Strategy. The Fund pursues its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of companies in emerging market countries. Equity securities include common stocks and related securities, such as preferred stock and convertible securities. The Fund also invests in securities that have contractual restrictions that prohibit or limit their public resale. Emerging market countries are all countries represented by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index sm and/or those countries considered to be developing by the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation or the United Nations. These countries typically are located in the Asia-Pacific region, Eastern Europe, Central and South America, and Africa. Companies in emerging market countries … Show more… The Fund pursues its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of companies in emerging market countries. Equity securities include common stocks and related securities, such as preferred stock and convertible securities. The Fund also invests in securities that have contractual restrictions that prohibit or limit their public resale. Emerging market countries are all countries represented by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index sm and/or those countries considered to be developing by the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation or the United Nations. These countries typically are located in the Asia-Pacific region, Eastern Europe, Central and South America, and Africa. Companies in emerging market countries are broadly defined to include any company that meets one or more of the following tests: (i) its country of organization, its primary business office, and/or the principal trading market of its stock are located in an emerging market country; (ii) 50% or more of its assets are located in emerging market countries, (iii) 50% or more of its revenues are derived from emerging market countries; or (iv) a company with similar emerging markets exposure. In addition to the Funds main investments, the Fund may invest no more than 20% of its net assets in the securities of issuers in developed market countries. The Fund may invest in derivatives. Derivative instruments have a value derived from, or directly linked to, an underlying asset, such as equity securities, fixed-income securities, commodities, currencies, interest rates, or market indices. In particular, the Fund may invest in derivatives such as futures, options, forward currency contracts, warrants, and swaps (including total return swaps) for various investment purposes, such as to gain exposure to a particular portion of the market or to manage or hedge portfolio risk. Portfolio management employs both a top-down and bottom-up approach to select investments for the Fund. The top-down approach involves a macro analysis of factors that include an issuers economic growth profile, the stages of a countrys development, and trends in a countrys governance and regulatory framework. The bottom-up analysis focuses on fundamental research and considers, among other factors, a companys valuation, growth potential, competitive positioning, projected future earnings, cash flows, governance, and dividends. The Fund has the ability to invest more heavily in either growth or value securities depending on market conditions and portfolio managements convictions. As part of its investment process, portfolio management considers environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities (ESG Factors) that it believes are financially material, alongside other fundamental investment factors. Examples of potential financially material ESG Factors include: corporate governance, company culture, exposure to climate change, and human capital management. To assess ESG Factors, portfolio management uses issuer reports, third-party data, and internally-generated analyses and may engage directly with issuers. ESG Factors are one of many considerations in the investment decision-making process, may not be determinative in deciding to include or exclude an investment from the portfolio, and may not be considered for every investment decision. Portfolio management also utilizes third-party inputs to seek to (i) invest at least 20% of the Funds net asset value, under normal circumstances, in companies that are aligned with at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; and (ii) invest in a portfolio of securities that, in the aggregate, has a lower carbon intensity than the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Portfolio management will engage with an issuers management to encourage improved ESG practices for those companies that have a United Nations Global Compact Principles status of fail, with the expectation that these engagement efforts will result in improvements over time, and will sell a security if a company is not responsive to such engagement efforts. The Fund will generally consider selling a stock when, in portfolio managements opinion, there is a deterioration in the factors considered in selecting investments for the Fund, including changes in a countrys stage of development, governance, or regulatory framework. The Fund will also consider selling a stock when, in portfolio managements opinion, a companys fundamentals or a companys revenue growth has slowed, or there has been changes in a companys risk/reward potential. At times, the Fund may invest to a significant degree in issuers located in a single country or region, which particularly includes China, or may also invest in Chinese companies listed on U.S. exchanges structured as variable interest entities. In addition, the Fund may invest in securities issued by small- and mid-sized companies and in less seasoned issuers. Show less