Large-Cap Core Portfolio Series 44

Under normal circumstances, the Trust invests at least 80% of the value of its assets in U.S.-listed stocks of large-capitalization companies. The Trust includes stocks from all sectors of the U.S. economy. The U.S.-listed common stocks held by the Trust may include the common stocks of U.S. and non-U.S. companies. The Trust may also invest in real estate investment trusts. The Sponsor selects stocks that it believes have the potential to achieve the Trust’s investment objective. As a result of this strategy, the Trust is concentrated in the information technology sector.

Large-Capitalization Stocks

A well-balanced portfolio is the foundation for many successful investment strategies. Advisors may use a mix of investments including stocks, bonds and cash to support a strategy they have established with their clients.

There are three main categories of stocks: large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap. The Trust will use capitalization designations provided by Russell Investments.

The Trust includes U.S.-listed stocks of large-capitalization companies that the Sponsor believes should be core holdings of a large-cap portfolio. This Trust includes stocks from all sectors of the U.S. economy.

The Sponsor selects U.S.-listed companies that it believes should be core holdings of a U.S.-listed large-cap portfolio. To select the portfolio the Sponsor follows a disciplined process which includes both quantitative screening and qualitative analysis.

The Sponsor begins with the companies that are designated as large-capitalization by Russell Investments. The Sponsor then reduces the companies by performing qualitative analysis, which may be primarily based on, but not limited to, the following factors:

• Balance Sheet. The Sponsor favors companies that possess overall financial strength and exhibit balance sheet improvements relative to their peers and the marketplace;
• Industry Leadership. The Sponsor favors companies that possess a strong competitive position among their domestic and global peers;
• 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;
• Growth. The Sponsor favors companies with a history of (and prospects for) above average growth of revenues, earnings and dividends (if applicable);
• Profitability. The Sponsor favors companies with a history of (and prospects for) consistent and high profitability as measured by return-on-assets, return-on-equity, gross margin and net margin.

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, events 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. 
• The Trust is concentrated in the information technology sector. As a result, the factors that impact the information technology sector will likely have a greater effect on this Trust than on a more broadly diversified Trust. Companies involved in this sector must contend with rapid changes in technology, intense competition, government regulation and the rapid obsolescence of products and services. Furthermore, sector predictions may not materialize and the companies selected for the Trust may not represent the entire sector and may not participate in the overall sector growth.
• 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.