Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in the component securities of the Underlying Index and in depositary receipts representing such securities. The Underlying Index is a systematic, rules-based proprietary index that is maintained and calculated by Morningstar, Inc. (Morningstar or Index Provider). The Underlying Index is based on the Morningstar® Developed Markets ex-North America Target Market Exposure Index (Parent Index) and is constructed by applying an optimization process to the Parent Index that aims to deliver a higher dividend yield than the Parent Index, while limiting expected tracking error to the Parent Index (i.e., to provide a “dividend tilt” through the selection and weighting of securities from the Parent Index), as described in greater detail below. The Parent Index includes large- and mid-capitalization stocks representing the top 85% of the investable universe (i.e., developed markets equity markets excluding North America) by float-adjusted market capitalization (“float-adjusted” means that only shares that are estimated to be publicly available to investors are included in the calculation of market capitalization). The Underlying Index is governed by published, objective rules for security selection, exclusion, rebalancing and adjustments for corporate actions. The Underlying Index is reconstituted quarterly.

In particular, the construction process for the Underlying Index includes a security selection and weighting process that aims to deliver a higher dividend yield than the Parent Index (with “dividend yield” calculated based on trailing twelve-month dividend yield) while limiting expected tracking error to the Parent Index through an optimization process that is applied at each quarterly reconstitution of the Underlying Index. Eligible stocks (i.e., those included in the Parent Index) are fed into an “optimizer” that selects and weights stocks in a manner that seeks to maximize the portfolio’s dividend yield (calculated as described above), subject to several constraints, such as those for individual stock, sector and country weightings, to try to limit expected tracking error relative to the Parent Index, and portfolio turnover. At each quarterly reconstitution of the Underlying Index: (i) individual stock weightings are capped at the lesser of (a) three times their weighting in the Parent Index or (b) their weighting in the Parent Index plus 0.5%;

(ii) after the optimization process is applied, stocks must have a minimum weighting of 0.005% to be included in the Underlying Index; (iii) sector weightings are kept within 5% of their weightings in the Parent Index; (iv) country weightings are kept within 5% of their weightings in the Parent Index and are capped at 3 times the country weight of the Parent Index; and (v) the one-way turnover of the Underlying Index is capped at 10% (this portfolio turnover constraint may be relaxed if an optimal portfolio solution is not feasible).

As the Underlying Index is a “Core Dividend Tilt Index” that is designed to provide a “dividend tilt” by seeking to deliver a higher dividend yield than the Parent Index while at the same time providing “core” exposure to the developed markets equity markets excluding North America through the tracking error and other constraints described above, the Underlying Index includes certain stocks that do not currently pay dividends (in other words, the application of the tracking error and other constraints as part of the index methodology security selection process results in certain non-dividend paying stocks being included in the Underlying Index). The Underlying Index may include large- and mid-capitalization companies. As of May 31, 2024, the Underlying Index was comprised of 498 securities with capitalizations ranging from $2.8 billion to $601.7 billion. As of May 31, 2024, the Underlying Index included issuers from the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, seeks investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the Underlying Index. The Fund may use either a replication strategy or representative sampling strategy. Under a replication strategy, the Fund will replicate the component securities of the Underlying Index as closely as possible (i.e., invest in all of the component securities in their respective weightings in the Underlying Index). However, it may not be possible or practicable to replicate the Underlying Index. In these circumstances, the Fund may use a representative sampling strategy whereby the Fund will invest in what it believes to be a representative sample of the component securities of the Underlying Index, but may not track the Underlying Index with the same degree of accuracy as would an investment vehicle replicating the entire Underlying Index. Under the representative sampling technique, the investment manager will select securities that collectively have an investment profile similar to that of the Underlying Index, including securities that resemble those included in the Underlying Index in terms of risk factors, performance attributes and other characteristics, such as market capitalization and industry weightings. The Fund’s portfolio is generally reconstituted quarterly following the quarterly reconstitution of the Underlying Index.

The Fund may invest in equity futures (including equity index futures) and equity total return swaps to provide additional opportunities to add value and better track the performance of the Fund’s Underlying index, such as to equitize cash and accrued income (i.e., gain equity market exposure and maintain liquidity until the Fund invests in individual securities), simulate investments in the Underlying Index, facilitate trading or minimize transaction costs.

The Fund may enter into foreign currency forward contracts and/or currency futures contracts to provide the Fund with additional opportunities to add value and better track the performance of the Fund’s Underlying Index, such as by facilitating local securities settlements or protecting against currency exposure in connection with distributions to Fund shareholders.

The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its net assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the Underlying Index is concentrated.