Fund Description

Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes in equity securities or other financial instruments that are components of, or have market capitalizations similar to, the securities included in the Russell 2000 Index. It primarily buys common stock and may also invest in preferred stock, convertible securities, and, at times, new issues or IPOs. The fund may use derivatives-including options, futures, swaps and forward contracts-to seek to increase return, hedge against currency, interest rate and market movements, and manage cash flows; derivatives count toward the 80% policy when providing relevant exposure. It invests in small-cap securities using proprietary quantitative return forecast models to identify mispricing, over- and under-weight equities, and seek to control incremental risk through optimization, construction, and rebalancing.