JEPI

About JEPI

The investment objective of the Fund is to seek current income while maintaining prospects for capital appreciation. The Fund seeks to achieve this objective by (1) creating an actively managed portfolio of equity securities comprised significantly of those included in the Fund’s primary benchmark, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Total Return Index (S&P 500 Index) and (2) through equity-linked notes (ELNs), selling call options with exposure to the S&P 500 Index. The resulting Fund is designed to provide investors with performance that captures a majority of the returns associated with the S&P 500 Index, while exposing investors to lower volatility than the S&P 500 Index and also providing incremental income. The Fund is managed in a way that seeks, under normal circumstances, to provide monthly distributions at a relatively stable level. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its Assets in equity securities (80% Policy). “Assets” means net assets plus the amount of borrowings for investment purposes. In calculating the 80% Policy, the Fund’s equity investments will include common stocks and ELNs, as well as other equity securities.In implementing the Fund’s strategy, the Fund invests significantly in the equity securities of companies included in the S&P 500 Index (which includes both large cap and mid cap companies). The Fund may also invest in other equity securities not included in the S&P 500 Index. The Fund may receive income to the extent it invests in equity securities of companies that pay dividends; however, securities are not selected based on anticipated dividend payments.The Fund seeks a lower volatility level than the S&P 500 Index. Volatility is one way to measure risk and refers to the variability of the Fund’s or the market’s returns. If the Fund is successful in providing lower volatility, then the value of the Fund’s portfolio will fluctuate less than the S&P 500 Index over a full market cycle (typically, a 3-5 year time horizon).In order to generate income, the Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in ELNs. ELNs are structured as notes that are issued by counterparties, including banks, broker-dealers or their affiliates, and that are designed to offer a return linked to the underlying instruments within the ELN. ELNs in which the Fund invests are derivative instruments that are specially designed to combine the economic characteristics of the S&P 500 Index and written call options in a single note form and are not traded on an exchange. The options underlying the ELNs will be based on the Benchmark or on exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that replicate the S&P 500 Index. Selling a call option entitles the seller to a premium equal to the value of the option at the time of trade. The ELNs owned by the Fund are structured to use a covered call strategy and have short call positions embedded within them. When the Fund purchases the ELN from the issuing counterparty, the Fund is entitled to the premium generated by the short call position within the ELN. Therefore, the ELNs provide recurring cash flow to the Fund based on the premiums received from selling the call options and are an important source of the Fund’s return. When the Fund sells call options within an ELN, it receives a premium but limits its opportunity to profit from an increase in the market value of either the underlying benchmark or ETF to the exercise price (plus the premium received). The maximum potential gain on an underlying instrument will be equal to the difference between the exercise price and the purchase price of the underlying benchmark or ETF at the time the option is written, plus the premium received. Investing in ELNs may also reduce the Fund’s volatility because the income from the ELNs would reduce potential losses incurred by the Fund’s equity portfolio. The ELNs are reset periodically to seek to better capitalize on current market conditions and opportunities; these resets assist the Fund in seeking to provide relatively stable returns.Investment Process: In managing the equity portion of the Fund’s portfolio, the adviser employs a three-step process that combines research, valuation and stock selection. The research findings allow the adviser to rank companies according to what it believes to be their relative value. The greater a company’s estimated worth compared to the current market price of its stock, the more undervalued the company. The adviser’s valuation rankings are produced with the help of a variety of models that quantify the research team’s findings. After company securities are ranked, the adviser seeks to create a portfolio with a lower volatility level than the S&P 500 Index.As part of its investment process, the adviser seeks to assess the impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors on many issuers in the universe in which the Fund may invest. The adviser’s assessment is based on an analysis of key opportunities and risks across industries to seek to identify financially material issues with respect to the Fund’s investments in securities and ascertain key issues that merit engagement with issuers. These assessments may not be conclusive, and securities of issuers that may be negatively impacted by such factors may be purchased and retained by the Fund while the Fund may divest or not invest in securities of issuers that may be positively impacted by such factors.The Fund buys and sells securities (stock selection) in accordance with its investment policies, using the research and valuation rankings as a basis. In general, the adviser selects securities that are identified as attractive and considers selling them when they appear less attractive. Along with attractive valuation, the adviser often considers a number of other criteria including:●catalysts, such as improving company fundamentals, that could trigger a rise in a stock’s price●impact on the overall risk of the portfolio●high perceived potential reward compared to perceived potential risk●possible temporary mispricings caused by market over- reactionsThe Fund’s investment strategies may involve active and frequent trading resulting in high portfolio turnover.