objective, meaning it generally will invest in a sample of the securities in
the Index whose risk, return and other characteristics resemble the risk, return and other characteristics of the Index as a whole. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from
securities lending) will be invested in component securities of the Index and investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the economic characteristics of such component securities.
The Index is generally comprised of 200 U.S. companies with
the highest composite scores based on two fundamental factors (value and quality measures) and two technical factors (momentum and correlation). To be eligible for inclusion in the Index, a company must meet the following criteria: (i) listed on a
major U.S. stock exchange and incorporated and headquartered in the United States; (ii) average daily dollar trading volume of at least $1,000,000 for each of the three months preceding the Index screening date; and (iii) only common stocks, real
estate investment trusts (“REITs”), tracking stocks and holding companies are eligible for inclusion in the Index.
The top 800 companies by market capitalization that meet the
foregoing criteria (the “Starting Universe”) are assigned a score for each of the following factors:
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Value – determined by fundamental valuation ratios, e.g., price-to-book, price-to-sales, price-to-earnings |
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Quality – determined by profitability ratios and the growth of these ratios over time, e.g., return on equity, return on assets
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Momentum – determined by a stock’s risk adjusted returns over multiple periods of time |
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Correlation
– defined as each company’s correlation with a broad market index |
The score for each factor is used to calculate a
company’s overall factor score. Companies from the Starting Universe are ranked by their overall factor score, and the top twenty-five percent (25%) (i.e., 200 out of 800 companies) are selected for
inclusion in the Index. Companies are weighted in the Index by a combination of their overall factor score and their inverse volatility over the prior 12 months, subject to certain sector weighting considerations set forth below. For the inverse
volatility weighting component, the Index methodology determines each company’s volatility (or risk) as measured by standard deviation over the past 12 months, which reflects the average amount a company’s stock price has differed from
the mean over that period. Companies with higher overall factor scores and lower volatility (or risk) receive higher weights in the Index and companies with lower overall factor scores and higher volatility (or risk) receive lower weights in the
Index.
The Index is reconstituted and rebalanced
quarterly. At the time of the Index’s quarterly screening date, the maximum weight of any security in the Index is capped at 4% and the sectors are weighted the same as the sector weights in the Starting Universe (i.e., sector neutral). In response to market conditions and/or the volume factor adjustments, security weights may fluctuate above the specified cap and/or sector weights may fluctuate from the sector neutral
weighting. If a component security no longer meets applicable trading volume thresholds as of the quarterly Index screening date, the Index methodology applies a volume factor adjustment to reduce such component security’s weight in the Index
and reallocates the reduction in the weight pro rata among the other remaining securities.
WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (“WisdomTree
Investments”), as Index provider, currently uses Standard & Poor’s Global Industry Classification Standards (“S&P GICS”) to define companies within a sector. The following sectors are included in the Index: consumer
discretionary, consumer staples, energy, financials, health care, industrials, information technology, materials, real estate, telecommunication services, and utilities. A sector is comprised of multiple industries. For example, the energy sector is
comprised of companies in, among others, the natural gas, oil and petroleum industries. As of June 30, 2018, a significant portion of the Index is comprised of companies in the information technology sector.
To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds 25% or more of its total assets) in the securities of a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. The Fund is subject to the
risks described below. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its objective. For more information about the risks of
investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Funds” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”