The Fund invests primarily in a diversified portfolio of publicly traded common stocks of small-cap companies that, in the opinion of the investment adviser, are expected to achieve earnings growth over the long term that exceeds the average of all publicly-traded small-cap companies in the United States. The portfolio managers generally consider small-cap companies to be companies having a market capitalization that falls: (i) within or below the range of companies in the current Russell 2000® Index (the Index); or (ii) below the three-year average maximum market cap of companies in the Index as of December 31 of the three preceding years. The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of small-cap companies (the “80% Policy”). The market capitalization range for the Index was $10 million to $15.2 billion as of December 31, 2023. The market capitalizations of companies within the Index are subject to change. The average maximum market capitalization of companies in the Index as of the three-year period ending December 31, 2023 was $12.4 billion. The Fund may also invest in larger companies. Although it invests primarily in U.S. companies, the Fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets in foreign securities issued by companies domiciled in developed or emerging market countries. As an alternative to holding foreign stocks directly, the Fund may invest in U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign companies that trade on U.S. exchanges or in the over-the-counter market (including depositary receipts, such as American Depositary Receipts, which are either sponsored or unsponsored and evidence ownership in underlying foreign stocks). The Fund may invest in exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), a type of pooled investment vehicle, in order to manage cash positions or to seek exposure to certain markets or market sectors. The Fund may also invest in publicly traded real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) and lend its securities.

Buy and sell decisions are made by balancing investment considerations and tax considerations, and taking into account the taxes payable by shareholders in connection with distributions of investment income and net realized gains.  The Fund seeks to minimize income distributions and distributions of realized short-term gains that are taxed as ordinary income, as well as distributions of realized long-term gains (taxed as long-term capital gains).  In making investment decisions, the portfolio managers rely on the investment adviser’s research staff.  The portfolio managers look for companies that, in their opinion, are high in quality or improving in quality. The portfolio managers take a long-term perspective when selecting companies and the quality focus typically leads them to companies benefitting from structural growth or structural change.  Sought after company characteristics may include: a business model with identifiable competitive advantage(s)/barrier(s) to entry, a scalable market opportunity, a solid balance sheet, and a strong management team with a history of good capital allocation. Such companies typically exhibit high or improving returns on capital, strong free-cash-flow generation, and positive or inflecting earnings. The portfolio managers also employ a disciplined valuation framework in pursuit of attractive risk adjusted returns. The portfolio managers seek to manage investment risk by maintaining broad issuer and industry diversification among the Fund’s holdings, and by utilizing fundamental analysis of risk/return characteristics in securities selection. Securities may be sold if, in the opinion of the portfolio managers, the price moves above a fair level of valuation, the company’s fundamentals deteriorate, or to pursue more attractive investment opportunities.

The Fund currently invests substantially all of its assets in the Portfolio, a separate registered investment company with the same investment objective and policies as the Fund.  References to the Fund’s investments include investments held indirectly through the Portfolio in which the Fund invests.