The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by normally investing at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings made for investment purposes) in securities and instruments that are tied economically to emerging market countries and by investing at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings made for investment purposes) in securities of companies in the consumer and consumer-related sectors. The fund currently defines emerging market countries as countries with securities markets that are, in the opinion of the portfolio managers, less sophisticated than more developed markets in terms of participation by investors, analyst coverage, liquidity and regulation. The fund’s portfolio managers consider a security to be tied economically to a country with an emerging securities market if it is classified as an emerging market security by MSCI Inc. (“MSCI”), incorporated in a Benchmark Country (as defined below), traded on an exchange in a Benchmark Country or if it has exposure to a Benchmark Country. The fund will normally invest primarily in companies located in the countries represented in the fund’s primary benchmark index, which, as of the date of this Prospectus, is currently the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (“Benchmark Countries”). The fund normally invests primarily in common stocks, either directly or indirectly through American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) and other depositary receipts. Additionally, the fund may invest in certain eligible Chinese securities (“China A Shares”) listed and traded on either the Shanghai Stock Exchange or the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The fund expects to access China A Shares through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program or the Kong Stock Connect program (each a “Stock Connect”), as applicable.

The fund seeks to capitalize on economic growth, a significant young population, and expanding middle class consumption within emerging market countries via consumer-related companies. Generally, companies in the consumer and consumer-related sectors are companies principally engaged in the manufacture, sale or distribution of goods and services to consumers. The fund maintains flexibility to invest in all industries within the consumer staples, consumer discretionary,

communication services and health care sectors, and select consumer-oriented industries within information technology, industrials, financials and real estate sectors. The consumer staples sector comprises those companies whose consumer products are less sensitive to economic cycles. It includes manufacturers and distributors of food, beverages and tobacco and producers of household goods and personal products. It also includes food and drug retailing companies as well as hypermarkets and consumer super centers. The consumer discretionary sector encompasses those businesses whose consumer products tend to be the most sensitive to economic cycles. Its manufacturing segment includes automotive, household durable goods, leisure equipment and textiles and apparel. Its services segment includes hotels, restaurants and other leisure facilities, media production and services, and consumer retailing and services. The health care sector includes health care providers and services, companies that manufacture and distribute health care equipment and supplies and health care technology companies. It also includes companies involved in the research, development, production and marketing of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology products. The communication services sector includes companies exposed to telecommunication services, media, interactive media & services, and entertainment. It includes internet and software companies, traditional and internet-based content publishers, diversified telecommunications and wireless telecommunications providers. Consumer-oriented companies in other sectors may include, but are not limited to, airlines, consumer-related financials, communication equipment and professional services industries.

The portfolio managers seek to invest in consumer-oriented securities in emerging and developed markets which they believe capitalize on secular growth of the emerging market consumer. The portfolio managers believe that behavioral biases of investors contribute to market inefficiencies, which in turn can be exploited. The fund’s investment universe consists primarily of approximately 1,300 emerging market consumer-related equities within the capitalization range of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (between $251.7 million and $1.9 trillion as of December 31, 2020) and approximately 200 developed market equities that the portfolio managers consider to have exposure to emerging markets. The investment process begins with a proprietary “alpha” model which blends behavioral and intrinsic-valuation factors in assessing individual securities’ prospects of outperforming the broader market. This multi-factor approach is integrated with a sophisticated risk model to form the basis of portfolio construction, with constraints at the individual security, industry and country levels to manage exposures relative to the benchmark index. Additionally, all investment recommendations are thoroughly vetted on a basis to confirm the investment thesis and suitability before a purchase or sale. The integrated relationship between research and portfolio management combines the latest research from the academic and investment management communities with real-world portfolio management experience to attempt to maximize excess return opportunities within a framework that seeks to control risk.

In addition to common stocks, the fund may invest in other equity securities (such as preferred stocks, convertible securities and warrants) and equity-related instruments. The fund may invest in the securities of issuers of any market capitalization, including smaller capitalization companies, and may invest a portion of its assets in securities issued in initial public offerings (IPOs). The fund may utilize foreign currency exchange contracts, options, stock index futures contracts and other derivative instruments. Although the fund does not expect to invest significantly in derivative instruments, it may do so at any time. The fund typically does not seek to hedge its exposure to securities denominated in dollar currencies but retains the flexibility to do so at any time.