The Index
All disclosures contained in this term sheet regarding the Index, including, without limitation, its make-up, method of calculation, and changes in its components, have been derived from publicly available sources, without independent verification. The Index was developed by Russell Investments (“Russell”) before FTSE International Limited and Russell combined in 2015 to create FTSE Russell, which is wholly owned by London Stock Exchange Group. The information reflects the policies of, and is subject to change by, FTSE Russell (the “Index sponsor”). The Index sponsor, which licenses the copyright and all other rights to the Index, has no obligation to continue to publish, and may discontinue publication of, the Index. The consequences of the Index sponsor discontinuing publication of the Index are discussed in the section entitled “Description of LIRNs — Discontinuance of an Index” beginning on page PS-29 of product supplement EQUITY LIRN-1. None of us, the calculation agent, MLPF&S, BofAS or our or their respective affiliates accepts any responsibility for the calculation, maintenance or publication of the Index or any successor index.
The Russell 2000® Index
General
The Index measures the composite price performance of stocks of 2,000 companies in the U.S. equity market. Additional information (including sectors and sector weights and top constituents) is available on the Index sponsor’s website. (Sector designations are determined by the Index sponsor using criteria it has selected or developed. Different index sponsors may use very different standards for determining sector designations. In addition, many companies operate in a number of sectors, but are listed in only one sector and the basis on which that sector is selected may also differ. As a result, sector comparisons between indices with different index sponsors may reflect differences in methodology as well as actual differences in the sector composition of the indices.)
The Index includes approximately 2,000 of the smallest securities that form the Russell 3000® Index. The Russell 3000® Index is comprised of the 3,000 largest companies, or 98% based on market capitalization, of the investable U.S. equity market. The Index is designed to track the performance of the small capitalization segment of the U.S. equity market.
Selection of Constituent Stocks of the Index
The Index is a sub-index of the Russell 3000® Index. To be eligible for inclusion in the Russell 3000® Index, and, consequently, the Index, a company’s stocks must be listed on the last trading day of May of a given year and FTSE Russell must have access to documentation verifying the company’s eligibility for inclusion. Eligible initial public offerings are added to Russell U.S. Indices at the end of each calendar quarter, based on total market capitalization rankings within the market-adjusted capitalization breaks established during the most recent reconstitution. To be added to any Russell U.S. index during a quarter outside of reconstitution, initial public offerings must meet additional eligibility criteria.
A company is included in the U.S. equity markets and is eligible for inclusion in the Russell 3000® Index, and consequently, the Index, if that company incorporates in, has its headquarters in and also trades with the highest liquidity (as defined by a two-year average daily dollar trading volume from all exchanges) in the United States or its territories. If a company satisfies any one of these criteria and the primary location of that company’s assets or its revenue, based on an average of two years of assets or revenues data, is also in the United States, that company will also be considered part of the U.S. equity market. In addition, if there is insufficient information to assign a company to the U.S. equity markets based on its assets or revenue, the company may nonetheless be assigned to the U.S. equity markets if the headquarters of the company is located in certain “benefit-driven incorporation countries,” or “BDIs,” and that company’s most liquid stock exchange is also in the United States. The BDI countries are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Channel Islands, Cook Islands, Curacao, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Panama, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten and Turks and Caicos Islands. ADRs and ADSs are not eligible for inclusion in the Index.
Exclusions from the Index
FTSE Russell specifically excludes the following companies and securities from the Index: (i) preferred and convertible preferred stock, redeemable shares, participating preferred stock, warrants, rights, depositary receipts, installment receipts and trust receipts; (ii) royalty trusts, U.S. limited liability companies, closed-end investment companies (companies that are required to report Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, as defined by the SEC, including business development companies), blank check companies, special purpose acquisition companies and limited partnerships; (iii) companies with a total market capitalization less than $30 million; (iv) companies with only a small portion of their shares available in the marketplace (companies with 5% or less float); (v) bulletin board, pink sheets or over-the-counter traded securities; (vi) companies that generate, or have historically generated, unrelated business taxable income and have not taken steps to block their unrelated business taxable income to equity holders; and (vii) exchange traded funds and mutual funds.
Initial List of Eligible Securities
The primary criterion FTSE Russell uses to determine the initial list of securities eligible for the Russell 3000® Index and consequently, the Index, is total market capitalization, which is calculated by multiplying the total outstanding shares for a company times the market price as of the “rank day” (typically the last trading day in May but a confirmed timetable is announced each spring) in May. All common stock share classes are combined in determining market capitalization. If multiple share classes have been combined, the pricing vehicle will be designated as the share class with the highest two-year trading volume as of the rank day in May. In cases where the common stock share classes act independently of each other (e.g., tracking stocks), each class is considered for inclusion separately. Stocks must have a closing price at or above $1.00 on their primary exchange on the last trading day of May of each year to be eligible for inclusion in the Index. In order to reduce unnecessary turnover, if an existing member’s closing price is less than $1.00 on the last trading day of May,