| Investment Objective: |
The Fund pursues its investment objective by constructing a portfolio of companies that exhibit a track record of moving through recessionary periods with little to minimal impact on aggregate earnings growth relative to the overall equity market. The Fund's portfolio is typically composed of 50-120 U.S. exchange-listed companies with the highest stability in their historic and forecasted earnings per share ("EPS"). Historic EPS stability is determined by evaluating the variability of the company's EPS over the past 15 years, or such shorter time period if the company has a track record of less than 15 years. Forecasted EPS stability is determined by evaluating the forecasted variability of the company's earnings over the next 2 years. Those companies with the least variability, as determined by the Advisor, are considered for selection for the Fund's portfolio. The Advisor selects the Fund's portfolio securities from a universe of the largest 750 equity securities listed in the U.S. equity market, which may be a combination of large, mid, and small capitalization companies. |