ADR/GDR Risk: To the extent the Fund seeks exposure to foreign companies, the Fund’s investments may be in the form of depositary receipts or other securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers, including ADRs and GDRs. While the use of ADRs and GDRs, which are traded on exchanges and represent an ownership in a foreign security, provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in ADRs and GDRs continue to be subject to certain of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.  

Asian Economic Risk: Decreasing Asian imports, new trade regulations, changes in exchange rates, a recession in Asia or a slowing of economic growth in this region could have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy.

 

Asset Class Risk: Securities in the Underlying Index or the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general securities markets or other asset classes.

 

Concentration Risk: Because the Fund's investments are concentrated in Chinese securities and in the mid-cap size category, the Fund will be susceptible to losses due to adverse occurrences affecting this country. To the extent that the Underlying Index concentrates in the securities of issuers in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund will also concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. By concentrating its investments in a country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund faces more risks than if it were diversified broadly over numerous countries, industries, markets, asset classes, or sectors. Such risks, any of which may adversely affect the companies in which the Fund invests, may include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions or cyclical market patterns that could negatively affect supply and demand; competition for resources, adverse labor relations, political or world events; obsolescence of technologies; and increased competition or new product introductions that may affect the profitability or viability of companies in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector. In addition, at times, such country, industry, market, asset class, or sector may be out of favor and underperform other similar categories or the market as a whole. For additional details on these risks, please see Risks Related to Investing in China . 

 

Currency Risk: Because the Fund's NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund's NAV could decline if China's currency depreciates against the U.S. dollar.

Custody Risk: Less developed markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settling of trades and the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories.

 

Emerging Market Risk: China is an emerging market country, which may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in developed markets. Securities markets of emerging market countries are less liquid, subject to greater price volatility, have smaller market capitalizations, have less government regulation, and are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, financial, and other reporting requirements as the securities markets of more developed countries.

 

Equity Securities Risk: Equity securities are subject to changes in value and their values may be more volatile than other asset classes, as a result of such factors as a company’s business performance, investor perceptions, stock market trends and general economic conditions.

 

Foreign Security Risk: Investments in the securities of foreign issuers (including investments in ADRs and GDRs) are subject to the risks associated with investing in those foreign markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. In addition, securities of foreign issuers may lose value due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. During periods of social, political or economic instability in a country or region, the value of a foreign security traded on U.S. exchanges, nonetheless, could be affected by, among other things, increasing price volatility, illiquidity, or the closure of the primary market on which the security (or the security underlying the ADR or GDR) is traded. You may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market.

 

Geographic Risk: A natural disaster could occur in China, which could affect the economy or particular business operations of companies economically tied to China.

Investable Universe of Companies Risk: The investable universe of companies in which a Fund may invest may be limited. If a company no longer meets the Index Provider’s criteria for inclusion in the Underlying Index, the Fund may need to reduce or eliminate its holdings in that company. The reduction or elimination of the Fund’s holdings in the company may have an adverse impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings and on Fund performance.  

Issuer Risk: Fund performance depends on the performance of individual companies in which the Fund invests. Changes to the financial condition of any of those companies may cause the value of their securities to decline.

 

Management Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s investment management strategy may cause the Fund to underperform the market or its relevant benchmark or adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

Market Risk: The Fund's NAV could decline over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during market downturns.

 

Market Trading Risk: The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors may lead to the Shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV.

 

Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk: Mid cap companies may have greater volatility in price than the stocks of large companies due to limited product lines or resources or a dependency upon a particular market niche.

Non-Correlation Risk: The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Underlying Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Underlying Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Underlying Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Underlying Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index resulting from legal restrictions, costs or liquidity constraints.

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that it will be more volatile than a diversified fund because the Fund may invest its assets in a smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. As a result, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s NAV and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds.

Passive Investment Risk: The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser does not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of its Underlying Index. Therefore, it would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.

Privatization Risk: China has privatized certain entities and industries. Privatized entities may lose money or be re-nationalized.

 

Reliance on Trading Partners Risk: The Fund invests in the Chinese economy, which is heavily dependent upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading, including as a result of adverse economic conditions in a trading partner’s economy, may cause an adverse impact on the economy in which the Fund invests.

 

Risks Related to Investing in China: Investment exposure to China subjects the Fund to risks specific to China. China may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and social instability. China is a developing market and demonstrates significantly higher volatility from time to time in comparison to developed markets. Over the past 25 years, the Chinese government has undertaken reform of economic and market practices and expansion of the sphere for private ownership of property in China. However, Chinese markets generally continue to experience inefficiency, volatility and pricing anomalies resulting from governmental influence, a lack of publicly available information and/or political and social instability. Internal social unrest or confrontations with other neighboring countries, including military conflicts in response to such events, may also disrupt economic development in China and result in a greater risk of currency fluctuations, currency convertibility, interest rate fluctuations and higher rates of inflation. Export growth continues to be a major driver of China’s rapid economic growth. Reduction in spending on Chinese products and services, institution of tariffs or other trade barriers, or a downturn in any of the economies of China’s key trading partners may have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy.

 

Securities Market Risk: Because certain securities markets in China are small in size, underdeveloped, and are less regulated and less correlated to global economic cycles than those markets located in more developed countries, the securities markets in China are subject to greater risks associated with market volatility, lower market capitalization, lower trading volume, illiquidity, inflation, greater price fluctuations and uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets.

 

Tracking Error Risk: The performance of the Fund may diverge from that of the Underlying Index.

 

Trading Halt Risk: An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses.

U.S. Economic Risk: A decrease in U.S. imports, new trade regulations, changes in the U.S. dollar exchange rates or an economic slowdown in the United States may have an adverse impact on China's economy and, as a result, securities to which the Fund has exposure.

 

Valuation Risk: The sales price the Fund could receive for a security may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security and may differ from the value used by the Underlying Index, particularly for securities that trade in low value or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. The value of the securities in the Fund's portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund's Shares.

SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund is subject to the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective, as well as other risks that are described in greater detail in the Additional Information About the Funds’ Strategies and Risks section of the Prospectus and in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").

 

ADR/GDR Risk: To the extent the Fund seeks exposure to foreign companies, the Fund’s investments may be in the form of depositary receipts or other securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers, including ADRs and GDRs. While the use of ADRs and GDRs, which are traded on exchanges and represent an ownership in a foreign security, provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in ADRs and GDRs continue to be subject to certain of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.  

Asian Economic Risk: Decreasing Asian imports, new trade regulations, changes in exchange rates, a recession in Asia or a slowing of economic growth in this region could have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy.

 

Asset Class Risk: Securities in the Underlying Index or the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general securities markets or other asset classes.

 

Concentration Risk: Because the Fund's investments are concentrated in Chinese securities and in the technology sector, the Fund will be susceptible to loss due to adverse occurrences affecting this country and sector. To the extent that the Underlying Index concentrates in the securities of issuers in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund will also concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. By concentrating its investments in a country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund faces more risks than if it were diversified broadly over numerous countries, industries, markets, asset classes, or sectors. Such risks, any of which may adversely affect the companies in which the Fund invests, may include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions or cyclical market patterns that could negatively affect supply and demand; competition for resources, adverse labor relations, political or world events; obsolescence of technologies; and increased competition or new product introductions that may affect the profitability or viability of companies in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector. In addition, at times, such country, industry, market, asset class, or sector may be out of favor and underperform other similar categories or the market as a whole. For additional details on these risks, please see Risks Related to Investing in China and Risks Related to Investing in the Technology Sector .

 

Currency Risk: Because the Fund's NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund's NAV could decline if China's currency depreciates against the U.S. dollar.

 

Custody Risk: Less developed markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settling of trades and the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories.

 

Emerging Market Risk: China is an emerging market country, which may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in developed markets. Securities markets of emerging market countries are less liquid, subject to greater price volatility, have smaller market capitalizations, have less government regulation, and are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, financial, and other reporting requirements as the securities markets of more developed countries.

 

Equity Securities Risk: Equity securities are subject to changes in value and their values may be more volatile than other asset classes, as a result of such factors as a company’s business performance, investor perceptions, stock market trends and general economic conditions.

 

Foreign Security Risk: Investments in the securities of foreign issuers (including investments in ADRs and GDRs) are subject to the risks associated with investing in those foreign markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. In addition, securities of foreign issuers may lose value due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. During periods of social, political or economic instability in a country or region, the value of a foreign security traded on U.S. exchanges, nonetheless, could be affected by, among other things, increasing price volatility, illiquidity, or the closure of the primary market on which the security (or the security underlying the ADR or GDR) is traded. You may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market.

 

Geographic Risk: A natural disaster could occur in China, which could affect the economy or particular business operations of companies economically tied to China.

Investable Universe of Companies Risk: The investable universe of companies in which a Fund may invest may be limited. If a company no longer meets the Index Provider’s criteria for inclusion in the Underlying Index, the Fund may need to reduce or eliminate its holdings in that company. The reduction or elimination of the Fund’s holdings in the company may have an adverse impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings and on Fund performance.  

Issuer Risk: Fund performance depends on the performance of individual companies in which the Fund invests. Changes to the financial condition of any of those companies may cause the value of their securities to decline.

 

Management Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s investment management strategy may cause the Fund to underperform the market or its relevant benchmark or adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

Market Risk: The Fund's NAV could decline over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during market downturns.

 

Market Trading Risk: The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors may lead to the Shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV.

Non-Correlation Risk: The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Underlying Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Underlying Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Underlying Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Underlying Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index resulting from legal restrictions, costs or liquidity constraints.  

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that it will be more volatile than a diversified fund because the Fund may invest its assets in a smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. As a result, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s NAV and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds.

 

Passive Investment Risk: The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser does not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of its Underlying Index. Therefore, it would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.

 

Privatization Risk: China has privatized certain entities and industries. Privatized entities may lose money or be re-nationalized.

 

Reliance on Trading Partners Risk: The Fund invests in the Chinese economy, which is heavily dependent upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading, including as a result of adverse economic conditions in a trading partner’s economy, may cause an adverse impact on the economy in which the Fund invests.

Risks Related to Investing in China: Investment exposure to China subjects the Fund to risks specific to China. China may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and social instability. China is a developing market and demonstrates significantly higher volatility from time to time in comparison to developed markets. Over the past 25 years, the Chinese government has undertaken reform of economic and market practices and expansion of the sphere for private ownership of property in China. However, Chinese markets generally continue to experience inefficiency, volatility and pricing anomalies resulting from governmental influence, a lack of publicly available information and/or political and social instability. Internal social unrest or confrontations with other neighboring countries, including military conflicts in response to such events, may also disrupt economic development in China and result in a greater risk of currency fluctuations, currency convertibility, interest rate fluctuations and higher rates of inflation. Export growth continues to be a major driver of China’s rapid economic growth. Reduction in spending on Chinese products and services, institution of tariffs or other trade barriers, or a downturn in any of the economies of China’s key trading partners may have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy.

 

Risks Related to Investing in the Technology Sector: Investments in securities in the technology sector are subject to rapid changes in technology product cycles; rapid product obsolescence; government regulation; and increased competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology tend to be more volatile than the overall market, and are also are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights.

  

Securities Market Risk: Because certain securities markets in China are small in size, underdeveloped, and are less regulated and less correlated to global economic cycles than those markets located in more developed countries, the securities markets in China are subject to greater risks associated with market volatility, lower market capitalization, lower trading volume, illiquidity, inflation, greater price fluctuations and uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets.

Tracking Error Risk: The performance of the Fund may diverge from that of the Underlying Index.

 

Trading Halt Risk: An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses.

U.S. Economic Risk: A decrease in U.S. imports, new trade regulations, changes in the U.S. dollar exchange rates or an economic slowdown in the United States may have an adverse impact on China's economy and, as a result, securities to which the Fund has exposure.

Valuation Risk: The sales price the Fund could receive for a security may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security and may differ from the value used by the Underlying Index, particularly for securities that trade in low value or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. The value of the securities in the Fund's portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund's Shares.

SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund is subject to the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective, as well as other risks that are described in greater detail in the Additional Information About the Funds’ Strategies and Risks section of the Prospectus and in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").

 

ADR/GDR Risk: To the extent the Fund seeks exposure to foreign companies, the Fund’s investments may be in the form of depositary receipts or other securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers, including ADRs and GDRs. While the use of ADRs and GDRs, which are traded on exchanges and represent an ownership in a foreign security, provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in ADRs and GDRs continue to be subject to certain of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.

Asian Economic Risk: Decreasing Asian imports, new trade regulations, changes in exchange rates, a recession in Asia or a slowing of economic growth in this region could have an adverse impact on the economy of Brazil.

 

Asset Class Risk: Securities in the Underlying Index or the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general securities markets or other asset classes.

 

Cash Transaction Risk: Unlike most ETFs, the Fund intends to effect all creations and redemptions principally for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in a more conventional ETF.

  

Commodity Exposure Risk: The Fund invests in Brazilian securities, which are susceptible to fluctuations in certain commodity markets. Any negative changes in commodity markets could have a great impact on the Brazilian economy.

 

Concentration Risk: Because the Fund's investments are concentrated in Brazilian securities and in the consumer sector, the Fund will be susceptible to loss due to adverse occurrences affecting this country and sector. To the extent that the Underlying Index concentrates in the securities of issuers in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund will also concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. By concentrating its investments in a country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund faces more risks than if it were diversified broadly over numerous countries, industries, markets, asset classes, or sectors. Such risks, any of which may adversely affect the companies in which the Fund invests, may include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions or cyclical market patterns that could negatively affect supply and demand; competition for resources, adverse labor relations, political or world events; obsolescence of technologies; and increased competition or new product introductions that may affect the profitability or viability of companies in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector. In addition, at times, such country, industry, market, asset class, or sector may be out of favor and underperform other similar categories or the market as a whole. For additional details on these risks, please see Risks Related

to Investing in Brazil, Risks Related to Investing in the Consumer Discretionary Sector, and Risks Related to Investing in the Consumer Staples Sector .

.

Currency Risk: Because the Fund's NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund's NAV could decline if Brazil's currency depreciates against the U.S. dollar.

 

Custody Risk: Less developed markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settling of trades and the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories.

 

Emerging Market Risk: Brazil is an emerging market country, which may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in developed markets. Securities markets of emerging market countries are less liquid, subject to greater price volatility, have smaller market capitalizations, have less government regulation, and are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, financial, and other reporting requirements as the securities markets of more developed countries.

Equity Securities Risk: Equity securities are subject to changes in value and their values may be more volatile than other asset classes, as a result of such factors as a company’s business performance, investor perceptions, stock market trends and general economic conditions.

Foreign Security Risk: Investments in the securities of foreign issuers (including investments in ADRs and GDRs) are subject to the risks associated with investing in those foreign markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. In addition, securities of foreign issuers may lose value due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. During periods of social, political or economic instability in a country or region, the value of a foreign security traded on U.S. exchanges, nonetheless, could be affected by, among other things, increasing price volatility, illiquidity, or the closure of the primary market on which the security (or the security underlying the ADR or GDR) is traded. You may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market.

 

Geographic Risk: A natural disaster could occur in Brazil, which could affect the economy or particular business operations of companies economically tied to Brazil.

Investable Universe of Companies Risk: The investable universe of companies in which a Fund may invest may be limited. If a company no longer meets the Index Provider’s criteria for inclusion in the Underlying Index, the Fund may need to reduce or eliminate its holdings in that company. The reduction or elimination of the Fund’s holdings in the company may have an adverse impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings and on Fund performance.

Issuer Risk: Fund performance depends on the performance of individual companies in which the Fund invests. Changes to the financial condition of any of those companies may cause the value of their securities to decline.

 

Latin American Economic Risk: The economy of Brazil is affected by the economies of Latin American countries, some of which have experienced high interest rates, economic volatility, inflation, currency devaluations and high unemployment rates. Any adverse economic event in one country can have a significant effect on other countries of this region.

Management Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s investment management strategy may cause the Fund to underperform the market or its relevant benchmark or adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

Market Risk: The Fund's NAV could decline over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during market downturns.

 

Market Trading Risk: The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors may lead to the Shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV.

Non-Correlation Risk: The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Underlying Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Underlying Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Underlying Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Underlying Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index resulting from legal restrictions, costs or liquidity constraints.

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that it will be more volatile than a diversified fund because the Fund may invest its assets in a smaller

number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. As a result, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s NAV and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds.

 

Passive Investment Risk: The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser does not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of its Underlying Index. Therefore, it would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.

 

Premium/Discount Risk: Disruptions to creations and redemptions, the existence of extreme market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for Shares may result in Shares trading at a significant premium or discount to NAV. If a shareholder
purchases Shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells Shares at a time when the market price
is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses.

Privatization Risk: Brazil has privatized certain entities and industries. Privatized entities may lose money or be re-nationalized.

 

Reliance on Trading Partners Risk: The Fund invests in the Brazilian economy, which is heavily dependent upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading, including as a result of adverse economic conditions in a trading partner’s economy, may cause an adverse impact on the economy in which the Fund invests.

 

Risks Related to Investing in Brazil: Investments in securities of Brazilian companies are subject to regulatory and economic interventions that the Brazilian government has frequently exercised in the past, including the setting of wage and price controls, blocking access to bank accounts, imposing exchange controls and limiting imports. Investments are also subject to certain restrictions on foreign investment as provided by Brazilian law. The Brazilian economy has historically been subject to high rates of inflation and a high level of debt, all of which may stifle economic growth. Despite rapid development in recent years, Brazil still suffers from high levels of corruption, crime and income disparity. There is the possibility that such conditions may lead to social unrest and political upheaval in the future, which may have adverse effects on the Fund's investments.

 

Risks Related to Investing in the Consumer Discretionary Sector: The consumer discretionary sector may be affected by changes in domestic and international economies, exchange and interest rates, competition, consumers’ disposable income and consumer preferences, social trends and marketing campaigns.

Risks Related to Investing in the Consumer Staples Sector: The consumer staples sector may be affected by marketing campaigns, changes in consumer demands, government regulations and changes in commodity prices.

Securities Market Risk: Because the securities markets in Brazil are small in size, underdeveloped, and are less regulated and less correlated to global economic cycles than those markets located in more developed countries, the securities markets in Brazil are subject to greater risks associated with market volatility, lower market capitalization, lower trading volume, illiquidity, inflation, greater price fluctuations and uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets.

 

Tracking Error Risk: The performance of the Fund may diverge from that of the Underlying Index.

 

Trading Halt Risk: An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses.

U.S. Economic Risk: A decrease in U.S. imports, new trade regulations, changes in the U.S. dollar exchange rates or an economic slowdown in the United States may have an adverse impact on Brazil's economy and, as a result, securities to which the Fund has exposure.

 

Valuation Risk: The sales price the Fund could receive for a security may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security and may differ from the value used by the Underlying Index, particularly for securities that trade in low value or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. The value of the securities in the Fund's portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund's Shares.

SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund is subject to the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective, as well as other risks that are described in greater detail in the Additional Information About the Funds’ Strategies and Risks section of the Prospectus and in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").

 

ADR/GDR Risk: To the extent the Fund seeks exposure to foreign companies, the Fund’s investments may be in the form of depositary receipts or other securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers, including ADRs and GDRs. While the use of ADRs and GDRs, which are traded on exchanges and represent an ownership in a foreign security, provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in ADRs and GDRs continue to be subject to certain of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.

Asian Economic Risk: Decreasing Asian imports, new trade regulations, changes in exchange rates, a recession in Asia or a slowing of economic growth in this region could have an adverse impact on the economy of Brazil.

 

Asset Class Risk: Securities in the Underlying Index or the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general securities markets or other asset classes.

 

Cash Transaction Risk: Unlike most ETFs, the Fund intends to effect all creations and redemptions principally for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in a more conventional ETF.

  

Commodity Exposure Risk: The Fund invests in Brazilian securities, which are susceptible to fluctuations in certain commodity markets. Any negative changes in commodity markets could have a great impact on the Brazilian economy.

Concentration Risk: Because the Fund's investments are concentrated in Brazilian securities and the financials sector, the Fund will be susceptible to loss due to adverse occurrences affecting this country and sector. To the extent that the Underlying Index concentrates in the securities of issuers in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund will also concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. By concentrating its investments in a country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund faces more risks than if it were diversified broadly over numerous countries, industries, markets, asset classes, or sectors. Such risks, any of which may adversely affect the companies in which the Fund invests, may include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions or cyclical market patterns that could negatively affect supply and demand; competition for resources, adverse labor relations, political or world events; obsolescence of technologies; and increased competition or new product introductions that may affect the profitability or viability of companies in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector. In addition, at times, such country, industry, market, asset class, or sector may be out of favor and underperform other similar categories or the market as a whole. For additional details on these risks, please see Risks Related to Investing in Brazil and Risks Related to Investing in the Financials Sector .

Currency Risk: Because the Fund's NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund's NAV could decline if Brazil's currency depreciates against the U.S. dollar.

 

Custody Risk: Less developed markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settling of trades and the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories.

 

Emerging Market Risk: Brazil is an emerging market country, which may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in developed markets. Securities markets of emerging market countries are less liquid, subject to greater price volatility, have smaller market capitalizations, have less government regulation, and are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, financial, and other reporting requirements as the securities markets of more developed countries.

 

Equity Securities Risk: Equity securities are subject to changes in value and their values may be more volatile than other asset classes, as a result of such factors as a company’s business performance, investor perceptions, stock market trends and general economic conditions.

 

Foreign Security Risk: Investments in the securities of foreign issuers (including investments in ADRs and GDRs) are subject to the risks associated with investing in those foreign markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. In addition, securities of foreign issuers may lose value due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. During periods of social, political or economic instability in a country or region, the value of a foreign security traded on U.S. exchanges, nonetheless, could be affected by, among other things, increasing price volatility, illiquidity, or the closure of the primary market on which the security (or the security underlying the ADR or GDR) is traded. You may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market.

 

Geographic Risk: A natural disaster could occur in Brazil, which could affect the economy or particular business operations of companies economically tied to Brazil.

Investable Universe of Companies Risk: The investable universe of companies in which a Fund may invest may be limited. If a company no longer meets the Index Provider’s criteria for inclusion in the Underlying Index, the Fund may need to reduce or eliminate its holdings in that company. The reduction or elimination of the Fund’s holdings in the company may have an adverse impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings and on Fund performance.  

Issuer Risk: Fund performance depends on the performance of individual companies in which the Fund invests. Changes to the financial condition of any of those companies may cause the value of their securities to decline.

 

Latin American Economic Risk: The economy of Brazil is affected by the economies of Latin American countries, some of which have experienced high interest rates, economic volatility, inflation, currency devaluations and high unemployment rates. Any adverse economic event in one country can have a significant effect on other countries of this region.

Management Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s investment management strategy may cause the Fund to underperform the market or its relevant benchmark or adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

Market Risk: The Fund's NAV could decline over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during market downturns.

 

Market Trading Risk: The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors may lead to the Shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV.

Non-Correlation Risk: The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Underlying Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Underlying Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Underlying Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Underlying Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index resulting from legal restrictions, costs or liquidity constraints.  

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that it will be more volatile than a diversified fund because the Fund may invest its assets in a smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. As a result, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s NAV and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds.

 

Passive Investment Risk: The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser does not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of its Underlying Index. Therefore, it would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.

 

Privatization Risk: Brazil has privatized certain entities and industries. Privatized entities may lose money or be re-nationalized.

Reliance on Trading Partners Risk: The Fund invests in the Brazilian economy, which is heavily dependent upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading, including as a result of adverse economic conditions in a trading partner’s economy, may cause an adverse impact on the economy in which the Fund invests.

 

Risks Related to Investing in Brazil: Investments in securities of Brazilian companies are subject to regulatory and economic interventions that the Brazilian government has frequently exercised in the past, including the setting of wage and price controls, blocking access to bank accounts, imposing exchange controls and limiting imports. Investments are also subject to certain restrictions on foreign investment as provided by Brazilian law. The Brazilian economy has historically been subject to high rates of inflation and a high level of debt, all of which may stifle economic growth. Despite rapid development in recent years, Brazil still suffers from high levels of corruption, crime and income disparity. There is the possibility that such conditions may lead to social unrest and political upheaval in the future, which may have adverse effects on the Fund's investments.

 

Risks Related to Investing in the Financials Sector: Performance of companies in the financials sector may be adversely impacted by many factors, including, among others, government regulations, economic conditions, credit rating downgrades, changes in interest rates, and decreased liquidity in credit markets. This sector has experienced significant losses in the recent past, and the impact of more stringent capital requirements and of recent or future regulation on any individual financial company or on the sector as a whole cannot be predicted.

  

Securities Market Risk: Because the securities markets in Brazil are small in size, underdeveloped, and are less regulated and less correlated to global economic cycles than those markets located in more developed countries, the securities markets in Brazil are subject to greater risks associated with market volatility, lower market capitalization, lower trading volume, illiquidity, inflation, greater price fluctuations and uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets.

 

Tracking Error Risk: The performance of the Fund may diverge from that of the Underlying Index.

 

Trading Halt Risk: An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses.

U.S. Economic Risk: A decrease in U.S. imports, new trade regulations, changes in the U.S. dollar exchange rates or an economic slowdown in the United States may have an adverse impact on Brazil's economy and, as a result, securities to which the Fund has exposure.

 

Valuation Risk: The sales price the Fund could receive for a security may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security and may differ from the value used by the Underlying Index, particularly for securities that trade in low value or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. The value of the securities in the Fund's portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund's Shares.

SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund is subject to the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective, as well as other risks that are described in greater detail in the Additional Information About the Funds’ Strategies and Risks section of the Prospectus and in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").

 

ADR/GDR Risk: To the extent the Fund seeks exposure to foreign companies, the Fund’s investments may be in the form of depositary receipts or other securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers, including ADRs and GDRs. While the use of ADRs and GDRs, which are traded on exchanges and represent an ownership in a foreign security, provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in ADRs and GDRs continue to be subject to certain of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.

Asian Economic Risk: Decreasing Asian imports, new trade regulations, changes in exchange rates, a recession in Asia or a slowing of economic growth in this region could have an adverse impact on the economy of Brazil.

 

Asset Class Risk: Securities in the Underlying Index or the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general securities markets or other asset classes.

 

Cash Transaction Risk: Unlike most ETFs, the Fund intends to effect all creations and redemptions principally for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in a more conventional ETF.

Commodity Exposure Risk: The Fund invests in Brazilian securities, which are susceptible to fluctuations in certain commodity markets. Any negative changes in commodity markets could have a great impact on the Brazilian economy.

Concentration Risk: Because the Fund's investments are concentrated in Brazilian securities and in the industrial sector, the Fund will be susceptible to losses due to adverse occurrences affecting this country. To the extent that the Underlying Index concentrates in the securities of issuers in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund will also concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. By concentrating its investments in a country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund faces more risks than if it were diversified broadly over numerous countries, industries, markets, asset classes, or sectors. Such risks, any of which may adversely affect the companies in which the Fund invests, may include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions or cyclical market patterns that could negatively affect supply and demand; competition for resources, adverse labor relations, political or world events; obsolescence of technologies; and increased competition or new product introductions that may affect the profitability or viability of companies in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector. In addition, at times, such country, industry, market, asset class, or sector may be out of favor and underperform other similar categories or the market as a whole. For additional details on these risks, please see Risks Related to Investing in Brazil .

 

Currency Risk: Because the Fund's NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund's NAV could decline if Brazil's currency depreciates against the U.S. dollar.

 

Custody Risk: Less developed markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settling of trades and the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories.

 

Emerging Market Risk: Brazil is an emerging market country, which may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in developed markets. Securities markets of emerging market countries are less liquid, subject to greater price volatility, have smaller market capitalizations, have less government regulation, and are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, financial, and other reporting requirements as the securities markets of more developed countries.

 

Equity Securities Risk: Equity securities are subject to changes in value and their values may be more volatile than other asset classes, as a result of such factors as a company’s business performance, investor perceptions, stock market trends and general economic conditions.

 

Foreign Security Risk: Investments in the securities of foreign issuers (including investments in ADRs and GDRs) are subject to the risks associated with investing in those foreign markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. In addition, securities of foreign issuers may lose value due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. During periods of social, political or economic instability in a country or region, the value of a foreign security traded on U.S. exchanges, nonetheless, could be affected by, among other things, increasing price volatility, illiquidity, or the closure of the primary market on which the security (or the security underlying the ADR or GDR) is traded. You may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market.

 

Geographic Risk: A natural disaster could occur in Brazil, which could affect the economy or particular business operations of companies economically tied to Brazil.

Investable Universe of Companies Risk: The investable universe of companies in which a Fund may invest may be limited. If a company no longer meets the Index Provider’s criteria for inclusion in the Underlying Index, the Fund may need to reduce or eliminate its holdings in that company. The reduction or elimination of the Fund’s holdings in the company may have an adverse impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings and on Fund performance.  

Issuer Risk: Fund performance depends on the performance of individual companies in which the Fund invests. Changes to the financial condition of any of those companies may cause the value of their securities to decline.

 

Latin American Economic Risk: The economy of Brazil is affected by the economies of Latin American countries, some of which have experienced high interest rates, economic volatility, inflation, currency devaluations and high unemployment rates. Any adverse economic event in one country can have a significant effect on other countries of this region.

Management Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s investment management strategy may cause the Fund to underperform the market or its relevant benchmark or adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

Market Risk: The Fund's NAV could decline over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during market downturns.

 

Market Trading Risk: The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors may lead to the Shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV.

Non-Correlation Risk: The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Underlying Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Underlying Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Underlying Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Underlying Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index resulting from legal restrictions, costs or liquidity constraints.

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that it will be more volatile than a diversified fund because the Fund may invest its assets in a smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. As a result, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s NAV and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds.

 

Passive Investment Risk : The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser does not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of its Underlying Index. Therefore, it would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.

 

Privatization Risk: Brazil has privatized certain entities and industries. Privatized entities may lose money or be re-nationalized.

 

Reliance on Trading Partners Risk: The Fund invests in the Brazilian economy, which is heavily dependent upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading, including as a result of adverse economic conditions in a trading partner’s economy, may cause an adverse impact on the economy in which the Fund invests.

Risks Related to Investing in Brazil: Investments in securities of Brazilian companies are subject to regulatory and economic interventions that the Brazilian government has frequently exercised in the past, including the setting of wage and price controls, blocking access to bank accounts, imposing exchange controls and limiting imports. Investments are also subject to certain restrictions on foreign investment as provided by Brazilian law. The Brazilian economy has historically been subject to high rates of inflation and a high level of debt, all of which may stifle economic growth. Despite rapid development in recent years, Brazil still suffers from high levels of corruption, crime and income disparity. There is the possibility that such conditions may lead to social unrest and political upheaval in the future, which may have adverse effects on the Fund's investments.

 

Risks Related to Investing in the Industrials Sector: Companies in the industrials sector are affected by supply and demand both for their specific product or service. The products of manufacturing companies may face product obsolescence due to rapid technological developments. Government regulation, world events and economic conditions affect the performance of companies in the industrial sector. Companies may also be adversely affected by environmental damage and product liability claims.

 

Securities Market Risk: Because the securities markets in Brazil are small in size, underdeveloped, and are less regulated and less correlated to global economic cycles than those markets located in more developed countries, the securities markets in Brazil are subject to greater risks associated with market volatility, lower market capitalization, lower trading volume, illiquidity, inflation, greater price fluctuations and uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets.

 

Tracking Error Risk: The performance of the Fund may diverge from that of the Underlying Index.

Trading Halt Risk: An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses.

U.S. Economic Risk: A decrease in U.S. imports, new trade regulations, changes in the U.S. dollar exchange rates or an economic slowdown in the United States may have an adverse impact on Brazil's economy and, as a result, securities to which the Fund has exposure.

 

Valuation Risk: The sales price the Fund could receive for a security may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security and may differ from the value used by the Underlying Index, particularly for securities that trade in low value or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. The value of the securities in the Fund's portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund's Shares.

SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund is subject to the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective, as well as other risks that are described in greater detail in the Additional Information About the Funds’ Strategies and Risks section of the Prospectus and in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").

 

ADR/GDR Risk: To the extent the Fund seeks exposure to foreign companies, the Fund’s investments may be in the form of depositary receipts or other securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers, including ADRs and GDRs. While the use of ADRs and GDRs, which are traded on exchanges and represent an ownership in a foreign security, provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in ADRs and GDRs continue to be subject to certain of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.

Asian Economic Risk: Decreasing Asian imports, new trade regulations, changes in exchange rates, a recession in Asia or a slowing of economic growth in this region could have an adverse impact on the economy of Brazil.

 

Asset Class Risk: Securities in the Underlying Index or the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general securities markets or other asset classes.

 

Cash Transaction Risk: Unlike most ETFs, the Fund intends to effect all creations and redemptions principally for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in a more conventional ETF.

Commodity Exposure Risk: The Fund invests in Brazilian securities, which are susceptible to fluctuations in certain commodity markets. Any negative changes in commodity markets could have a great impact on the Brazilian economy.

 

Concentration Risk: Because the Fund's investments are concentrated in the Brazilian securities and in the materials sector, the Fund will be susceptible to loss due to adverse occurrences affecting this country. To the extent that the Underlying Index concentrates in the securities of issuers in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund will also concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. By concentrating its investments in a country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund faces more risks than if it were diversified broadly over numerous countries, industries, markets, asset classes, or sectors. Such risks, any of which may adversely affect the companies in which the Fund invests, may include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions or cyclical market patterns that could negatively affect supply and demand; competition for resources, adverse labor relations, political or world events; obsolescence of technologies; and increased competition or new product introductions that may affect the profitability or viability of companies in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector. In addition, at times, such country, industry, market, asset class, or sector may be out of favor and underperform other similar categories or the market as a whole.

Currency Risk: Because the Fund's NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund's NAV could decline if Brazil's currency depreciates against the U.S. dollar.

 

Custody Risk: Less developed markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settling of trades and the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories.

 

Emerging Market Risk: Brazil is an emerging market country, which may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in developed markets. Securities markets of emerging market countries are less liquid, subject to greater price volatility, have smaller market capitalizations, have less government regulation, and are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, financial, and other reporting requirements as the securities markets of more developed countries.

 

Equity Securities Risk: Equity securities are subject to changes in value and their values may be more volatile than other asset classes, as a result of such factors as a company’s business performance, investor perceptions, stock market trends and general economic conditions.

 

Foreign Security Risk: Investments in the securities of foreign issuers (including investments in ADRs and GDRs) are subject to the risks associated with investing in those foreign markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. In addition, securities of foreign issuers may lose value due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. During periods of social, political or economic instability in a country or region, the value of a foreign security traded on U.S. exchanges, nonetheless, could be affected by, among other things, increasing price volatility, illiquidity, or the closure of the primary market on which the security (or the security underlying the ADR or GDR) is traded. You may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market.

Geographic Risk: A natural disaster could occur in Brazil, which could affect the economy or particular business operations of companies economically tied to Brazil.

Investable Universe of Companies Risk: The investable universe of companies in which a Fund may invest may be limited. If a company no longer meets the Index Provider’s criteria for inclusion in the Underlying Index, the Fund may need to reduce or eliminate its holdings in that company. The reduction or elimination of the Fund’s holdings in the company may have an adverse impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings and on Fund performance.  

Issuer Risk: Fund performance depends on the performance of individual companies in which the Fund invests. Changes to the financial condition of any of those companies may cause the value of their securities to decline.

 

Latin American Economic Risk: The economy of Brazil is affected by the economies of Latin American countries, some of which have experienced high interest rates, economic volatility, inflation, currency devaluations and high unemployment rates. Any adverse economic event in one country can have a significant effect on other countries of this region.

Management Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s investment management strategy may cause the Fund to underperform the market or its relevant benchmark or adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

Market Risk: The Fund's NAV could decline over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during market downturns.

 

Market Trading Risk: The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors may lead to the Shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV.

Non-Correlation Risk: The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Underlying Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Underlying Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Underlying Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Underlying Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index resulting from legal restrictions, costs or liquidity constraints.  

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that it will be more volatile than a diversified fund because the Fund may invest its assets in a smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. As a result, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s NAV and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds.

 

Passive Investment Risk: The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser does not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of its Underlying Index. Therefore, it would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.

 

Privatization Risk: Brazil has privatized certain entities and industries. Privatized entities may lose money or be re-nationalized.

Reliance on Trading Partners Risk: The Fund invests in the Brazilian economy, which is heavily dependent upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading, including as a result of adverse economic conditions in a trading partner’s economy, may cause an adverse impact on the economy in which the Fund invests.

 

Risks Related to Investing in Brazil: Investments in securities of Brazilian companies are subject to regulatory and economic interventions that the Brazilian government has frequently exercised in the past, including the setting of wage and price controls, blocking access to bank accounts, imposing exchange controls and limiting imports. Investments are also subject to certain restrictions on foreign investment as provided by Brazilian law. The Brazilian economy has historically been subject to high rates of inflation and a high level of debt, all of which may stifle economic growth. Despite rapid development in recent years, Brazil still suffers from high levels of corruption, crime and income disparity. There is the possibility that such conditions may lead to social unrest and political upheaval in the future, which may have adverse effects on the Fund's investments.

 

Risks Related to Investing in the Materials Sector: Companies in the materials sector are affected by commodity price volatility, exchange rates, import controls and worldwide competition. At times, worldwide production of industrial materials has exceeded demand, leading to poor investment returns or outright losses. Issuers in the materials sector are at risk of depletion of resources, technical progress, labor relations, governmental regulations and environmental damage and product liability claims.

Securities Market Risk: Because the securities markets in Brazil are small in size, underdeveloped, and are less regulated and less correlated to global economic cycles than those markets located in more developed countries, the securities markets in Brazil are subject to greater risks associated with market volatility, lower market capitalization, lower trading volume, illiquidity, inflation, greater price fluctuations and uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets.

 

Tracking Error Risk: The performance of the Fund may diverge from that of the Underlying Index.

Trading Halt Risk: An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses.

U.S. Economic Risk: A decrease in U.S. imports, new trade regulations, changes in the U.S. dollar exchange rates or an economic slowdown in the United States may have an adverse impact on Brazil's economy and, as a result, securities to which the Fund has exposure.

 

Valuation Risk: The sales price the Fund could receive for a security may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security and may differ from the value used by the Underlying Index, particularly for securities that trade in low value or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. The value of the securities in the Fund's portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund's Shares.

SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund is subject to the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective, as well as other risks that are described in greater detail in the Additional Information About the Funds’ Strategies and Risks section of the Prospectus and in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").

 

ADR/GDR Risk: To the extent the Fund seeks exposure to foreign companies, the Fund’s investments may be in the form of depositary receipts or other securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers, including ADRs and GDRs. While the use of ADRs and GDRs, which are traded on exchanges and represent an ownership in a foreign security, provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in ADRs and GDRs continue to be subject to certain of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.  

Asian Economic Risk: Decreasing Asian imports, new trade regulations, changes in exchange rates, a recession in Asia or a slowing of economic growth in this region could have an adverse impact on the economy of Brazil.

Asset Class Risk: Securities in the Underlying Index or the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general securities markets or other asset classes.

 

Cash Transaction Risk: Unlike most ETFs, the Fund intends to effect all creations and redemptions principally for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in a more conventional ETF.

Commodity Exposure Risk: The Fund invests in Brazilian securities, which are susceptible to fluctuations in certain commodity markets. Any negative changes in commodity markets could have a great impact on the Brazilian economy.

 

Concentration Risk: Because the Fund's investments are concentrated in Brazilian securities and in the mid-cap size category, the Fund will be susceptible to losses due to adverse occurrences affecting this country and asset class. To the extent that the Underlying Index concentrates in the securities of issuers in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund will also concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. By concentrating its investments in a country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund faces more risks than if it were diversified broadly over numerous countries, industries, markets, asset classes, or sectors. Such risks, any of which may adversely affect the companies in which the Fund invests, may include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions or cyclical market patterns that could negatively affect supply and demand; competition for resources, adverse labor relations, political or world events; obsolescence of technologies; and increased competition or new product introductions that may affect the profitability or viability of companies in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector. In addition, at times, such country, industry, market, asset class, or sector may be out of favor and underperform other similar categories or the market as a whole. For additional details on these risks, please see Risks Related to Investing in Brazil.

Currency Risk: Because the Fund's NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund's NAV could decline if Brazil's currency depreciates against the U.S. dollar.

 

Custody Risk: Less developed markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settling of trades and the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories.

 

Emerging Market Risk: Brazil is an emerging market country, which may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in developed markets. Securities markets of emerging market countries are less liquid, subject to greater price volatility, have smaller market capitalizations, have less government regulation, and are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, financial, and other reporting requirements as the securities markets of more developed countries.

 

Equity Securities Risk: Equity securities are subject to changes in value and their values may be more volatile than other asset classes, as a result of such factors as a company’s business performance, investor perceptions, stock market trends and general economic conditions.

 

Foreign Security Risk: Investments in the securities of foreign issuers (including investments in ADRs and GDRs) are subject to the risks associated with investing in those foreign markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. In addition, securities of foreign issuers may lose value due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. During periods of social, political or economic instability in a country or region, the value of a foreign security traded on U.S. exchanges, nonetheless, could be affected by, among other things, increasing price volatility, illiquidity, or the closure of the primary market on which the security (or the security underlying the ADR or GDR) is traded. You may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market.

 

Geographic Risk: A natural disaster could occur in Brazil, which could affect the economy or particular business operations of companies economically tied to Brazil.

Investable Universe of Companies Risk: The investable universe of companies in which a Fund may invest may be limited. If a company no longer meets the Index Provider’s criteria for inclusion in the Underlying Index, the Fund may need to reduce or eliminate its holdings in that company. The reduction or elimination of the Fund’s holdings in the company may have an adverse impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings and on Fund performance.  

Issuer Risk: Fund performance depends on the performance of individual companies in which the Fund invests. Changes to the financial condition of any of those companies may cause the value of their securities to decline.

 

Latin American Economic Risk: The economy of Brazil is affected by the economies of Latin American countries, some of which have experienced high interest rates, economic volatility, inflation, currency devaluations and high unemployment rates. Any adverse economic event in one country can have a significant effect on other countries of this region.

Management Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s investment management strategy may cause the Fund to underperform the market or its relevant benchmark or adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

Market Risk: The Fund's NAV could decline over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during market downturns.

 

Market Trading Risk: The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors may lead to the Shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV.

 

Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk: Mid cap companies may have greater volatility in price than the stocks of large companies due to limited product lines or resources or a dependency upon a particular market niche.

Non-Correlation Risk: The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Underlying Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Underlying Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Underlying Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Underlying Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index resulting from legal restrictions, costs or liquidity constraints.

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that it will be more volatile than a diversified fund because the Fund may invest its assets in a smaller

number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. As a result, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s NAV and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds.

Passive Investment Risk: The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser does not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of its Underlying Index. Therefore, it would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.

 

Premium/Discount Risk: Disruptions to creations and redemptions, the existence of extreme market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for Shares may result in Shares trading at a significant premium or discount to NAV. If a shareholder
purchases Shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells Shares at a time when the market price
is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses.

Privatization Risk: Brazil has privatized certain entities and industries. Privatized entities may lose money or be re-nationalized.

 

Reliance on Trading Partners Risk: The Fund invests in the Brazilian economy, which is heavily dependent upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading, including as a result of adverse economic conditions in a trading partner’s economy, may cause an adverse impact on the economy in which the Fund invests.

 

Risks Related to Investing in Brazil: Investments in securities of Brazilian companies are subject to regulatory and economic interventions that the Brazilian government has frequently exercised in the past, including the setting of wage and price controls, blocking access to bank accounts, imposing exchange controls and limiting imports. Investments are also subject to certain restrictions on foreign investment as provided by Brazilian law. The Brazilian economy has historically been subject to high rates of inflation and a high level of debt, all of which may stifle economic growth. Despite rapid development in recent years, Brazil still suffers from high levels of corruption, crime and income disparity. There is the possibility that such conditions may lead to social unrest and political upheaval in the future, which may have adverse effects on the Fund's investments.

 

Securities Market Risk: Because the securities markets in Brazil are small in size, underdeveloped, and are less regulated and less correlated to global economic cycles than those markets located in more developed countries, the securities markets in Brazil are subject to greater risks associated with market volatility, lower market capitalization, lower trading volume, illiquidity, inflation, greater price fluctuations and uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets.

 

Tracking Error Risk: The performance of the Fund may diverge from that of the Underlying Index.

 

Trading Halt Risk: An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses.

U.S. Economic Risk: A decrease in U.S. imports, new trade regulations, changes in the U.S. dollar exchange rates or an economic slowdown in the United States may have an adverse impact on Brazil's economy and, as a result, securities to which the Fund has exposure.

 

Valuation Risk: The sales price the Fund could receive for a security may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security and may differ from the value used by the Underlying Index, particularly for securities that trade in low value or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. The value of the securities in the Fund's portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund's Shares.

SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund is subject to the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective, as well as other risks that are described in greater detail in the Additional Information About the Funds’ Strategies and Risks section of the Prospectus and in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").

 

ADR/GDR Risk: To the extent the Fund seeks exposure to foreign companies, the Fund’s investments may be in the form of depositary receipts or other securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers, including ADRs and GDRs. While the use of ADRs and GDRs, which are traded on exchanges and represent an ownership in a foreign security, provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in ADRs and GDRs continue to be subject to certain of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.

Asian Economic Risk: Decreasing Asian imports, new trade regulations, changes in exchange rates, a recession in Asia or a slowing of economic growth in this region could have an adverse impact on the economy of Brazil.

 

Asset Class Risk: Securities in the Underlying Index or the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general securities markets or other asset classes.

 

Cash Transaction Risk: Unlike most ETFs, the Fund intends to effect all creations and redemptions principally for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in a more conventional ETF.

 

Commodity Exposure Risk: The Fund invests in Brazilian securities, which are susceptible to fluctuations in certain commodity markets. Any negative changes in commodity markets could have a great impact on the Brazilian economy.

Concentration Risk: Because the Fund's investments are concentrated in the Brazilian securities and in the utilities sector, the Fund will be susceptible to loss due to adverse occurrences affecting this country. To the extent that the Underlying Index concentrates in the securities of issuers in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund will also concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. By concentrating its investments in a country, industry, market, asset class, or sector, the Fund faces more risks than if it were diversified broadly over numerous countries, industries, markets, asset classes, or sectors. Such risks, any of which may adversely affect the companies in which the Fund invests, may include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions or cyclical market patterns that could negatively affect supply and demand; competition for resources, adverse labor relations, political or world events; obsolescence of technologies; and increased competition or new product introductions that may affect the profitability or viability of companies in a particular country, industry, market, asset class, or sector. In addition, at times, such country, industry, market, asset class, or sector may be out of favor and underperform other similar categories or the market as a whole.

Currency Risk: Because the Fund's NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund's NAV could decline if Brazil's currency depreciates against the U.S. dollar.

 

Custody Risk: Less developed markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settling of trades and the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories.

 

Emerging Market Risk: Brazil is an emerging market country, which may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in developed markets. Securities markets of emerging market countries are less liquid, subject to greater price volatility, have smaller market capitalizations, have less government regulation, and are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, financial, and other reporting requirements as the securities markets of more developed countries.

 

Equity Securities Risk: Equity securities are subject to changes in value and their values may be more volatile than other asset classes, as a result of such factors as a company’s business performance, investor perceptions, stock market trends and general economic conditions.

 

Foreign Security Risk: Investments in the securities of foreign issuers (including investments in ADRs and GDRs) are subject to the risks associated with investing in those foreign markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. In addition, securities of foreign issuers may lose value due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market. During periods of social, political or economic instability in a country or region, the value of a foreign security traded on U.S. exchanges, nonetheless, could be affected by, among other things, increasing price volatility, illiquidity, or the closure of the primary market on which the security (or the security underlying the ADR or GDR) is traded. You may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting a foreign issuer or market.

 

Geographic Risk: A natural disaster could occur in Brazil, which could affect the economy or particular business operations of companies economically tied to Brazil.

Investable Universe of Companies Risk: The investable universe of companies in which a Fund may invest may be limited. If a company no longer meets the Index Provider’s criteria for inclusion in the Underlying Index, the Fund may need to reduce or eliminate its holdings in that company. The reduction or elimination of the Fund’s holdings in the company may have an adverse impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings and on Fund performance.  

Issuer Risk: Fund performance depends on the performance of individual companies in which the Fund invests. Changes to the financial condition of any of those companies may cause the value of their securities to decline.

Latin American Economic Risk: The economy of Brazil is affected by the economies of Latin American countries, some of which have experienced high interest rates, economic volatility, inflation, currency devaluations and high unemployment rates. Any adverse economic event in one country can have a significant effect on other countries of this region.

Management Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s investment management strategy may cause the Fund to underperform the market or its relevant benchmark or adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

Market Risk: The Fund's NAV could decline over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during market downturns.

 

Market Trading Risk: The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors may lead to the Shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV.

Non-Correlation Risk: The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Underlying Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Underlying Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Underlying Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Underlying Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index resulting from legal restrictions, costs or liquidity constraints.  

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that it will be more volatile than a diversified fund because the Fund may invest its assets in a smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. As a result, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s NAV and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds.

 

Passive Investment Risk: The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser does not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of its Underlying Index. Therefore, it would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the Underlying Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.

 

Privatization Risk: Brazil has privatized certain entities and industries. Privatized entities may lose money or be re-nationalized.

Reliance on Trading Partners Risk: The Fund invests in the Brazilian economy, which is heavily dependent upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading, including as a result of adverse economic conditions in a trading partner’s economy, may cause an adverse impact on the economy in which the Fund invests.

Risks Related to Investing in Brazil: Investments in securities of Brazilian companies are subject to regulatory and economic interventions that the Brazilian government has frequently exercised in the past, including the setting of wage and price controls, blocking access to bank accounts, imposing exchange controls and limiting imports. Investments are also subject to certain restrictions on foreign investment as provided by Brazilian law. The Brazilian economy has historically been subject to high rates of inflation and a high level of debt, all of which may stifle economic growth. Despite rapid development in recent years, Brazil still suffers from high levels of corruption, crime and income disparity. There is the possibility that such conditions may lead to social unrest and political upheaval in the future, which may have adverse effects on the Fund's investments.

 

Risks Related to Investing in the Utilities Sector: Companies in the utilities sector may be adversely affected by changes in exchange rates, domestic and international competition and governmental regulations on rates charged to customers. Privatization in the utilities sector may subject companies to greater competition and losses in profitability. Companies in the utilities industry may have difficulty obtaining an adequate return on invested capital, raising capital, or financing large construction programs during periods of inflation or unsettled capital markets.

 

Securities Market Risk: Because the securities markets in Brazil are small in size, underdeveloped, and are less regulated and less correlated to global economic cycles than those markets located in more developed countries, the securities markets in Brazil are subject to greater risks associated with market volatility, lower market capitalization, lower trading volume, illiquidity, inflation, greater price fluctuations and uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets.

 

Tracking Error Risk: The performance of the Fund may diverge from that of the Underlying Index.

 

Trading Halt Risk: An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses.

U.S. Economic Risk: A decrease in U.S. imports, new trade regulations, changes in the U.S. dollar exchange rates or an economic slowdown in the United States may have an adverse impact on Brazil's economy and, as a result, securities to which the Fund has exposure.

 

Valuation Risk: The sales price the Fund could receive for a security may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security and may differ from the value used by the Underlying Index, particularly for securities that trade in low value or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. The value of the securities in the Fund's portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund's Shares.