SMID Dividend Strength Portfolio Series 18

Under normal circumstances, the Trust invests at least 80% of the value of its assets in dividend-paying equity securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies. The Sponsor uses Russell Investment’s designations of market capitalization when selecting securities. The Trust intends to invest in companies that have historically increased their dividends. The Sponsor believes that dividends are often a good indicator of a corporation’s current financial condition and, furthermore, may signal management’s belief in a profitable future for the corporation. As a result of this strategy, the Trust is concentrated in the financial sector.

To select the portfolio, the Sponsor follows a disciplined process that includes both quantitative screening and qualitative analysis. The Sponsor begins with a universe of all dividend-paying small- and mid-capitalization companies traded in the United States, which may include U.S.-listed foreign companies and real estate investment Trusts, as of the date of the security selection. The Sponsor then reduces the universe by performing quantitative screening, which may be primarily based on, but not limited to, the following factors:

• Dividend Growth. The Sponsor favors companies with a history of dividend growth.
• Cash Dividend Coverage. The Sponsor favors companies with a recent history of increasing dividend coverage ratios (defined as funds from operations relative to cash dividends to common shareholders).
• Growth. The Sponsor may screen for companies with a history of (and prospects for) above average growth of dividends, sales and earnings.
• Profitability. The Sponsor may screen for companies with a history of consistent and high profitability as measured by return-on-assets, return-on- equity, gross margin and net margin.

From this universe, the Sponsor identifies companies for inclusion in the portfolio through a qualitative analysis based on factors such as, but not limited to:

• Cash-flow Adequacy. The Sponsor favors companies with recent earnings and operating cash-flow significantly higher than the dividends paid as of the company’s most recent financial reporting period.
• Balance Sheet. The Sponsor favors companies that possess overall financial strength and exhibit balance sheet improvements relative to their peers and the marketplace.
• Valuation. The Sponsor favors companies whose valuations appear to be attractive based on measures such as price-to-earnings, price-to-book and price-to-cash flow.
• Industry Leadership. The Sponsor favors companies that possess a strong competitive position among their domestic and global peers.
• Growth. The Sponsor favors companies with a history of (and prospects for) above average growth of dividends, sales and earnings.

As with all investments, you may lose some or all of your investment in the Trust. No assurance can be given that the Trust’s investment objective will be achieved. The Trust also might not perform as well as you expect. This can happen for reasons such as these:

• Securities prices can be volatile. The value of your investment may fall over time. Market value fluctuates in response to various factors. These can include stock market movements, purchases or sales of securities by the Trust, government policies, litigation, and changes in interest rates, inflation, the financial condition of the securities’ issuer or even perceptions of the issuer. Changes in legal, political, regulatory, tax and economic conditions may cause fluctuations in markets and securities prices, which could negatively impact the value of the Trust. Additionally, event such war, terrorism, natural and environmental disasters and the spread of infectious illnesses or other public health emergencies may adversely affect the economy, various markets and issuers. An outbreak of a novel form of coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”) was first detected in December 2019 and rapidly spread around the globe leading the World Health Organization to declare the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic in March 2020 and resulting in major disruptions to economies and markets around the world. The complete economic impacts of COVID-19 are not yet fully known. The COVID-19 pandemic, or any future public health crisis, is impossible to predict and could result in adverse market conditions which may negatively impact the performance of the trust and the trust's ability to achieve its investment objectives. Units of the trust are not
  deposits of any bank and are not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. 
• The Trust is concentrated in the financial sector. As a result, the factors that impact the financial sector will likely have a greater effect on this Trust than on a more broadly diversified Trust. Companies in the financial sector include banks, insurance companies and investment firms. The profitability of companies in the financial sector is largely dependent upon the availability and cost of capital which may fluctuate significantly in response to changes in interest rates and general economic developments. Financial sector companies are especially subject to the adverse effects of economic recession, decreases in the availability of capital, volatile interest rates, portfolio concentrations in geographic markets and in commercial and residential real estate loans, and competition from new entrants in their fields of business.
• The Trust includes real estate investment Trusts (“REITs”). REITs may concentrate their investments in specific geographic areas or in specific property types, such as, hotels, shopping malls, residential complexes and office buildings. The value of the REITs and other real estate securities and the ability of such securities to distribute income may be adversely affected by several factors, including: rising interest rates; changes in the global and local economic climate and real estate conditions; perceptions of prospective tenants of the safety, convenience and attractiveness of the properties; the ability of the owner to provide adequate management, maintenance and insurance; the cost of complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act; increased competition from new properties; the impact of present or future environmental legislation and compliance with environmental laws; changes in real estate taxes and other operating expenses; adverse changes in governmental rules and fiscal policies; adverse changes in zoning laws; declines in the value of real estate; the downturn in the subprime mortgage lending market and the real estate market in the United States; and other factors beyond the control of the issuer of the security. Additionally, current negative economic impacts caused by COVID-19 have resulted in a number of businesses and individuals struggling to pay their rents, which has created cash flow difficulties for many landlords. Furthermore, demand for leased commercial space has weakened. REITs provide space to many industries that have been directly impacted by the spread of COVID-19 and may be negatively impacted by these current conditions.
• The Trust invests in securities issued by small-capitalization and mid-capitalization companies. These securities customarily involve more investment risk than securities of large-capitalization companies. Small-capitalization and mid-capitalization companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources and may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments.
• Share prices or dividend rates on the securities in the Trust may decline during the life of the Trust. There is no guarantee that share prices of the securities in the Trust will not decline and that the issuers of the securities will declare dividends in the future and, if declared, whether they will remain at current levels or increase over time.
• The Trust may be susceptible to potential risks through breaches in cybersecurity. A breach in cybersecurity refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Trust to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Sponsor of the Trust to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. In addition, cybersecurity breaches of the Trust’s third-party service providers, or issuers in which the Trust invests, can also subject the Trust to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.
• The Trust is subject to risks arising from various operational factors and their service providers. Operational factors include, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Trust’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. Additionally, the Trust may be subject to the risk that a service provider may not be willing or able to perform their duties as required or contemplated by their agreements with the Trust. Although the Trust seeks to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
• Inflation may lead to a decrease in the value of assets or income from investments.
• The Sponsor does not actively manage the portfolio. The Trust will generally hold, and may, when creating additional units, continue to buy, the same securities even though a security’s outlook, market value or yield may have changed.

See “Investment Risks” in Part A of the prospectus and “Risk Factors” in Part B of the prospectus for additional information.