Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its assets (defined as net assets plus borrowing for investment purposes) in the securities of small- capitalization and mid-capitalization companies. The Fund defines small- and mid-capitalization companies as those with market capitalizations of less than $7 billion at the time of purchase. The Fund invests primarily in companies located in the United States, but may invest in foreign issuers. The Fund's investment advisor delegates execution of the Fund's investment strategy to Advisors Capital Management, LLC (the "Sub-Advisor").

The Sub-Advisor's philosophy is to invest long-term in what it believes are relatively attractively-valued, conservatively-structured, competitively-advantaged, dynamic companies with growing free cash flow and honest, competent leadership. These companies generate excess operating cash flow above capital expenditures, and have lower volatility in those cash flows relative to peers. Typically, companies are focused on one business and exhibit dominance within a specialized niche. The Sub-Advisor determines dominance by reviewing a company’s market share in its industry compared to peers as well as comparing the company’s profitability metrics relative to industry averages. Other factors such as brand recognition and unique business model can also play a role in dominance assessment. The Sub-Advisor believes that dominant companies typically have higher market share, exercise more pricing power, have better operating profit margins, and exhibit superior profitability metrics compared to peers over the full market cycle.

The Sub-Advisor's investment process is largely bottom up. Quantitative screening is used to identify both growth and value companies that meet the Sub-Advisor's criteria. The companies that pass quantitative screens are then reviewed using qualitative screens. Qualitative metrics are industry position, management team skill, and business strategy viability. Companies with negative attributes such as a high level of institutional ownership, multiple business segments, and inconsistent cash flows are typically avoided. Industry position primarily refers to market share of a company and market share rank relative to competitors, but could also refer to a unique business model not easily duplicated by competitors. The Sub-Advisor constructs the portfolio using a focused, relatively sector-neutral portfolio of approximately 30-45 names diversified across seven to ten sectors using statistical technique to avoid what it believes are over exposures to individual risk factors. The resulting portfolio is comprised of both growth and value companies.

The Sub-Advisor regularly reviews each of the companies in the portfolio to confirm that each company's stock continues to hold promise of future appreciation. The Sub-Advisor sells stocks that it no longer believes hold such promise. The Sub-Advisor strives to achieve an excess return over the CRSP US Small Cap Index with lower risk as measured by the downside capture ratio.