Investment Objective
The fund seeks a favorable long-term total return, mainly through capital appreciation, primarily from equity securities of foreign issuers.
Portfolio Strategy
The fund invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of foreign issuers. The active managers select individual stocks and let the fund's country and regional asset allocations evolve from their stock selection. We look for companies of all sizes that have certain characteristics such as sustainable earnings growth, consistent generation of free cash flow and stock prices that do not fully reflect the stock's potential value, based on current earnings, assets, and long-term growth prospects. The fund may, on occasion, also invest a portion of its assets through quantitative techniques to maintain similar overall financial characteristics to the fund's benchmark index, the Morgan Stanley Capital International EAFE® (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Index (the "MSCI EAFE Index"). This quantitative technique, when used, helps the portfolio manager control risk exposures by suggesting security selections that may fill unintended gaps in portfolio construction. Quantitative investment techniques may also be utilized to help the fund remain fully invested in stocks at all times.