Fund Description

Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its assets in small-capitalization companies. It typically invests in equity securities of U.S. companies but may invest any portion of assets in foreign securities, including depositary receipts such as ADRs and GDRs. The adviser considers a company to be small-capitalization if its market capitalization at the time of purchase is less than $3 billion or 120% of the market capitalization of the largest company included in the Russell 2000 Index, whichever is greater; the size of companies in the index changes with market conditions and the composition of the index. The adviser uses fundamental analysis and quantitative screening to seek sustainable multi-year earnings growth, incorporates valuation and proprietary earnings calculations, may focus in sectors such as health care, industrials, and information technology, and may have annual turnover in excess of 100%.