The fund seeks capital appreciation in the long term by investing in small-size companies in the United States.
The fund manages assets with the help of two sub-advisers namely AllianceBernstein L.P., and American Century Investment Management, Inc.
The fund prefers a multi-manager investing approach with the aim of reducing volatility and downside risk.
The sub-advisers’ 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 invests in companies that are estimated to trade below their fair values.
AllianceBernstein seeks to identify companies whose ability to grow earnings over the long term does not appear to be reflected in their current market price.
AllianceBernstein looks for companies with attractive valuation (e.g., low price to cash flow ratios) and compelling quality factors (e.g., return on equity).
In selecting securities for the portfolio, American Century looks for companies with earnings, cash flows, and/or assets that may not be accurately reflected in the companies’ stock prices or may be outside the companies’ historical ranges.
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 in foreign securities and American Depositary Receipts, including emerging market securities.
However, the fund generally will not invest more than 20% of its net assets in foreign securities.
The fund may invest in real estate investment trusts and exchange-traded funds.
Also, the fund may at times have significant exposure to one or more industries or sectors.
The fund may hold a portion of its assets in cash or cash equivalents.