Investment involves risks. Please refer to the Hong Kong Prospectus for details including the risk factors.
1.Investment Risk
The fund is an investment fund. The fund’s investment portfolio may fall in value and therefore your investment in the fund may suffer losses. There is no assurance that the strategy employed by the fund will be successful and therefore the investment objectives of the fund may not be achieved.
2.Equities
The value of stocks may fluctuate, sometimes dramatically, in response to the activities and results of individual companies or because of general market and economic conditions or other events.
3.Holdings Concentration
At times, the fund will invest in a relatively small number of investments and will be concentrated in a specific industry sector and the net asset value of the fund may be more volatile as a result of this concentration of holdings relative to a fund which diversifies across a larger number of investments or sectors.
4.Financial Services Sector Risk
The profitability or viability of companies in the financial services industry is subject to extensive government regulation and can be significantly affected by adverse economic or regulatory occurrences affecting the financial services sector. Unstable interest rates will impact the availability and cost of capital funds, the rate of corporate and consumer debt defaults and increased price competition will all create volatility and disrupt companies operating in the sector. In particular, events in the financial sector since late 2008 have resulted, and may continue to result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign.
5.Emerging Markets
This fund invests in emerging market securities throughout the world and the price of these securities may be more volatile than those of securities in more developed markets. n This volatility may stem from political and economic factors and be exacerbated by legal, trading liquidity, settlement, transfer of securities and currency factors. n Although care is taken to understand and manage these risks, the fund and accordingly the shareholders in the fund will ultimately bear the risks associated with investing in these markets.
6.Foreign Currency Risk
The fund’s total return and balance sheet can be significantly affected by foreign exchange rate movements where the fund’s assets and income are denominated in currencies other than the base currency of the fund. Also, a class of shares may be designated in a currency other than the base currency of the fund. This means that currency movements and changes in exchange rate controls may significantly affect the value of the fund’s share price.
7.Financial Derivative Instruments
Although the fund will not make extensive use of derivatives for investment purposes or use complex derivatives or strategies to meet the investment objectives of the fund, the use of derivatives may give rise to leverage, liquidity, counterparty and valuations risks at times. In adverse situations, the fund’s use of derivatives may become ineffective and the fund may suffer significant losses.