The fund seeks capital appreciation in the long term by investing in companies outside 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 invests in the securities of represented in the MSCI World SRI Index (the Underlying Index) and in derivatives and other instruments that have economic characteristics similar to such securities.
The Underlying Index includes common stocks of large- and mid-capitalization companies from 23 developed market countries, including the U.S.
In addition, the team employs a sampling methodology wherein the fund seeks to replicate the composition of the Underlying Index, holding each security in approximately the same proportion as its weighting in the Underlying Index.
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 can utilize exchange-traded futures contracts, including index futures, to gain exposure to equity securities represented in the Underlying Index while managing cash balances.
In seeking to track the Underlying Index, the fund may from time to time have significant exposure to a particular sector.
The Underlying Index excludes companies if they have any tie to controversial weapons, are manufacturers or producers of civilian firearms, nuclear weapons, or tobacco;.
Also, the Underlying Index excludes companies that generate revenues from alcohol, adult entertainment, conventional weapons, gambling, genetically modified organisms, nuclear power, fossil fuel extraction, or thermal coal power that exceed the business involvement thresholds determined by MSCI, or that have evidence of ownership of fossil fuel reserves.