The Fund, under normal market conditions, invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of small cap companies. The Fund defines small cap companies as those with market capitalizations, at the time of initial investment, of less than the market capitalization of the largest company in the Russell 2000® Index on a rolling three-year basis. As of December 31, 2023, the market capitalization of the largest company in the Russell 2000® Index on a rolling three-year basis was $29.1 billion.

The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in companies that the Fund’s sub-adviser, Next Century Growth Investors, LLC (“Next Century” or the “Sub-Adviser”), believes will sustain above-average revenue and earnings growth over time, or which are expected to develop rapid sales and earnings growth in the future when compared to the economy and stock market as a whole. The Sub-Adviser employs a “bottom up” approach in its stock selection, which is the use of fundamental analysis to identify companies that it believes over the long term will surpass consensus earnings estimates.

The first step of the investment selection process is to screen for companies that either have exhibited greater than 15% revenue growth or are likely to achieve a greater than 15% revenue growth rate soon, in the opinion of the Sub-Adviser, based on its research and analysis of the company’s business and financial information.

The next step is a research review of the size of the market in which the company operates, the competitive landscape within that market and the company’s income statement. The Sub-Adviser seeks to invest in companies, which in its opinion, benefit from strong market share and manageable competition in large and/or expanding markets that can support long-term revenue and earnings growth.

The Fund is expected to maintain a diversified portfolio of approximately 40-60 stocks, although the actual number of portfolio holdings may vary due to market conditions. Position sizes will typically range up to 5% of the portfolio, although the Fund may at times hold positions greater than 5% of the portfolio. The Fund does not target any particular sector, and individual sectors are generally limited to the greater of 10% or 2x the weighting of such sector in the Russell 2000® Growth Index. The Fund’s sector weightings are the result of its bottom-up individual stock selections, which are subject to change, with holdings typically focused in the fastest growing sectors and industries.

Next Century believes in adhering to a strong sell discipline. Positions are subject to sale based on several factors, including direct research that uncovers a change to the investment thesis, slower revenue growth, declining margins, earnings shortfalls, or a market valuation no longer justified by its current fundamentals.