The Shares will change in value, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective.
Market Risk. Securities in the Underlying Index are subject to market fluctuations. You should anticipate that the value of the Shares will decline, more or less, in correlation with any decline in value of the securities in the Underlying Index. Additionally, natural or environmental disasters, widespread disease or other public health issues, war, military conflicts, acts of terrorism, economic crises or other events could result in increased premiums or discounts to the Fund's net asset value ("NAV"). Certain changes in the U.S. economy in particular, such as when the U.S. economy weakens or when its financial markets decline, may have a material adverse effect on global financial markets as a whole, and on the securities to which the Underlying Index has exposure. Increasingly strained relations between the U.S. and foreign countries, including as a result of economic sanctions and tariffs, may also adversely affect U.S. issuers, as well as non-U.S. issuers.
During a general downturn in the financial markets, multiple asset classes may decline in value. When markets perform well, there can be no assurance that specific investments held by the Underlying Index will rise in value.
Index Risk. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of its Underlying Index. Therefore, the Fund would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added to or removed from, respectively, its Underlying Index, even if that security generally is underperforming. Additionally, the Fund generally rebalances its portfolio in accordance with its Underlying Index, and, therefore, any changes to its Underlying Index's rebalance schedule will typically result in corresponding changes to the Fund's rebalance schedule.
Fixed-Income Securities Risk. Fixed-income securities are subject to interest rate risk and credit risk. Interest rate risk refers to fluctuations in the value of a fixed-income security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates. When the general level of interest rates goes up, the prices of most fixed-income securities go down. When the general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of most fixed-income securities go up. Fixed-income securities with longer maturities typically are more sensitive to changes in interest rates, making them more volatile than securities with shorter maturities. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a security will be unable and/or unwilling to make timely interest payments and/or repay the principal on its debt. Debt instruments are subject to varying degrees of credit risk, which may be reflected in credit ratings. There is a possibility that the credit rating of a fixed-income security may be downgraded after purchase, which may occur quickly and without advance warning following sudden market downturns or unexpected developments involving an issuer, and which may adversely affect the liquidity and value of the security.
U.S. Treasury Obligations Risk. U.S. Treasury Obligations may differ from other securities in their interest rates, maturities, times of issuance and other characteristics. Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury are backed by the "full faith and credit" of the United States; however, the U.S. government guarantees a security only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Consequently, the market prices of such securities may fluctuate. Because U.S. Treasury Obligations trade actively outside the United States, their prices may rise and fall as changes in global economic conditions affect the demand for these securities. In addition, changes in the credit rating or financial condition of the U.S. government may cause the value of U.S. Treasury Obligations to decline. Although the Fund may hold securities that carry U.S. government guarantees, these guarantees do not extend to Shares of the Fund.
Changing Fixed-Income Market Conditions Risk. Increases in the federal funds and equivalent foreign rates or other changes to monetary policy or regulatory actions may expose fixed-income markets to heightened volatility, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree, and to reduced
liquidity for certain fixed-income investments, particularly those with longer maturities. Such changes and resulting increased volatility may adversely impact the Fund, including its operations and return potential. It is difficult to predict the impact of interest rate changes on various markets. In addition, decreases in fixed-income dealer market-making capacity may also potentially lead to heightened volatility and reduced liquidity in the fixed-income markets. As a result, the value of the Fund's investments and share price may decline. Changes in central bank policies and other governmental actions and political events within the U.S. and abroad may also, among other things, affect investor and consumer expectations and confidence in the financial markets, which could result in higher than normal redemptions by APs (as defined herein), which could potentially increase the Fund's portfolio turnover rate and transaction costs.
Non-Diversified Fund Risk. The Fund is non-diversified and can invest a greater portion of its assets in the obligations or securities of a small number of issuers or any single issuer than a diversified fund can. As a result, changes in the market value of a single investment could cause greater fluctuations in Share price than would occur in a diversified fund. This may increase the Fund's volatility and cause the performance of a relatively small number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund's performance.
Industry Concentration Risk. In following its methodology, the Underlying Index from time to time may be concentrated to a significant degree in securities of issuers operating in a single industry or industry group. To the extent that the Underlying Index concentrates in the securities of issuers in a particular industry or industry group, the Fund will also concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. By concentrating its investments in an industry or industry group, the Fund may face more risks than if it were diversified broadly over numerous industries or industry groups. Such industry-based risks, any of which may adversely affect the companies in which the Fund invests, may include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions or cyclical market patterns that could negatively affect supply and demand in a particular industry; competition for resources; adverse labor relations; political or world events; obsolescence of technologies; and increased competition or new product introductions that may affect the profitability or viability of companies in an industry. In addition, at times, such industry or industry group may be out of favor and underperform other industries or the market as a whole.
Fluctuation of Yield and Liquidation Amount Risk. The Fund, unlike a direct investment in a bond that has a level coupon payment and a fixed payment at maturity, will make distributions of income that vary over time. Unlike a direct investment in bonds, the breakdown of returns between Fund distributions and liquidation proceeds are not predictable at the time of your investment. For example, at times during the Fund's existence, it may make distributions at a greater (or lesser) rate than the coupon payments received on the Fund's portfolio, which will result in the Fund returning a lesser (or greater) amount on liquidation than would otherwise be the case. The rate of Fund distribution payments may adversely affect the tax characterization of your returns from an investment in the Fund relative to a direct investment in bonds. If the amount you receive as liquidation proceeds upon the Fund's termination is higher or lower than your cost basis, you may experience a gain or loss for tax purposes.
Extension Risk. Extension risk is the opposite of reinvestment risk, and typically occurs when interest rates rise, thereby causing repayments of fixed-income securities to occur more slowly than expected by the market. This may drive the prices of these securities down because their interest rates are lower than the current interest rate and they have longer duration (resulting in increased sensitivity to interest rate changes).
Reinvestment Risk. Reinvestment risk is the risk that the Fund will not be able to reinvest income or principal at the same return it is currently earning. Reinvestment risk is greater during periods of declining interest rates, as prepayments often occur faster. It is related to call risk, since issuers of callable securities with high interest coupons may call their bonds