objective, meaning it generally will invest in a sample of the securities in
the Index whose risk, return and other characteristics resemble the risk, return, and other characteristics of the Index as a whole. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from
securities lending) will be invested in component securities of the Index and investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the economic characteristics of such component securities.
The Index is a dividend weighted index designed to provide
exposure to companies in the industrialized world, excluding Canada and the United States, that pay regular cash dividends on shares of common stock, while at the same time neutralizing exposure to fluctuations between the value of foreign
currencies and the U.S. dollar. To be eligible for inclusion in the Index, a company must meet the following criteria: (i) incorporation and have their shares listed for trading on one of the major stock exchanges in one of 15 developed European
countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom), Israel, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong or Singapore; (ii) payment of at
least $5 million in cash dividends on common shares in the annual cycle prior to the annual Index screening date; (iii) have a market capitalization of at least $100 million as of the annual Index screening date; (iv) have an average daily dollar
volume of at least $100,000 for the three months preceding the annual Index screening date; (v) have trading of at least 250,000 shares per month for each of the six months preceding the annual Index screening date; and (vi) have a calculated volume
factor (the average daily dollar volume for three months preceding the annual Index screening date divided by the preliminary weight of the security in the Index) that is greater than $200 million. For these purposes, “preliminary
weight” refers to a company’s weight in the Index as determined solely by the application of all Index eligibility criteria except the calculated volume factor.
Securities are weighted in the Index based on dividends paid
over the prior annual cycle. Companies that pay a greater total dollar amount of dividends are more heavily weighted. To derive a company’s initial Index weight, (i) multiply the U.S. dollar value of the
company’s annual gross dividend per share by the number of common shares outstanding for that company (the “Cash Dividend Factor”); (ii) calculate the Cash Dividend Factor for each company; (iii) add together all of the
companies’ Cash Dividend Factors; and (iv) divide the company’s Cash Dividend Factor by the sum of all Cash Dividend Factors. At the time of the Index’s annual screening date, the maximum
weight of any one sector and any one country is capped at 25%; however, sector and/or country weights may fluctuate above the specified cap in response to market conditions and/or the application of volume factor adjustments. The Index methodology
applies a volume factor adjustment to reduce a component security’s weight in the Index and reallocate the reduction in weight pro rata among the other securities if, as of the annual Index screening date, a component security no longer meets
certain trading volume thresholds.
WisdomTree
Investments, Inc. (“WisdomTree Investments”), as Index provider, currently uses Standard & Poor’s Global Industry Classification Standards (“S&P GICS”) to define companies within a sector. The following sectors
are included in the Index: consumer discretionary, consumer staples, energy, financials, health care, industrials, information technology, materials, telecommunication services, and utilities. A sector is comprised of multiple industries. As of
September 1, 2016, S&P GICS will recognize real estate as a new sector, separate from the financial sector. For example, the energy sector is comprised of companies in, among others, the natural gas, oil and petroleum industries.
The Index “hedges” against fluctuations in the
relative value of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar. This Index is designed to have higher returns than an equivalent unhedged investment when foreign currencies are falling relative to the U.S. dollar. Conversely, the Index is designed to
have lower returns than an equivalent unhedged investment when foreign currencies are rising relative to the U.S. dollar. The Index applies an applicable published one-month currency forward rate to the total equity exposure of each country in the
Index to hedge against fluctuations in the relative value of each such foreign currency against the U.S. dollar.
Forward currency contracts or futures contracts are used to
offset the Fund’s exposure to the foreign currencies represented in the Index. The amount of forward contracts and futures contracts in the Fund is based on the aggregate exposure of the Fund and Index to these foreign currencies. While this
approach is designed to minimize the impact of currency fluctuations on Fund returns, it does not necessarily eliminate the Fund’s exposure to all currency fluctuations. The return of the forward currency contracts and currency futures
contracts may not perfectly offset the actual fluctuations of these foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar.
To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds 25% or more of its total assets) in the securities of a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index.