Investors should consider the following risk factors and special considerations associated with investing in the Fund, which may cause you to lose money.
Investment Risk. An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount that you invest.
Equity Risk. A principal risk of investing in the Fund is equity risk, which is the risk that the value of the securities held by the Fund will fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or factors relating to specific companies in which the Fund invests. For example, an adverse event, such as an unfavorable earnings report, may depress the value of equity securities of an issuer held by the Fund; the price of common stock of an issuer may be particularly sensitive to general movements in the stock market; or a drop in the stock market may depress the price of most or all of the common stocks and other equity securities held by the Fund. In addition, common stock of an issuer in the Fund’s portfolio may decline in price if the issuer fails to make anticipated dividend payments because, among other reasons, the issuer of the security experiences a decline in its financial condition. Common stock is subordinated to preferred stocks, bonds and other debt instruments in a company’s capital structure, in terms of priority to corporate income, and therefore will be subject to greater dividend risk than preferred stocks or debt instruments of such issuers. In addition, while broad market measures of common stocks have historically generated higher average returns than fixed income securities, common stocks have also experienced significantly more volatility in those returns.
Patent Risk. The companies in which the Fund invests can be significantly affected by patent considerations, including the termination of their patent protection for their products. Certain of such companies’ industries may be characterized by the existence of a large number of patents and frequent claims and related litigation regarding patent rights. Certain of such companies may depend on rapidly identifying and seeking patent protection for their discoveries. The process of obtaining patent protection is expensive and time consuming. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that the steps taken by such companies to protect their proprietary rights will be adequate to prevent misappropriation of their proprietary rights or that competitors will not independently develop products that are substantially equivalent or superior to such companies’ products.
Foreign Investment Risk. The Fund’s investments in non-U.S. issuers, although limited to ADRs, may involve unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers, including, among others, greater market volatility than U.S. securities and less complete financial information than for U.S. issuers. In addition, adverse political, economic or social developments could undermine the value of the Fund’s investments or prevent the Fund from realizing the full value of its investments. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets differ from those in the United States. Finally, the value of the currency of the country in which the Fund has invested could decline relative to the value of the U.S. dollar, which may affect the value of the investment to U.S. investors. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities.
Computer/Technology Sector Risk. Competitive pressures may have a significant effect on the financial condition of companies in the computer/technology sector. Also, many of the products and services offered by computer and technology companies are subject to the risks of short product cycles and rapid obsolescence. Companies in the computer/technology sector also may be subject to competition from new market entrants. Such companies also may be subject to risks relating to research and development costs and the availability and price of components. As product cycles shorten and manufacturing capacity increases, these companies could become increasingly subject to aggressive pricing, which hampers profitability. Other risks include those related to regulatory changes, such as the possible adverse effects on profits of recent increased competition among telecommunications companies and the uncertainties resulting from such companies’ diversification into new domestic and international businesses, as well as agreements by any such companies linking future rate increases to inflation or other factors not directly related to the actual operating profits of the enterprise.
Medical Sector Risk. Companies in the medical sector may be susceptible to government regulation and reimbursement rates. Such companies may also be heavily dependent on patent protection, with their profitability affected by the expiration of patents. Companies in the medical sector may also be subject to expenses and losses from extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims, as well as competitive forces that may make it difficult to raise prices and, in fact, may result in price discounting. The process for obtaining new product approval by the Food and Drug Administration is long and costly. Medical service providers may have difficulty obtaining staff to deliver service, and may be susceptible to product obsolescence. Such companies also may be characterized by thin capitalization and limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel.
Small and Medium-Sized Company Risk. Investing in securities of small and medium-sized companies involves greater risk than is customarily associated with investing in more established companies. These companies’ stocks may be more volatile and less liquid than those of more established companies. These stocks may have returns that vary, sometimes significantly, from the overall stock market.
Non-Correlation Risk. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs a number of operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index.
The Fund may not be fully invested at times, either as a result of cash flows into the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to meet redemptions and expenses. If the Fund utilizes a sampling approach or futures or other derivative positions, or otherwise holds investments other than those which comprise the Index, its return may not correlate as well with the return on the Index, as would be the case if it purchased all of the securities in the Index with the same weightings as the Index.
Replication Management Risk. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not “actively” managed. Therefore, it would not necessarily sell a security because the security’s issuer was in financial trouble unless that security is removed from the Index.
Issuer-Specific Changes. The value of an individual security or particular type of security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can perform differently from the value of the market as a whole. The value of securities of smaller issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers.
Non-Diversified Fund Risk. The Fund is considered non-diversified and can invest a greater portion of assets in securities of individual issuers than a diversified fund. As a result, changes in the market value of a single investment could cause greater fluctuations in share price than would occur in a diversified fund.
Claymore ETFs are listed on the NYSE Arca, depending on the ETF listing, the same way as shares of a publicly-traded company. Claymore ETFs can be purchased through most brokerage accounts. They can be bought and sold throughout the day on the NYSE Arca, depending on the ETF listing, during normal trading hours. The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of 50,000 shares (each block of 50,000 shares is called a “Creation Unit”) or multiples thereof. Only broker-dealers or large institutional investors with creation and redemption agreements, called Authorized Participants (“APs”), can purchase or redeem these Creation Units.
Investors buying or selling ETF shares on the secondary market may incur brokerage costs and other transactional fees. Shares of ETFs may fluctuate in price due to daily changes in trading volume. At times, shares may not have a high volume of trading. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.
The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Ocean Tomo, LLC or its parent or affiliates (collectively "Ocean Tomo"). Ocean Tomo has not passed on the legality or suitability of, or the accuracy or adequacy of descriptions and disclosures relating to, the Fund. Ocean Tomo makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisabiltiy of investing in securities generally or in the Fund particularly, or the ability of the Index to track general stock market performance. Ocean Tomo is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the Fund to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash. Ocean Tomo has no liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund.