SDVY

About SDVY

The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the securities that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Index was developed and is owned, calculated and maintained by Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider may, from time to time, exercise reasonable discretion as it deems appropriate in order to ensure Index integrity. According to the Index Provider, the Index is designed to measure the performance of a selection of securities that have increased their dividend value over the previous three year and five year annual periods. According to the Index Provider, to be eligible for inclusion in the Index, a security must be a component of the Nasdaq US Mid CapTM Index or the Nasdaq US Small CapTM Index, not be classified as a Mortgage Real Estate Investment Trust or Real Estate Investment Trust at the sector level according to the Industry Classification Benchmark (“ICB”), and meet the size and liquidity requirements of the Index in addition to the following criteria: ●have paid a dividend in the trailing twelve-month period greater than the dividend paid in the trailing twelve-month period three and five years prior; ●having positive earnings per share in the most recent fiscal year greater than the earnings per share the three fiscal years prior; ●have a cash-to-debt ratio greater than 25%; and ●have a trailing twelve-month period payout ratio (trailing twelve-month dividends per share divided by trailing twelve-month earnings per share) no greater than 65%. According to the Index Provider, eligible securities are then ranked by five year dollar dividend increase in descending order, current dividend yield in descending order and payout ratio in ascending order. The resulting ranks are aggregated into a single score with the 100 securities with the lowest aggregated rank selected for inclusion in the Index. In the case of multiple securities having the same aggregated score, the security with the higher dividend yield is given priority. If a company issues more than one security, only the security with the highest three-month average daily traded value generally is considered for inclusion in the Index. All selected securities are equally weighted, subject to a maximum of 75 securities from either the Nasdaq US Mid CapTM Index or the Nasdaq US Small CapTM Index. If an industry is represented by more than 30 securities, the highest-ranking security will be removed and replaced with the next eligible security from a different industry. This process is repeated until no industry is represented by more than 30 securities. The Index is rebalanced quarterly and reconstituted annually and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s quarterly rebalance schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of December 31, 2024, the Index was composed of 95 securities with market capitalizations ranging from $1.36 billion to $80.72 billion. The securities of companies represented in the Index generally have market capitalizations that are consistent with the name of the Index. During each quarterly rebalance, securities that no longer meet the size and liquidity requirements of the Index will be removed from the Index. As of December 31, 2024, the Fund had significant investments in financial companies and industrials companies, although this may change from time to time. The Fund’s investment will change as the Index changes and, as a result, the Fund may have significant investments in jurisdictions or investment sectors that it may not have had as of December 31, 2024. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.