The fund seeks capital appreciation and income by investing in small-size companies in the United States.
The sub-adviser’s investment process starts with a list of companies in the benchmark index and the research team utilizes quantitative techniques and fundamental analysis to identify investment opportunities.
Next, the research team focuses on companies that are estimated to generate income (for example, by paying dividends).
The team prefers attractively-valued companies with fundamental strength.
In addition, the team narrows the investable universe by industry and selects the most attractively valued securities in each industry.
Then the manager constructs a portfolio of stocks from a list of companies favored by the research team and allocates capital based on its conviction level.
The fund may invest a substantial portion of its net assets in real estate investment trusts.
The fund may also invest a portion of its net assets in non-U.S. securities (including through American Depositary Receipts), including emerging market securities.
Additionally, the fund may utilize foreign currency exchange contracts, options, stock index futures contracts and other derivative instruments.