Core Insights - The Northern Trust Quality Dividend Defensive Index targets a lower-beta U.S. equity portfolio focusing on dividend payers with strong fundamentals [1] - The index excludes non-dividend payers and the lowest quality quintile based on a proprietary model assessing management efficiency, profitability, and cash flow [1] - The remaining stocks are optimized to maximize quality exposure, increase dividend yield above the parent index, and meet beta targets while minimizing active risk [1] Portfolio Construction Methodology - The index employs constraints on security weight (±5% vs parent), industry (±10%), sector (±6%), country (±6%), region (±4%), and combined region/sector (±5%) [1] - Turnover is limited to approximately 25% per rebalance, which occurs quarterly on the last U.S. business day of February, May, August, and November [1] - The reconstitution and rebalancing of the index are effective after market close on the specified dates [1]