Registration Nos. 333-195390 and 811-22959

AS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ON  i FEBRUARY 25, 2021

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM  i N-1A

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

and/or

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

The Investment Company Act of 1940

(Check appropriate box or boxes)

 i 1290 FUNDS

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

1290 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10104

(Address of principal executive offices)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, including area code: (212) 554-1234

William T. MacGregor, Esq.

Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

Equitable Investment Management Group, LLC

1290 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10104

(Name and address of agent for service)

Please send copies of all communications to:

Mark C. Amorosi, Esq.

K&L Gates LLP

1601 K Street N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20006

Approximate Date of Proposed Public Offering: Effective Date of this Post-Effective Amendment

Title of Securities Being Registered: Class A, Class I, Class R and Class T Shares of Beneficial Interest

It is proposed that this filing will become effective:

if appropriate, check the following box:

CONTENTS OF REGISTRATION STATEMENT

This registration statement is comprised of the following:

Cover Sheet

Contents of Registration Statement

Part A – Prospectus for 1290 Diversified Bond Fund, 1290 DoubleLine Dynamic Allocation Fund, 1290 GAMCO Small/Mid Cap Value Fund, 1290 High Yield Bond Fund, 1290 Multi-Alternative Strategies Fund and 1290 SmartBeta Equity Fund (together, the “1290 Funds”); and Prospectus for 1290 Retirement 2020 Fund, 1290 Retirement 2025 Fund, 1290 Retirement 2030 Fund, 1290 Retirement 2035 Fund, 1290 Retirement 2040 Fund, 1290 Retirement 2045 Fund, 1290 Retirement 2050 Fund, 1290 Retirement 2055 Fund and 1290 Retirement 2060 Fund (together, the “1290 Retirement Funds”).

Part B – Statement of Additional Information for the 1290 Funds and Statement of Additional Information for the 1290 Retirement Funds.

Part C – Other Information

Signature Page

Exhibits

		Prospectus

This Prospectus describes the Funds listed below. Each Fund has its own investment objective and strategies that are designed to meet different investment goals. This Prospectus contains information you should know before investing. Please read this Prospectus carefully before investing and keep it for future reference.

Table of contents

1. About the Funds

 i 1290 Diversified Bond Fund – Class A (TNUAX), T (TNUCX), I (TNUIX) and R (TNURX) Shares

 i Investment Objective:  i Seeks to maximize total return consisting of income and capital appreciation.

Principal Investment Strategy:  i Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in a diversified portfolio of U.S. and foreign bonds or other debt securities of varying maturities and other instruments that provide investment exposure to such debt securities, including forwards or derivatives such as options, futures contracts or swap agreements.

Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC (“Brandywine Global” or the “Sub-Adviser”) employs a value approach toward fixed income investing and evaluates the relative attractiveness among corporate, mortgage and U.S. government securities, and also may invest in non-dollar-denominated issues. The Sub-Adviser relies upon value measures to guide its decisions regarding sector, security and country selection, such as the relative attractiveness of the extra yield offered by securities other than those issued by the U.S. Treasury. The Sub-Adviser also measures various types of risk by monitoring interest rates, inflation, the shape of the yield curve, credit risk, prepayment risk, risks relating to conditions in different countries, and currency valuations.

The Fund may invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies and in U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers, including securities and instruments that are economically tied to emerging market countries. The Fund will normally limit its foreign currency exposure (from non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities or currencies) to 40% of its total assets (this limitation does not apply to investment grade sovereign debt denominated in the local currency with less than 1 year remaining to maturity).

The Fund may invest, without limitation, in forwards and derivative instruments such as options, futures contracts, structured securities or swap agreements (including total return swaps, credit default swaps and interest rate swaps), and in mortgage- and asset-backed securities, subject to applicable law and any other restrictions described in the Fund’s prospectus or Statement of Additional Information. Derivatives may be used for various investment purposes, including to hedge portfolio risk, to gain exposure or to short individual securities, to earn income and enhance return, and to manage duration. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may involve the use of leverage because the Fund is not required to invest the full market value of the contract upon entering into the contract but participates in gains and losses on the full contract price. The use of derivatives also may involve the use of leverage because the heightened price sensitivity of some derivatives to market changes may magnify the Fund’s gain or loss.

The Fund may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions to hedge against currency exposure in its portfolio. The Fund may enter into forward currency exchange contracts and other currency derivatives, such as swaps, options and futures, to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to a foreign currency, or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This type of strategy, sometimes known as a “cross-hedge,” will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if the Fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another. Cross-hedges are intended to protect against losses resulting from a decline in the value of the hedged currency, but will cause the Fund to assume the risk of fluctuations in the value of the currency it purchases, and may also limit any potential gain that might result should the value of such hedged currency increase.

The Fund may purchase or sell securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery, or forward commitment basis. The Fund may seek to obtain market exposure to the securities in which it primarily invests by entering into a series of purchase and sale contracts (such as contracts for derivative instruments) or by using other investment techniques (such as buy backs or dollar rolls). The Fund may invest in privately placed and restricted securities, collateralized loan obligations, inflation-indexed bonds, bank loans, and loan participations and assignments. The Fund may also invest in zero coupon and pay-in-kind securities. The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading to achieve its investment objective.

The Fund may also lend its portfolio securities to earn additional income.

 i Principal Risks:  i  i An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.  i The value of your investment may fall, sometimes sharply, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. / 

Credit Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk that the issuer or guarantor of a fixed income security, or the counterparty to a transaction, is unable or unwilling, or is perceived as unable or unwilling, to make timely interest or principal payments, or otherwise honor its obligations, which may cause the Fund’s holdings to lose value. The downgrade of a security’s credit rating may decrease its value. Lower credit quality also may lead to greater volatility in the price of a security and may negatively affect a security’s liquidity. The credit quality of a security can deteriorate suddenly and rapidly.

Investment Grade Securities Risk: Securities rated in the lower investment grade rating categories (e.g., BBB or Baa) are considered investment grade securities, but are somewhat riskier than higher rated obligations because they are regarded as having only an adequate capacity to pay principal and interest, are considered to lack outstanding investment characteristics, and may possess certain speculative characteristics.

Non-Investment Grade Securities Risk: Bonds rated below BBB by S&P or Fitch or below Baa by Moody’s (or, if unrated, determined by the investment manager to be of comparable quality) are speculative in nature and are subject to additional risk factors such as increased possibility of default, illiquidity of the security, and changes in value based on changes in interest rates. Non-investmentgrade bonds, sometimes referred to as “junk bonds,” are usually issued by companies without long track records of sales and earnings, or by those companies with questionable credit strength. The creditworthiness of issuers of non-investmentgrade debt securities may be more complex to analyze than that of issuers of investment grade debt securities, and reliance on credit ratings may present additional risks.

Derivatives Risk: The Fund’s investments in derivatives may rise or fall in value more rapidly than other investments and may reduce the Fund’s returns and increase the volatility of the Fund’s net asset value. Investing in derivatives involves investment techniques and risk analyses different from, and risks in some respects greater than, those associated with investing in more traditional investments, such as stocks and bonds. Derivatives may be leveraged such that a small investment can have a significant impact on the Fund’s exposure to stock market values, interest rates, or other investments. As a result, a relatively small price movement in a derivatives contract may cause an immediate and substantial loss, and the Fund could lose more than the amount it invested. Some derivatives can have the potential for unlimited losses. In addition, it may be

Leveraging Risk: When the Fund leverages its holdings, the value of an investment in the Fund will be more volatile and all other risks will tend to be compounded. Investments that create leverage can result in losses to the Fund that exceed the amount originally invested and may accelerate the rate of losses (some of which may be sudden or substantial). For certain investments that create leverage, relatively small market fluctuations can result in large changes in the value of such investments. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s use of any leverage will be successful.

Currency Risk: Investments that are denominated in or that provide exposure to foreign currencies are subject to the risk that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar. Any such decline may erode or reverse any potential gains from an investment in securities denominated in foreign currency or may widen existing loss. In the case of hedging positions, there is the risk that the U.S. dollar will decline in value relative to the currency being hedged. Currency rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time.

European Economic Risk: The economies of European Union (“EU”) member countries and their trading

Hedging Risk:If the Fund takes a hedging position (such as long or short positions) in a particular currency, security, or bond market, it will lose money if the currency, security, or bond market appreciates in value, or an expected credit event fails to occur. Any efforts at buying or selling currencies could result in significant losses for the Fund.

Cash Management Risk: Upon entering into certain derivatives contracts, such as futures contracts, and to maintain open positions in certain derivatives contracts, the Fund may be required to post collateral for the contract, the amount of which may vary. In addition, the Fund may maintain cash and cash equivalent positions as part of the Fund’s strategy in order to take advantage of investment opportunities as they arise, to manage the Fund’s market exposure and for other portfolio management purposes. As such, the Fund may maintain cash balances, which may be significant, with counterparties such as the 1290 Funds’ custodian or its affiliates. Maintaining larger cash and cash equivalent positions could negatively affect the Fund’s performance due to missed investment opportunities and may also subject the Fund to additional risks, such as increased credit risk with respect to the custodian bank holding the assets and the risk that a counterparty may be unable or unwilling to honor its obligations.

Dollar Roll and Sale-Buyback Transactions Risk: Dollar roll and sale-buyback transactions may increase the Fund’s volatility and may be viewed as a form of leverage. There is also a risk that the counterparty will be unable or unwilling to complete the transaction as scheduled, which may result in losses to the Fund.

Futures Contract Risk: The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts are (a) the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by the Fund and the price of the futures contract; (b) liquidity risks, including the possible absence of a liquid secondary market for a futures contract and the resulting inability to close a futures contract when desired; (c) losses (potentially unlimited) caused by unanticipated market movements; (d) an investment manager’s inability to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates and other economic factors; (e) the possibility that a counterparty, clearing member or clearinghouse will default in the performance of its obligations; (f) if the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities from its portfolio

to meet daily variation margin requirements, and the Fund may have to sell securities at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so; and (g) transaction costs associated with investments in futures contracts may be significant, which could cause or increase losses or reduce gains. Futures contracts are also subject to the same risks as the underlying investments to which they provide exposure. In addition, futures contracts may subject the Fund to leveraging risk.

Inflation-Indexed Bonds Risk: Inflation-indexed bonds are fixed income securities whose principal value is periodically adjusted according to inflation. Inflation-indexed bonds, including Treasury inflation-indexed securities, decline in value when real interest rates rise. In certain interest rate environments, such as when real interest rates are rising faster than nominal interest rates, inflation-indexed bonds may experience greater losses than other fixed income securities with similar durations. Interest payments on inflation-linked debt securities can be unpredictable and may vary as the principal and/or interest is adjusted for inflation. In periods of deflation, the Fund may have no income at all from such investments.

Liquidity Risk: From time to time, there may be little or no active trading market for a particular investment in which the Fund may invest or is invested. In such a market, the value of such an investment and the Fund’s share price may fall dramatically. Illiquid investments may be difficult or impossible to sell or purchase at an advantageous time or price or in sufficient amounts to achieve the Fund’s desired level of exposure. To meet redemption requests during periods of illiquidity, the Fund may be forced to dispose of investments at unfavorable times or prices and/or under unfavorable conditions, which may result in a loss or may be costly to the Fund. Investments that are illiquid or that trade in lower volumes may be more difficult to value. The Fund also may not receive its proceeds from the sale of certain investments for an extended period of time. Certain investments that were liquid when purchased may later become illiquid, sometimes abruptly, particularly in times of overall economic distress or adverse investor perception. An inability to sell a portfolio position can adversely affect the Fund’s value or prevent the Fund from being able to take advantage of other investment opportunities. During periods of market stress, an investment or even an entire market segment may become illiquid, sometimes abruptly, which can adversely affect the Fund’s ability to limit losses. In addition, a reduction in the ability or willingness of dealers and other institutional investors to make a market in certain securities may result in decreased liquidity in certain markets.

Mortgage-Related and Other Asset-Backed Securities Risk: Declines in the credit quality of and defaults by the issuers of mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities or instability in the markets for such securities may decrease the value of such securities, which could result in losses to the Fund, and may reduce the liquidity of such securities and make such securities more difficult to purchase or sell at an advantageous time and price. In addition, borrowers may default on the obligations that underlie mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities. The risk of defaults by borrowers generally is greater during times of rising interest rates and/or unemployment rates. The impairment (or loss) of the value of collateral or other assets underlying mortgage-related and other asset backed securities will result in a reduction in the value of the securities. Certain collateral may be difficult to locate in the event of default, or may be lost, and recoveries of depreciated or damaged collateral may not fully cover payments due on such collateral. Asset-backed securities may not have the benefit of a security interest in collateral comparable to that of mortgage assets, resulting in additional credit risk.

Furthermore, mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities typically provide the issuer with the right to prepay the security prior to maturity. During periods of rising interest rates, the rate of prepayments tends to decrease because borrowers are less likely to prepay debt (such as mortgage debt or automobile loans). Slower than expected payments can extend the average lives of mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities, and this may “lock in” a below market interest rate and increase the security’s duration and interest rate sensitivity,

which may increase the volatility of the security’s value and may lead to losses. During periods of falling interest rates, the rate of prepayments tends to increase because borrowers are more likely to pay off debt and refinance at the lower interest rates then available. Unscheduled prepayments shorten the average lives of mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities and may result in the Fund’s having to reinvest the proceeds of the prepayments at lower interest rates, thereby reducing the Fund’s income.

Portfolio Turnover Risk: High portfolio turnover (generally, turnover in excess of 100% in any given fiscal year) may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, which may result in higher fund expenses and lower total return.

Prepayment Risk and Extension Risk:Prepayment risk is the risk that the issuer of a security held by the Fund may pay off principal more quickly than originally anticipated. This may occur when interest rates fall. The Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds in an investment offering a lower yield, may not benefit from any increase in value that might otherwise result from declining interest rates and may lose any premium it paid to acquire the security. Extension risk is the risk that the issuer of a security held by the Fund may pay off principal more slowly than originally anticipated. This may occur when interest rates rise. The Fund may be prevented from reinvesting the proceeds it would have received at a given time in an investment offering a higher yield.

Privately Placed and Other Restricted Securities Risk: Restricted securities, which include privately placed securities, are securities that cannot be offered for public resale unless registered under the applicable securities laws or that have a contractual restriction that prohibits or limits their resale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to the Fund. The risk that securities may not be sold for the price at which the Fund is carrying them is greater with respect to restricted securities than it is with respect to registered securities. The illiquidity of the market, as well as the lack of publicly available information regarding these securities, also may make it difficult to determine a fair value for certain securities for purposes of computing the Fund’s net asset value.

Redemption Risk: The Fund may experience periods of heavy redemptions that could cause the Fund to sell assets at inopportune times or at a loss or depressed value. Redemption risk is heightened during periods of declining or illiquid markets. Heavy redemptions could hurt the Fund’s performance.

Sector Risk: From time to time, based on market or economic conditions, the Fund may have significant positions in one or more sectors of the market. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. The industries that constitute a sector may all react in the same way to economic, political or regulatory events.

Securities Lending Risk:The Fund may lend its portfolio securities to seek income. There is a risk that a borrower may default on its obligations to return loaned securities. The Fund will be responsible for the risks associated with the investment of cash collateral and may lose money on its investment of cash collateral or may fail to earn sufficient income on its investment to meet obligations to the borrower. Securities lending may introduce leverage into the Fund. In addition, delays may occur in the recovery of loaned securities from borrowers, which could interfere with the Fund’s ability to vote proxies or to settle transactions.

When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments Risk: When-issued and delayed delivery securities and forward commitments involve the risk that the security the Fund buys will decline in value prior to its delivery. This risk is in addition to the risk that the Fund’s other assets will decline in value. Therefore, these transactions may result in a form of leverage and increase the

Fund’s overall investment exposure. There also is the risk that the security will not be issued or that the other party to the transaction will not meet its obligation. If this occurs, the Fund may lose both the investment opportunity for the assets it set aside to pay for the security and any gain in the security’s price.

Zero Coupon and Pay-in-Kind Securities Risk: A zero coupon or pay-in-kindsecurity pays no interest in cash to its holder during its life. Accordingly, zero coupon securities usually trade at a deep discount from their face or par value and, together with pay-in-kindsecurities, will be subject to greater fluctuations in market value in response to changing interest rates than debt obligations of comparable maturities that make current distribution of interest in cash.

 i Risk/Return Bar Chart and Table

The performance results shown in the bar chart do not reflect any sales charges or account fees, which would reduce the performance results.

Class T shares of the Fund have not commenced operations.  i Performance information for Class T shares will be available after Class T shares have been in operation for one full calendar year.

 i  i After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.  i Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts (IRAs).  i After-tax returns are shown only for Class I shares. After-tax returns for other Classes may vary. / 

WHO MANAGES THE FUND

Investment Adviser: EIM

You may purchase and redeem shares of the Fund each day the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading at the Fund’s net asset value determined after receipt of your request in good order, subject to any applicable sales charge. All share classes are currently not offered for sale in all states. Initial purchases must be effected through your financial intermediary. Subsequently, you may purchase or redeem shares either by having your financial intermediary process your purchase or redemption, or by telephone 1-888-310-0416, by overnight mail (1290 Funds, c/o DST Asset Manager Solutions, Inc., 430 W. 7^th Street, Suite 219166, Kansas City, MO 64105-1407), or by mail (1290 Funds, PO Box 219166, Kansas City, MO 64121-9166). All redemption requests will be processed and payment with respect thereto will normally be made within seven days after receipt of your request in good order.

 i The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.  i You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $ i 50,000 in 1290 Funds’ funds. /  More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the “How Sales Charges are Calculated” and “Ways to Reduce or Eliminate Sales Charges” sections of the Fund’s Prospectus, and the “Purchase, Redemption and Pricing of Shares” section of the Fund’s statement of additional information. / 

 i The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was  i 131% of the average value of its portfolio. / 

Equity Allocation — Active Allocated Portion. The Active Allocated Portion will consist of a diversified portfolio of approximately 35-50 stocks across a range of market capitalizations and sectors, which is actively managed to seek to outperform its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The Fund will actively manage the Active Allocated Portion using a fundamentals-focused, bottom-up approach, which involves analyzing various attributes of a company, in order to identify attractively priced investment opportunities. The Fund uses quantitative and qualitative criteria to screen hundreds or thousands of potential investments for favorable characteristics. Companies identified through this screening process are then subjected to in-depth fundamental analysis to arrive at an assessment of the expected future investment returns and the attendant risks associated with a particular stock, considering such factors as sustainable competitive advantage, management team quality and incentives, capital efficiency of the business model, and other variables affecting a company’s prospective investment returns. Those stocks affording the most attractive relative risk-reward profile will be included as investments, subject to portfolio-level considerations, such as correlation of risks across investment holdings, sector exposures or individual stock weightings. The Fund may invest in companies that do not have publicly-traded securities but that the Fund determines represent attractive investment opportunities, such as companies that are relatively newly-formed or that may be contemplating an initial public offering in the future.

Equity Allocation — Index Allocated Portion. With respect to the Index Allocated Portion, the Fund will use derivatives, or a combination of derivatives, ETFs and/or direct investments, to seek to provide a return that tracks closely the performance of the Shiller Barclays CAPE^® US Sector TR USD Index (the “Index”). The Index aims to identify undervalued sectors in the large-cap equity market based on a modified CAPE^® (Cyclically Adjusted Price Earnings) ratio, which is designed to assess longer term equity valuations by using an inflation adjusted earnings horizon. The Index allocates an equal weight to four U.S. sectors that are undervalued, as determined by the modified CAPE^® ratio. Each U.S. sector is represented by a sector ETF. Each month, the Index ranks ten U.S. sectors based on the modified CAPE^® ratio and a twelve-month price momentum factor. The Index selects the five U.S. sectors that are the most undervalued according to the modified CAPE^® ratio. Only four of these five undervalued sectors, however, end up in the Index for a given month, as the sector with the worst twelve-month price momentum among the five selected sectors is eliminated.

The Fund may invest in fixed income securities of any credit quality, including below investment grade securities (commonly known as “junk bonds”). Securities rated below investment grade include those that, at the time of investment, are rated Ba1 or lower by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. or BB+ or lower by Fitch Ratings Ltd. or Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings or the equivalent by any other nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or, if unrated, determined by Equitable Investment Management Group, LLC (“EIM” or the “Adviser”) or the Sub-Adviser to be of comparable quality. The Fund may also invest to a limited extent in debt obligations of distressed companies, including companies that are close to or in default when, for example, the Sub-Adviser believes the restructured enterprise valuations or liquidation valuations may exceed current market values. The Fund may invest in mortgage-backed or other asset-backed securities of any credit rating or credit quality.

The following risks can negatively affect the Fund’s performance. The most significant risks as of the date of this prospectus are presented first, followed by additional principal risks in alphabetical order.

Market Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk that the securities markets will move down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably, based on overall economic conditions and other factors, which may negatively affect Fund performance. Securities markets also may experience long periods of decline in value. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact a market as a whole. Geo-political risks, including terrorism, tensions or open conflict between nations, or political or economic dysfunction within some nations that are major players on the world stage, may lead to instability in world economies and markets, may lead to increased market volatility, and may have adverse long-term effects. Events such as natural disasters, public health crises (such as epidemics and pandemics) and social unrest, and governments’ reactions to such events, could cause uncertainty in the markets and may adversely affect the performance of the global economy. Adverse market conditions may not have the same impact on all types of securities. In addition, markets and market participants are increasingly reliant on information data systems. Inaccurate data, software or other technology malfunctions, programming inaccuracies, unauthorized use or access, and similar circumstances may impair the performance of these systems and may have an adverse impact upon a single issuer, a group of issuers, or the market at large.

Large-Cap Company Risk: Larger more established companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges such as changes in technology and consumer tastes, which may lead to a decline in their market price. Many larger companies also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion.

Mid-Cap, Small-Cap and Micro-Cap Company Risk: Mid-cap, small-cap and micro-cap companies carry additional risks because the operating histories of these companies tend to be more limited, their earnings and revenues less predictable (and some companies may be experiencing significant losses), and their share prices more volatile than those of larger, more established companies, all of which can negatively affect their value. In general, these risks are greater for small-cap and micro-cap companies than for mid-cap companies.

In addition, certain mortgage related and other asset-backed securities may include securities backed by pools of loans made to “subprime” borrowers or borrowers with blemished credit histories. The risk of defaults by borrowers is generally higher in the case of asset or mortgage pools that include subprime assets or mortgages, and the liquidity and value of subprime mortgages and non-investment grade mortgage-backed securities that are not guaranteed by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac could change dramatically over time.

Derivatives Risk: The Fund’s investments in derivatives may rise or fall in value more rapidly than other investments and may reduce the Fund’s returns and increase the volatility of the Fund’s net asset value. Investing in derivatives involves investment techniques and risk analyses different from, and risks in some respects greater than, those associated with investing in more traditional investments, such as stocks and bonds. Derivatives may be leveraged such that a small investment can have a significant impact on the Fund’s exposure to stock market values, interest rates, or other investments. As a result, a relatively small price movement in a derivatives contract may cause an immediate and substantial loss, and the Fund could lose more than the amount it invested. Some derivatives can have the potential for unlimited losses. In addition, it may be difficult or impossible for the Fund to purchase or sell certain derivatives in sufficient amounts to achieve the desired level of exposure, or to terminate or offset existing arrangements, which may result in a loss or may be costly to the Fund. Some derivatives are more sensitive to market price fluctuations and to interest rate changes than other investments. Derivatives may not behave as anticipated by the Fund, and derivatives strategies that are successful under certain market conditions may be less successful or unsuccessful under other market conditions. The Fund also may be exposed to losses if the counterparty in the transaction is unable or unwilling to fulfill its contractual obligation. In certain cases, the Fund may be hindered or delayed in exercising remedies against or closing out derivatives with a counterparty, resulting in additional losses. Derivatives also may be subject to the risk of mispricing or improper valuation. Derivatives can be difficult to value and valuation may be more difficult in times of market turmoil. Changing regulation may make derivatives more costly, limit their availability, impact the Fund’s ability to maintain its investments in derivatives, disrupt markets, or otherwise adversely affect their value or performance.

Foreign Securities Risk: Investments in foreign securities, including depositary receipts, involve risks in addition to those associated with investments in U.S. securities. Foreign markets may be less liquid, more volatile and subject to less government supervision and regulation than U.S. markets, and it may take more time to clear and settle trades involving foreign securities, which could negatively impact the Fund’s investments and cause it to lose money. Security values also may be negatively affected by changes in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies. Differences between U.S. and foreign legal, political and economic systems, regulatory regimes and market practices, as well as trade barriers and other protectionist trade policies (including those of the U.S.), governmental instability, or other political or economic actions, also may adversely impact security values. World markets, or those in a particular region, may all react in similar fashion to important economic, political or other developments. Events and evolving conditions in certain economies or markets may alter the risks associated with investments tied to countries or regions that historically were perceived as comparatively stable and make such investments riskier and more volatile. Regardless of where a company is organized or its stock is traded, its performance may be significantly affected by events in regions from which it derives its profits or in which it conducts significant operations.

Emerging Markets Risk: Investments in emerging market countries are more susceptible to loss than investments in more developed foreign countries and may present market, credit, currency, liquidity, legal, political, technical and other risks different from, or greater than, the risks of investing in more developed foreign countries. Emerging market countries may be more likely to experience rapid and significant adverse developments in their political or economic structures, intervene in financial markets, restrict foreign investments, impose high withholding or other taxes on foreign investments, impose restrictive exchange control regulations, or nationalize or expropriate the assets of private companies which may have negative impacts on transaction costs, market price, investment returns and

the legal rights and remedies available to the Fund. In addition, the securities markets of emerging market countries generally are smaller, less liquid and more volatile than those of more developed foreign countries, and emerging market countries often have less uniformity in regulatory, accounting, auditing and financial reporting requirements or standards, which may impact the availability and quality of information about issuers, and less reliable clearance and settlement, registration and custodial procedures. Securities of issuers traded on foreign exchanges may be suspended. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging market countries than in countries with more developed markets. The risks associated with investments in emerging market countries often are significant, and vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and company to company.

Portfolio Management Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk that strategies used by an investment manager and its securities selections fail to produce the intended results. An investment manager’s judgments or decisions about the quality, relative yield or value of, or market trends affecting, a particular security or issuer, industry, sector, region or market segment, or about the economy or interest rates, may be incorrect or otherwise may not produce the intended results, which may result in losses to the Fund. In addition, many processes used in Fund management, including security selection, rely, in whole or in part, on the use of various technologies. The Fund may suffer losses if there are imperfections, errors or limitations in the quantitative, analytic or other tools, resources, information and data used, or the analyses employed or relied on, by an investment manager, or if such tools, resources, information or data are used incorrectly, fail to produce the desired results, or otherwise do not work as intended. There can be no assurance that the use of these technologies will result in effective investment decisions for the Fund.

Index Strategy Risk: The Fund may use a synthetic replication process to implement its index strategy, in which the Fund relies on derivatives such as swaps and futures designed to provide a return approximating the Index’s return. These derivatives are agreements between the Fund and a counterparty to pay the Fund the return of the index, subjecting the Fund to counterparty risk. There is the risk that (i) the performance of derivatives related to an index may not correlate with the performance of the Index and will be reduced by transaction costs or other aspects of the transaction’s pricing; (ii) the Fund may not be able to find counterparties willing to enter into derivative transactions whose returns are based on the return of the Index or find parties who are willing to do so at an acceptable cost or level of risk to the Fund; and (iii) errors may arise in carrying out the Index’s methodology, or the Index provider may incorrectly report information concerning the Index. Additionally, in cases where derivatives may be unavailable, the Fund may attempt to replicate the Index’s return by purchasing some or all of the securities comprising the Index. If the Fund invests directly in the securities comprising the Index, those assets will be unavailable for other investments. The Fund may not invest in all of the securities in the Index. Therefore, there can be no assurance that the performance of the index strategy will match that of the Index.

Interest Rate Risk: Changes in interest rates may affect the yield, liquidity and value of investments in income producing or debt securities. Changes in interest rates also may affect the value of other securities. When interest rates rise, the value of the Fund’s debt securities generally declines. Conversely, when interest rates decline, the value of the Fund’s debt securities generally rises. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. Thus, the sensitivity of the Fund’s debt securities to interest rate risk will increase with any increase in the duration of those securities. Very low or negative interest rates may magnify interest rate risk. A significant or rapid rise in interest rates also could result in losses to the Fund.

Inverse Floaters Risk: Inverse floaters are securities with a floating or variable rate of interest. Inverse floaters have interest rates that tend to move in the opposite direction as the specified market rates or indices, and may exhibit substantially greater price volatility than fixed rate obligations having similar credit quality, redemption provisions and maturity. Inverse floaters typically involve leverage, which can magnify the Fund’s losses.

Loan Risk: Loan interests are subject to liquidity risk, prepayment risk, extension risk, the risk of subordination to other creditors, restrictions on resale, and the lack of a regular trading market and publicly available information. Loan interests may be difficult to value and may have extended trade settlement periods. As a result, the proceeds from the sale of a loan may not be available to make additional investments or to meet redemption obligations until potentially a substantial period after the sale of the loan. The extended trade settlement periods could force the Fund to liquidate other securities to meet redemptions and may present a risk that the Fund may incur losses in order to timely honor redemptions. There is a risk that the value of any collateral securing a loan in which the Fund has an interest may decline and that the collateral may not be sufficient to cover the amount owed on the loan. In the event the borrower defaults, the Fund’s access to the collateral may be limited or delayed by bankruptcy or other insolvency laws. Loans may not be considered “securities,” and purchasers, such as the Fund, therefore may not have the benefit of the anti-fraud protections of the federal securities laws. To the extent that the Fund invests in loan participations and assignments, it is subject to the risk that the financial institution acting as agent for all interests in a loan might fail financially. It is also possible that the Fund could be held liable, or may be called upon to fulfill other obligations, as a co-lender.

Redemption Risk: The Fund may experience periods of heavy redemptions that could cause the Fund to sell assets at inopportune times or at a loss or depressed value. Redemption risk is heightened during periods of declining or illiquid markets. Heavy redemptions could hurt the Fund’s performance.

Market developments and other factors, including a general rise in interest rates, have the potential to cause investors to move out of fixed income securities on a large scale, which may increase redemptions from mutual funds that hold large amounts of fixed income securities. The market-making capacity of dealers has been reduced in recent years, in part as a result of structural changes, such as fewer proprietary trading desks at broker-dealers and increased regulatory capital requirements. In addition, significant securities market disruptions related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic have led to dislocation in the market for a variety of fixed income securities (including, without limitation, commercial paper, corporate debt securities, certificates of deposit, asset-backed debt securities and municipal obligations), which has decreased liquidity and sharply reduced returns in certain cases. Increased redemptions from mutual funds that hold large amounts of fixed income securities, coupled with a reduction in the ability or willingness of dealers and other institutional investors to buy or hold fixed income securities, may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed income markets.

 i  i The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns for the past one-year and since inception periods through December 31, 2020, compared to the returns of a broad-based securities market index.  i The additional broad-based securities market index and the hypothetical composite index show how the Fund’s performance compared with the returns of other asset classes in which the Fund invests.  i Past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future performance.  /