Under normal circumstances, the fund seeks to meet its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, if any, in equity securities or other instruments with similar economic characteristics of U.S. companies with large market capitalizations that meet its financial and environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) criteria.

The fund emphasizes investments in equity securities or related instruments of U.S. large-capitalization companies; however, it may invest in equity securities of foreign issuers with similar characteristics.

Large capitalization companies are those companies with market capitalizations similar to companies in the Russell 1000 Growth Index (the “Index”). The size of the companies in the Index changes with market conditions and the composition of the Index. As of March 31, 2024, the largest market capitalization of a company in the Index was approximately $3,128.259 billion and the median market capitalization of a company in the Index was approximately $20.156 billion. The fund may also invest in companies that the subadviser believes are making substantial progress toward becoming a leader in ESG policies. The fund’s investment strategy focuses on consistent growth of capital while managing volatility.

Determination of whether a company meets the fund’s ESG standards is based on the subadviser’s proprietary research approach. The subadviser will exercise judgment to determine ESG best practices based on its over thirty-year history managing ESG investment strategies through an established proprietary process. The subadviser utilizes a fundamental, bottom-up research approach that emphasizes company analysis, management and stock selection. The subadviser’s proprietary research and analysis generally incorporates information and data obtained from a variety of third-party research providers as supplementary to the subadviser’s own proprietary research and analysis. The subadviser has the right to change the third-party service providers that support this process at any time.

In addition, certain types of companies are excluded from the investment universe. Companies in the tobacco and coal industries are excluded, and companies earning a significant portion of their revenue (in general, approximately 10-15% or more) from controversial arms (e.g., nuclear, chemical and biological weapons; cluster munitions and anti-personnel landmines) or gambling are also excluded. The subadviser may modify this list of prohibited investments, including revenue thresholds or any particular exclusion, at any time, without shareholder approval or notice.

The ESG evaluation is integrated into a thorough assessment of investment worthiness based on financial criteria as well as ESG considerations including innovative workplace policies, employee benefits and programs; environmental management system strength, eco-efficiency, and life-cycle analysis; community involvement, strategic philanthropy, and reputation management; and strong corporate governance and independence of the board. The ESG analysis is conducted by the subadviser’s sector analysts on a sector-specific basis, and a proprietary ESG rating is assigned to each company. The weightings of the E, S and G factors are determined by the subadviser for each respective sector and sub-sectors.

All companies are assigned a proprietary ClearBridge ESG rating (A, AA, AAA). Companies that score a rating of “B” are considered uninvestable. The subadviser’s proprietary ESG ratings assesses whether a company focuses on ESG factors, integrates ESG factors into its business model, and measures such efforts. Companies that the subadviser believes have not focused on ESG factors or have a poor ESG record are assigned a rating of “B.” The subadviser uses a variety of ESG factors, which may change from time to time, as part of its rating process. These factors are further described below under “More on the fund’s investment strategies, investments and risks—Selection process.” Further, to the extent that there is a material/substantial issue with any one of the E, S or G components with respect to a company, such company will be assigned a “B” rating. The subadviser’s ESG ratings are formally reviewed at least annually. In addition, the subadviser’s research analysts monitor the companies included in the fund’s portfolio on an ongoing basis to assess the continued appropriateness of such ratings.

The subadviser seeks to invest over the long term in large-capitalization companies that are considered to be of high quality with sustainable competitive advantages as evidenced by high returns on capital, strong balance sheets, and capable management teams that allocate capital in an efficient manner. The subadviser seeks to invest in leadership companies where the portfolio managers believe the market price underestimates the magnitude of future growth. Leadership may be assessed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The subadviser seeks to select securities of companies that are category leaders with characteristics to sustain that position and grow market share consistently. The subadviser performs rigorous analysis to understand company fundamentals, key competitive dynamics and industry structure with the belief that the best business models win over time. The subadviser seeks to identify social or economic trends that will have an impact on the economy as a whole to support multi-year investment opportunities, allowing for compounding of earnings and cash flow. The subadviser seeks companies with self-funding business models with significant recurring revenue and businesses with the ability to generate superior free cash flow over time. In addition, the subadviser takes a disciplined approach to valuation and stress tests the sustainability of profitability and growth. The subadviser will also consider emerging companies with promising future prospects that may not yet have demonstrated substantial profitability.

The subadviser will utilize fundamental analysis to identify investment candidates with these attributes, and evaluate industry dynamics, the strength of the business model and management skill. Valuation will be carefully examined using a variety of techniques that depend on the type of company being researched. Methods typically used are discounted cash flow analysis, market implied growth and returns relative to the subadviser’s expectations, multiple comparisons and scenario analysis.

It is also the subadviser’s intention to engage and encourage management to improve in certain ESG areas identified by the subadviser through the sector analysts’ lead engagement. The subadviser engages and encourages management to improve in certain ESG areas in a variety of ways, including through ESG engagement meetings with management personnel of companies to discuss different topics relevant to the company’s business operations, such as labor standards, workforce diversity, supply chain, environmental targets, carbon intensity, reputation, and executive

compensation; applying proprietary methodologies to assess the outcome and progress of these meetings to inform the subadviser’s ESG rating of the companies; and through proxy voting.

The subadviser will sell a security if the issuer no longer meets its financial or ESG criteria. In addition, the subadviser will seek to replace securities when the company’s risk/reward profile is no longer favorable due to price appreciation or if the company’s investment fundamentals have deteriorated meaningfully relative to original expectations. Securities may also be sold to permit investment in an issuer considered by the subadviser to be a more attractive alternative.

As of March 31, 2024, the top sector represented by the fund’s underlying investments was information technology. This sector may change over time.