Investment Strategy
The Fund is an "index" fund that seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return performance of the MSCI ACWI ex USA Investable Market Index over the long term. As an "index" fund, the Fund is not managed according to traditional methods of "active" investment management, which involve the buying and selling of securities based upon economic, financial and market analysis and investment judgment. As of February 28, 2021, a significant portion of the index comprised companies in the financial sector, although this may change from time to time.
As of February 28, 2021, a significant portion of the index comprised companies located in Japan and the United Kingdom and a significant portion of the index constituents are denominated in the Euro, Yen and the Great Britain Pound although this may change from time to time. In seeking to track the performance of the index, the Fund employs a sampling strategy, which means that the Fund is not required to purchase all of the securities represented in the index. Instead, the Fund may purchase a subset of the securities in the index in an effort to hold a portfolio of securities with generally the same risk and return characteristics of the index. The number of holdings in the Fund will be based on a number of factors, including asset size of the Fund. SSGA Funds Management, Inc. (SSGA FM), the investment adviser to the Fund, generally expects the Fund to hold fewer than the total number of securities in the index, but reserves the right to hold as many securities as it believes necessary to achieve the Fund's investment objective.
Under normal circumstances, the Fund generally invests substantially all, but at least 80%, of its net assets (plus borrowings, if any) in securities comprising the index or in American Depositary Receipts or Global Depositary Receipts providing exposure to securities comprising the index. The notional value of the Fund's investments in derivatives or other synthetic instruments that provide exposures comparable, in the judgment of SSGA FM, to investments in the index may be counted toward satisfaction of this 80% policy. The Fund will provide shareholders with at least sixty (60) days' notice prior to any change in this 80% investment policy. In addition, the Fund may invest in equity securities that are not included in the index, cash and cash equivalents or money market instruments, such as repurchase agreements and money market funds (including money market funds advised by SSGA FM).
The Fund may also purchase or sell futures contracts, or options on those futures, in lieu of investing directly in the stocks making up the index. The Fund might do so, for example, in order to increase its investment exposure pending investment of cash in stocks or other investments. Alternatively, the Fund might use futures or options on futures to reduce its investment exposure in situations where it intends to sell a portion of the stocks in its portfolio but the sale has not yet been completed. The Fund may also enter into other derivatives transactions, including the use of options, forwards or swap transactions, in lieu of investing directly in the stocks making up the index. The Fund may also, to the extent permitted by applicable law, invest in shares of other mutual funds whose investment objectives and policies are similar to those of the Fund (including funds advised by SSGA FM).
The index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure the combined equity market performance of securities, across all market capitalizations, in developed and emerging market countries excluding the United States. All listed equity securities and listed securities that exhibit characteristics of equity securities, except mutual funds, ETFs, equity derivatives, limited partnerships and most investment trusts, are eligible for inclusion. Countries covered in the index have historically included, among others, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. It is not possible to invest directly in the index.
Investment Risks
Market Risk, Equity Investing Risk, Non=US Securities Risk, Geographic Focus Risk, Currency Risk, Indexing Strategy/Index Tracking Risk, Counterparty Risk, Depositary Receipts Risk, Derivatives Risk, Emerging markets Risk, Financial Sector Risk, Large-Capitalization Securities Risk, Large Shareholder Risk, Liquidity Risk, Master/Feeder Structure Risk, Risk of Investment in Other Pools, Small-, Mid-, and Micro-Capitalization Securities Risk, Special Risk Considerations of Investing in China, Unconstrained Sector Risk, Valuation Risk. These risks are discussed under State Street Investment Risks per the Disclosure Booklet.
