Investing in an evolving healthcare ecosystem

The value of investments may fall as well as rise and you may not get back the full amount invested.

KEY RISK FACTORS

(The list below of risk factors is not exhaustive. Please refer to the prospectus & KID/KIID supplement for full product details and complete information on the risks).

Equity risk: The value of shares in which the Fund invests fluctuate pursuant to market expectations. The value of such shares will go up and down and equity markets have historically been more volatile than fixed interest markets. Should the price of shares in which the Fund has invested fall, the Net Asset Value of the Fund will also fall. Funds investing in shares are generally more volatile than funds investing in bonds or a combination of shares and bonds, but may also achieve greater returns.

Smaller companies risk: Investments in smaller companies offers the possibility of higher return but also involve a higher degree of risk than investment in well established, larger companies. The shares of smaller companies can be more volatile which may lead to increased volatility in the Price of the Units of a Fund.

Currency risk:  The fund may hold investments denominated in currencies other than the base currency of the fund. As a result, exchange rate movements may cause the value of investments (and any income received from them) to fall or rise effecting the fund’s value.

Industry sector or region risk: The Fund may invest in a portfolio of shares which is focused towards one particular market sector or geographic region. This focus may result in higher risk when compared to a Fund that has spread or diversified investments more broadly. Some sectors and regions can experience rapid and extreme price movements when compared with movements in securities markets generally. Investors should note that Funds with a specific focus should be considered for investment as part of a wider diversified portfolio.

Liquidity risk: Under certain market conditions, it may be difficult to buy or sell investments for a Fund. For example, smaller company shares may trade infrequently and in small volumes and corporate and emerging market bonds may be affected by the demand in the market for such securities carrying credit risk, particularly in times of significant market stress. As a result, it may not be possible to buy or sell such investments at a preferred time, close to the last market price quoted or in the volume desired. The Manager may be forced to buy or sell such investments as a consequence of Unitholders buying or selling Units in the Fund. Depending on market conditions at the time, this could lead to a significant drop in the Fund’s value.

Stock lending: With regards to the lending of securities by Funds, a Fund may participate in a stock lending programme managed by an affiliate of the Manager (acting as stock lending agent) for the purpose of lending a Fund’s securities via entering into a stock lending authorisation agreement. If a Fund engages in stock lending it will be exposed to counterparty credit risk in that the borrower may default on a loan, become insolvent or otherwise be unable to meet, or refuse to honour, its obligations to return loaned or equivalent securities. In this event, the Fund could experience delays in recovering the loaned securities, may not be able to recover the loaned securities and may incur a capital loss which might result in a reduction in the net asset value of the relevant Fund. The Fund’s exposure to its counterparty will be mitigated by the fact that the counterparty will be requested to post collateral, in the form of cash or debt or equity securities, as from time to time set out in the relevant stock lending agreement, and will forfeit its collateral if it defaults on the transaction. If a counterparty defaults and fails to return equivalent securities to those loaned, the Fund may suffer a loss equal to any shortfall between the value of the realised collateral and the market value of the replacement securities. Such collateral shortfall may arise as a result of inaccurate pricing of the collateral, unfavourable market movements in the value of the collateral, or a lack of liquidity in the market on which the collateral is traded. If the relevant transaction with a counterparty is not fully collateralised, then the Fund’s credit exposure to the counterparty in such circumstances will be higher than if the transaction had been fully collateralised. When entering into stock lending a Fund may also be exposed to settlement risk (i.e. the possibility that one or more parties to the transactions will fail to deliver the assets at agreed-upon time) and legal risk, which is the risk of loss due to the unexpected application of a law or regulation, or because a court declares a contract not legally enforceable. In addition to the specific risks identified above stock lending carry other risks, as described in this Risk Factors section, notably (i) counterparty risk, ii) custody insolvency and iii) liquidity risk.