generally
and reduce confidence in financial institutions and the economy as a whole,
which may also heighten market volatility and reduce liquidity. Additionally,
challenges in commercial real estate markets, including high interest rates,
declining valuations and elevated vacancies, could have a broader impact on
financial markets. The ongoing adversarial political climate in the United
States, as well as political and diplomatic events both domestic and abroad,
have and may continue to have an adverse impact the U.S. regulatory landscape,
markets and investor behavior, which could have a negative impact on the Fund’s
investments and operations. The change in administration resulting from the 2024
United States national elections could result in significant impacts to
international trade relations, tax and immigration policies, and other aspects
of the national and international political and financial landscape, which could
affect, among other things, inflation and the securities markets generally.
Other unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and
abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact
financial markets and the broader economy. For example, ongoing armed conflicts
between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, Iran, Hamas and other
militant groups in the Middle East, have caused and could continue to cause
significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia,
Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions
resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant
impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity.
The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the
financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes,
including the imposition of tariffs, and other matters. For example, the United
States has imposed trade barriers and restrictions on China. In addition, the
Chinese government is engaged in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually
threatening an invasion. If the political climate between the United States and
China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt
invading Taiwan, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen,
economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the
value of the Fund’s assets may go down. A public health crisis and the ensuing
policies enacted by governments and central banks may cause significant
volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting
global growth prospects. As the COVID-19 global pandemic illustrated, such
events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries
more significantly than others. Advancements in technology may also adversely
impact markets and the overall performance of the Fund. For instance, the
economy may be significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased
regulation of artificial intelligence. Additionally, cyber security breaches of
both government and non-government entities could have negative impacts on
infrastructure and the ability of such entities, including the Fund, to operate
properly. These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the
prices and liquidity of the Fund’s
portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading
markets.
CYBER
SECURITY RISK. The Fund is
susceptible to operational, information security and related risks through
breaches in cyber
security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and
unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information,
suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity, any of which could result
in a material adverse effect on the Fund or its shareholders. Such events could
cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional
compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss.
Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital
information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also
result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to
make network services unavailable to intended users. Emerging threats like
ransomware or zero-day exploits could also cause disruptions to Fund operations.
In addition, cyber security breaches of the issuers of securities in which the
Fund invests or the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its
administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, among
many other third-party service providers, can also subject the Fund to many of
the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Further, errors,
misconduct, or compromise of accounts of employees of the Fund or its
third-party service providers can also create material cybersecurity risks.
Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the
risks associated with cyber security, there is no guarantee that such efforts
will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber
security systems of issuers or third-party service providers. Cyber security
incidents may also trigger Fund obligations under data privacy laws, potentially
increasing notification and compliance burdens. Cyber security incidents
affecting issuers in whose securities the Fund invests may also have a negative
impact on the value of the securities of such issuers, and in turn, the value of
the Fund.
DEPOSITARY
RECEIPTS RISK. Depositary receipts
represent equity interests in a foreign company that trade on a local stock
exchange.
Depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their
primary trading market. Any distributions paid to the holders of depositary
receipts are usually subject to a fee charged by the depositary. Holders of
depositary receipts may have limited voting rights, and investment restrictions
in certain countries may adversely impact the value of depositary receipts
because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert the equity shares
into depositary receipts and vice versa. Such restrictions may cause the equity
shares of the underlying issuer to trade at a discount or premium to the market
price of
the depositary receipts.