Cybersecurity
incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events against an
issuer in which a Fund invests, the Fund or any of its service
providers. They include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to
systems, misappropriating assets or sensitive information,
corrupting or destroying data, and causing operational disruption. Geopolitical
tension may increase the scale and sophistication of deliberate
attacks, particularly those from nation states or from entities with nation
state backing. Cybersecurity incidents may result in any of the
following: financial losses; interference with a Fund’s ability to calculate its
NAV; disclosure of confidential information; impediments to
trading; submission of erroneous trades by a Fund or erroneous subscription or
redemption orders; the inability of a Fund or its service
providers to transact business; violations of applicable privacy and other laws;
regulatory fines; penalties; reputational damage; reimbursement or
other compensation costs; and other legal and compliance expenses. Furthermore,
cybersecurity incidents may render records of a Fund,
including records relating to its assets and transactions, shareholder ownership
of Fund shares, and other data integral to a Fund’s
functioning, inaccessible, inaccurate or incomplete. Power outages, natural
disasters, equipment malfunctions and processing errors that
threaten information and technology systems relied upon by a Fund or its service
providers, as well as market events that occur at a pace that
overloads these systems, may also disrupt business operations or impact critical
data. In addition, the risks of increased use of AI technologies, such
as machine learning, include data risk, transparency risk, and operational risk.
The AI technologies, which are generally highly reliant on
the collection and analysis of large amounts of data, may incorporate biased or
inaccurate data, and it is not possible or practicable to
incorporate all relevant data into such technologies. The output or results of
any such AI technologies may therefore be incomplete,
erroneous, distorted or misleading. Further, AI tools may lack transparency as
to how data is utilized and how outputs are generated. AI
technologies may also allow the unintended introduction of vulnerabilities into
infrastructures and applications. A Fund and its shareholders could
be negatively impacted as a result of these risks associated with AI
technologies. AI technologies and their current and potential future
applications, and the regulatory frameworks within which they operate, continue
to quickly evolve, and it is impossible to anticipate the
full scope of future AI capabilities or rules and the associated risks to a
Fund.
While a Fund’s
service providers are required to have appropriate operational, information
security and cybersecurity risk management policies and
procedures, their methods of risk management may differ from those of the Fund
in the setting of priorities, the personnel and resources
available or the effectiveness of relevant controls. Each Fund and its adviser
seek to reduce these risks through controls, procedures and
oversight, including establishing business continuity plans and risk management
systems. However, there are inherent limitations in
such plans and systems, including the possibility that certain risks that may
affect a Fund have not been identified or may emerge in the
future; that such plans and systems may not completely eliminate the occurrence
or mitigate the effects of operational or information
security disruptions or failures or of cybersecurity incidents; or that
prevention and remediation efforts will not be successful or that incidents
will go undetected. A Fund cannot control the systems, information security or
other cybersecurity of the issuers in which it invests or its
service providers, counterparties, and other third parties whose activities
affect the Fund.
Lastly, the
regulatory climate governing cybersecurity and data protection is developing
quickly and may vary considerably across jurisdictions.
Regulators continue to develop new rules and standards related to cybersecurity
and data protection. Compliance with evolving regulations can be
demanding and costly, requiring substantial resources to monitor and implement
required changes.
Risk
of Investing in the U.S. Investing in U.S.
issuers involves legal, regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic
risks that are specific to the
U.S. A decrease in imports or exports, changes in trade regulations, inflation,
an economic recession, financial system stress, or political
turmoil, among other risks, may have an adverse effect on the U.S. economy and
the securities listed on U.S. exchanges. The U.S. is also subject to
the risk of natural disasters, such as droughts, earthquakes, fires and floods.
U.S. security risks include acts of terrorism, internal unrest
and a deterioration in relations between the U.S. and certain countries. Any of
these may adversely affect the U.S. economy, financial markets
or issuers.
Governmental
agencies project that the U.S. will maintain elevated public debt levels for the
foreseeable future. Although elevated debt levels do not
necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, the costs of servicing such
debt may constrain future economic growth. Circumstances
could arise that could prevent the timely payment of interest or principal on
U.S. government debt, such as reaching the legislative
“debt
ceiling.” Such non-payment
would result in substantial negative consequences for the U.S. economy and the
global financial system.
Securities
Lending Risk. A Fund may engage
in securities lending. Securities lending involves the risk that a Fund may lose
money because the borrower of
the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at
all. A Fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the
value of collateral provided for loaned securities or a decline in the value of
any investments made with cash collateral. These events could also
trigger adverse tax consequences for a Fund.
Small
Fund Risk. When a Fund’s size
is small, the Fund may experience low trading volume and wide bid/ask spreads. A
Fund’s performance near
its inception date may not represent how the Fund will perform in the future or
with a larger asset base. In addition, a Fund may face the risk
of being delisted if it does not meet certain requirements set by the listing
exchange. If a Fund were required to delist from the listing
exchange, the Fund’s value may rapidly decline and its performance may be
negatively impacted. Any resulting liquidation of a Fund could lead to
elevated transaction costs for the Fund and negative tax consequences for its
shareholders.
Technology
Companies Risk. Technology
companies and companies that rely heavily on technological advances may have
limited product lines, markets,
financial resources and personnel. These companies may face rapid product
obsolescence as well as unexpected risks and costs related to
new product introduction and technological developments, such as artificial
intelligence and machine learning. Technology companies may be
adversely affected by disruptions to supply chains and distribution networks as
well as issues at third-party partners. They are heavily
dependent on patent and other intellectual property rights, and the loss or
impairment of these rights may adversely affect their