The portfolio management team consists of Russell Shtern, CFA (since 2022), Sanne V de Boer, PhD, CFA (since 2025), and Kai Yee Wong (since 2025). These professionals operate within Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), which is headquartered in New York, NY, and serves approximately 15.7 million individual, workplace, and institutional clients. The team has access to Voya Investment Management's substantial resources, managing $366 billion in assets as of September 30, 2025 through more than 300 investment professionals. This scale positions Voya Investment Management as the 48th largest firm out of 411 surveyed based on worldwide institutional assets under management as of December 31, 2023, according to Pensions & Investments magazine. The management team combines traditional fundamental analysis expertise with advanced quantitative capabilities through the Voya Machine Intelligence (VMI) team. The team operates within a firm that has been certified as a 'Great Place to Work' for 10 consecutive years. Voya Investment Management has received numerous industry recognitions, including being named to Pension & Investments' Best Places to Work in Money Management in 2025. The organization demonstrates commitment to diversity and inclusion, receiving the Corporate Equality Index Equality 100 Award for leadership in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion in January 2025. The management approach emphasizes disciplined risk management protocols while leveraging sophisticated analytical tools to identify investment opportunities.

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The Fund seeks growth of capital primarily through investment in a diversified portfolio of common stocks of companies with smaller market capitalizations. The fund highlights a differentiated approach combining fundamental analysis with machine learning models to identify mispriced stock opportunities. The Fund employs a disciplined yet dynamic strategy that works best in volatile markets to take advantage of mispriced and overlooked stock opportunities. The Fund combines the depth and rigor of fundamental analysis with the breadth and scalability machine learning models bring. The fund applies machine learning models to evaluate financial, fundamental, technical and governance characteristics of over 2,000 companies to form a deep, holistic view of each stock without emotional biases. The Voya Machine Intelligence (VMI) team employs a proprietary machine learning approach but does not utilize generative AI algorithms. Robust risk management is employed including active screens for negative events, controversies, crowding, and ESG risks. The fund emphasizes active screening for negative events, controversies, crowding, and ESG risks. The Fund operates under contractual expense limits through at least 10/01/2026. The fund utilizes quantitative models but acknowledges risks from AI and data limitations.

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