SEC Form FWP filed by Bank Of Montreal

Registration Statement No.333-264388
Filed Pursuant to Rule 433

Subject to Completion, dated November 21, 2024
Pricing Supplement to the Prospectus dated May 26, 2022,
the Prospectus Supplement dated May 26, 2022 and the Product Supplement dated July 22, 2022

US$ [ ]
Senior Medium-Term Notes, Series I
Callable Barrier Notes with Contingent Coupons due October 27, 2026
Linked to the Least Performing of the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector Index and the shares of SPDR^® S&P^® Regional Banking ETF and the shares of VanEck^® Gold Miners ETF

Terms of the Notes:¹

¹Expected. See “Key Terms of the Notes” below for additional details.

Specific Terms of the Notes:

¹ The total “Agent’s Commission” and “Proceeds to Bank of Montreal” to be specified above will reflect the aggregate amounts at the time Bank of Montreal establishes its hedge positions on or prior to the Pricing Date, which may be variable and fluctuate depending on market conditions at such times. Certain dealers who purchased the notes for sale to certain fee-based advisory accounts may forego some or all of their selling concessions, fees or commissions. The public offering price for investors purchasing the notes in these accounts may be between $996.25 and $1,000 per $1,000 in principal amount. We or one of our affiliates may also pay a referral fee to certain dealers in connection with the distribution of the notes.

Investing in the notes involves risks, including those described in the “Selected Risk Considerations” section beginning on page P-5 hereof, the “Additional Risk Factors Relating to the Notes” section beginning on page PS-6 of the product supplement, and the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page S-1 of the prospectus supplement and on page 8 of the prospectus.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these notes or passed upon the accuracy of this document, the product supplement, the prospectus supplement or the prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. The notes will be our unsecured obligations and will not be savings accounts or deposits that are insured by the United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Deposit Insurance Fund, the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency or instrumentality or other entity.

On the date hereof, based on the terms set forth above, the estimated initial value of the notes is $978.80 per $1,000 in principal amount. The estimated initial value of the notes on the Pricing Date may differ from this value but will not be less than $930.00 per $1,000 in principal amount. However, as discussed in more detail below, the actual value of the notes at any time will reflect many factors and cannot be predicted with accuracy.

BMO CAPITAL MARKETS

Key Terms of the Notes:

¹ Expected and subject to the occurrence of a market disruption event, as described in the accompanying product supplement. If we make any change to the expected Pricing Date and Settlement Date, the Contingent Coupon Payment Dates (and therefore the Observation Dates and potential Call Settlement Dates), the Valuation Date and Maturity Date will be changed so that the stated term of the notes remains approximately the same.

² As determined by the calculation agent and subject to adjustment in certain circumstances. See “General Terms of the Notes — Anti-dilution Adjustments to a Reference Asset that is an Equity Security (Including Any ETF)” and “— Adjustments to a Reference Asset that Is an ETF” in the product supplement with respect to the SPDR^® S&P^® Regional Banking ETF and the VanEck^® Gold Miners ETF and "General Terms of the Notes - Adjustments to a Reference Asset that is an Index" with respect to the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector Index in the product supplement for additional information.

Additional Terms of the Notes

You should read this document together with the product supplement dated July 22, 2022, the prospectus supplement dated May 26, 2022 and the prospectus dated May 26, 2022. This document, together with the documents listed below, contains the terms of the notes and supersedes all other prior or contemporaneous oral statements as well as any other written materials including preliminary or indicative pricing terms, correspondence, trade ideas, structures for implementation, sample structures, fact sheets, brochures or other educational materials of ours or the agent. You should carefully consider, among other things, the matters set forth in Additional Risk Factors Relating to the Notes in the product supplement, as the notes involve risks not associated with conventional debt securities. We urge you to consult your investment, legal, tax, accounting and other advisers before you invest in the notes.

You may access these documents on the SEC website at www.sec.gov as follows (or if such address has changed, by reviewing our filings for the relevant date on the SEC website):

Product supplement dated July 22, 2022:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927971/000121465922009102/r712220424b2.htm

Prospectus supplement dated May 26, 2022 and prospectus dated May 26, 2022:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000927971/000119312522160519/d269549d424b5.htm

Our Central Index Key, or CIK, on the SEC website is 927971. As used in this document, "we", "us" or "our" refers to Bank of Montreal.

We have filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the offering to which this document relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement and the other documents that we have filed with the SEC for more complete information about us and this offering. You may obtain these documents free of charge by visiting the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. Alternatively, we will arrange to send to you the prospectus (as supplemented by the prospectus supplement and product supplement) if you request it by calling our agent toll-free at 1-877-369-5412.

Selected Risk Considerations

An investment in the notes involves significant risks. Investing in the notes is not equivalent to investing directly in the Reference Assets. These risks are explained in more detail in the “Additional Risk Factors Relating to the Notes” section of the product supplement.

Risks Related to the Structure or Features of the Notes

Risks Related to the Reference Assets

Risks Relating to the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector Index

Risks Relating to the SPDR^® S&P^® Regional Banking ETF

Risks Relating to VanEck^® Gold Miners ETF

General Risk Factors

Examples of the Hypothetical Payment at Maturity for a $1,000 Investment in the Notes

The following table illustrates the hypothetical payments on a note at maturity, assuming that the notes are not subject to an Issuer Call. The hypothetical payments are based on a $1,000 investment in the note, a hypothetical Initial Level of 100.00, a hypothetical Trigger Level of 60.00 (60.00% of the hypothetical Initial Level), a range of hypothetical Final Levels and the effect on the payment at maturity .

The hypothetical examples shown below are intended to help you understand the terms of the notes. If the notes are not subject to an Issuer Call, the actual cash amount that you will receive at maturity will depend upon the Final Level of the Least Performing Reference Asset. If the notes are subject to an Issuer Call prior to maturity, the hypothetical examples below will not be relevant, and you will receive on the applicable Call Settlement Date, for each $1,000 principal amount, the principal amount plus any applicable Contingent Coupon.

As discussed in more detail above, your total return on the notes will also depend on the number of Contingent Coupon Dates on which the Contingent Coupon is payable. It is possible that the only payments on your notes will be the payment, if any, due at maturity. The payment at maturity will not exceed the principal amount, and may be significantly less.

U.S. Federal Tax Information

By purchasing the notes, each holder agrees (in the absence of a change in law, an administrative determination or a judicial ruling to the contrary) to treat each note as a pre-paid contingent income-bearing derivative contract for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In the opinion of our counsel, Mayer Brown LLP, it would generally be reasonable to treat the notes as pre-paid contingent income-bearing derivative contracts in respect of the Reference Assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes. However, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of your investment in the notes are uncertain and the Internal Revenue Service could assert that the notes should be taxed in a manner that is different from that described in the preceding sentence. Please see the discussion in the accompanying product supplement under "Supplemental Tax Considerations—Supplemental U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Notes Treated as an Investment Unit Consisting of a Debt Portion and a Put Option, as a Pre-Paid Contingent Income-Bearing Derivative Contract, or as a Pre-Paid Derivative Contract—Notes Treated as a Pre-Paid Contingent Income-Bearing Derivative Contract," which applies to the notes, except the following disclosure which supplements, and to the extent inconsistent supersedes, the discussion in the product supplement.

Under current Internal Revenue Service guidance, withholding on "dividend equivalent" payments (as discussed in the product supplement), if any, will not apply to notes that are issued as of the date of this pricing supplement unless such notes are "delta-one" instruments. Based on our determination that the notes are not delta-one instruments, non-United States holders (as defined in the product supplement) should not generally be subject to withholding on dividend equivalent payments, if any, under the notes.

Supplemental Plan of Distribution (Conflicts of Interest)

BMOCM will purchase the notes from us at a purchase price reflecting the commission set forth on the cover hereof. BMOCM has informed us that, as part of its distribution of the notes, it will reoffer the notes to other dealers who will sell them. Each such dealer, or each additional dealer engaged by a dealer to whom BMOCM reoffers the notes, will receive a commission from BMOCM, which will not exceed the commission set forth on the cover page. We or one of our affiliates may also pay a referral fee to certain dealers in connection with the distribution of the notes. 

Certain dealers who purchase the notes for sale to certain fee-based advisory accounts may forego some or all of their selling concessions, fees or commissions. The public offering price for investors purchasing the notes in these accounts may be less than 100% of the principal amount, as set forth on the cover page of this document. Investors that hold their notes in these accounts may be charged fees by the investment advisor or manager of that account based on the amount of assets held in those accounts, including the notes. 

We will deliver the notes on a date that is greater than one business day following the pricing date. Under Rule 15c6-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), trades in the secondary market generally are required to settle in one business day, unless the parties to any such trade expressly agree otherwise. Accordingly, purchasers who wish to trade the notes more than one business day prior to the issue date will be required to specify alternative settlement arrangements to prevent a failed settlement. 

We own, directly or indirectly, all of the outstanding equity securities of BMOCM, the agent for this offering. In accordance with FINRA Rule 5121, BMOCM may not make sales in this offering to any of its discretionary accounts without the prior written approval of the customer. 

We reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify the offering of the notes and to reject orders in whole or in part. You may cancel any order for the notes prior to its acceptance. 

You should not construe the offering of the notes as a recommendation of the merits of acquiring an investment linked to the Reference Assets or as to the suitability of an investment in the notes. 

BMOCM may, but is not obligated to, make a market in the notes. BMOCM will determine any secondary market prices that it is prepared to offer in its sole discretion. 

We may use the final pricing supplement relating to the notes in the initial sale of the notes. In addition, BMOCM or another of our affiliates may use the final pricing supplement in market-making transactions in any notes after their initial sale. Unless BMOCM or we inform you otherwise in the confirmation of sale, the final pricing supplement is being used by BMOCM in a market-making transaction.

For a period of approximately three months following issuance of the notes, the price, if any, at which we or our affiliates would be willing to buy the notes from investors, and the value that BMOCM may also publish for the notes through one or more financial information vendors and which could be indicated for the notes on any brokerage account statements, will reflect a temporary upward adjustment from our estimated value of the notes that would otherwise be determined and applicable at that time. This temporary upward adjustment represents a portion of (a) the hedging profit that we or our affiliates expect to realize over the term of the notes and (b) any underwriting discount and the selling concessions paid in connection with this offering. The amount of this temporary upward adjustment will decline to zero on a straight-line basis over the three-month period. 

The notes and the related offer to purchase notes and sale of notes under the terms and conditions provided herein do not constitute a public offering in any non-U.S. jurisdiction, and are being made available only to individually identified investors pursuant to a private offering as permitted in the relevant jurisdiction. The notes are not, and will not be, registered with any securities exchange or registry located outside of the United States and have not been registered with any non-U.S. securities or banking regulatory authority. The contents of this document have not been reviewed or approved by any non-U.S. securities or banking regulatory authority. Any person who wishes to acquire the notes from outside the United States should seek the advice or legal counsel as to the relevant requirements to acquire these notes.

British Virgin Islands. The notes have not been, and will not be, registered under the laws and regulations of the British Virgin Islands, nor has any regulatory authority in the British Virgin Islands passed comment upon or approved the accuracy or adequacy of this document. This pricing supplement and the related documents shall not constitute an offer, invitation or solicitation to any member of the public in the British Virgin Islands for the purposes of the Securities and Investment Business Act, 2010, of the British Virgin Islands.

Cayman Islands. Pursuant to the Companies Law (as amended) of the Cayman Islands, no invitation may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for the notes by or on behalf of the issuer unless at the time of such invitation the issuer is listed on the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange. The issuer is not presently listed on the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange and, accordingly, no invitation to the public in the Cayman Islands is to be made by the issuer (or by any dealer on its behalf). No such invitation is made to the public in the Cayman Islands hereby.

Dominican Republic. Nothing in this pricing supplement constitutes an offer of securities for sale in the Dominican Republic. The notes have not been, and will not be, registered with the Superintendence of Securities Market of the Dominican Republic (Superintendencia del Mercado de Valores), under Dominican Securities Market Law No. 249-17 (“Securities Law 249-17”), and the notes may not be offered or sold within the Dominican Republic or to, or for the account or benefit of, Dominican persons (as defined under Securities Law 249-17 and its regulations). Failure to comply with these directives may result in a violation of Securities Law 249-17 and its regulations.

Israel. This pricing supplement is intended solely for investors listed in the First Supplement of the Israeli Securities Law of 1968, as amended. A prospectus has not been prepared or filed, and will not be prepared or filed, in Israel relating to the notes offered hereunder. The notes cannot be resold in Israel other than to investors listed in the First Supplement of the Israeli Securities Law of 1968, as amended.

No action will be taken in Israel that would permit an offering of the notes or the distribution of any offering document or any other material to the public in Israel. In particular, no offering document or other material has been reviewed or approved by the Israel Securities Authority. Any material provided to an offeree in Israel may not be reproduced or used for any other purpose, nor be furnished to any other person other than those to whom copies have been provided directly by us or the selling agents.

Nothing in this pricing supplement or any other offering material relating to the notes, should be considered as the rendering of a recommendation or advice, including investment advice or investment marketing under the Law For Regulation of Investment Advice, Investment Marketing and Investment Portfolio Management, 1995, to purchase any note. The purchase of any note will be based on an investor’s own understanding, for the investor’s own benefit and for the investor’s own account and not with the aim or intention of distributing or offering to other parties. In purchasing the notes, each investor declares that it has the knowledge, expertise and experience in financial and business matters so as to be capable of evaluating the risks and merits of an investment in the notes, without relying on any of the materials provided.

Mexico. The notes have not been registered with the National Registry of Securities maintained by the Mexican National Banking and Securities Commission and may not be offered or sold publicly in Mexico. This pricing supplement and the related documents may not be publicly distributed in Mexico. The notes may only be offered in a private offering pursuant to Article 8 of the Securities Market Law.

Switzerland. This pricing supplement is not intended to constitute an offer or solicitation to purchase or invest in any notes. Neither this pricing supplement nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the notes constitutes a prospectus compliant with the requirements of articles 35 et seq. of the Swiss Financial Services Act ("FinSA")) for a public offering of the notes in Switzerland and no such prospectus has been or will be prepared for or in connection with the offering of the notes in Switzerland.

Neither this pricing supplement nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the notes has been or will be filed with or approved by a Swiss review body (Prüfstelle). No application has been or is intended to be made to admit the notes to trading on any trading venue (SIX Swiss Exchange or on any other exchange or any multilateral trading facility) in Switzerland. Neither this pricing supplement nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the notes may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland.

The notes may not be publicly offered, directly or indirectly, in Switzerland within the meaning of FinSA except (i) in any circumstances falling within the exemptions to prepare a prospectus listed in article 36 para. 1 FinSA or (ii) where such offer does not qualify as a public offer in Switzerland, provided always that no offer of notes shall require the Issuer or any offeror to publish a prospectus pursuant to article 35 FinSA in respect to such offer and that such offer shall comply with the additional restrictions set out below (if applicable). The Issuer has not authorised and does not authorise any offer of notes which would require the Issuer or any offeror to publish a prospectus pursuant to article 35 FinSA in respect of such offer. For purposes of this provision "public offer" shall have the meaning as such term is understood pursuant to article 3 lit. g and h FinSA and the Swiss Financial Services Ordinance ("FinSO").

The notes do not constitute participations in a collective investment scheme within the meaning of the Swiss Collective Investment Schemes Act. They are not subject to the approval of, or supervision by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority ("FINMA"), and investors in the notes will not benefit from protection under CISA or supervision by FINMA.

Prohibition of Offer to Private Clients in Switzerland - No Key Information Document pursuant to article 58 FinSA (Basisinformationsblatt für Finanzinstrumente) or equivalent document under foreign law pursuant to article 59 para. 2 FinSA has been or will be prepared in relation to the notes. Therefore, the following additional restriction applies: Notes qualifying as "debt securities with a derivative character" pursuant to article 86 para. 2 FinSO may not be offered within the meaning of article 58 para. 1 FinSA, and neither this pricing supplement nor any other offering or marketing material relating to such notes may be made available, to any retail client (Privatkunde) within the meaning of FinSA in Switzerland.

The notes may also be sold in the following jurisdictions, provided, in each case, any sales are made in accordance with all applicable laws in such jurisdiction:

Additional Information Relating to the Estimated Initial Value of the Notes

Our estimated initial value of the notes on the date hereof, and that will be set forth on the cover page of the final pricing supplement relating to the notes, equals the sum of the values of the following hypothetical components:

The internal funding rate used in the determination of the initial estimated value generally represents a discount from the credit spreads for our conventional fixed-rate debt. The value of these derivative transactions is derived from our internal pricing models. These models are based on factors such as the traded market prices of comparable derivative instruments and on other inputs, which include volatility, dividend rates, interest rates and other factors. As a result, the estimated initial value of the notes on the Pricing Date will be determined based on the market conditions on the Pricing Date. 

The Reference Assets

We have derived the following information from publicly available documents. We have not independently verified the accuracy or completeness of the following information. We are not affiliated with any Reference Asset Issuer or any sponsor of any Reference Asset or Underlying Index and no Reference Asset Issuer or any sponsor of any Reference Asset or Underlying Index will have any obligations with respect to the notes. This document relates only to the notes and does not relate to the Reference Assets, shares of the Reference Assets or any securities included in the Underlying Index or Reference Assets. Neither we nor any of our affiliates participates in the preparation of the publicly available documents described below. Neither we nor any of our affiliates has made any due diligence inquiry with respect to the Reference Assets in connection with the offering of the notes. There can be no assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof, including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described below and that would affect the trading levels of the Reference Assets, have been or will be publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning the Reference Assets could affect the levels of the Reference Assets and therefore could affect the payments on the notes. The information below regarding any Reference Asset or any Underlying Index reflects the policies of, and is subject to change by, the applicable sponsors. The sponsors of an index, including any Reference Asset or Underlying Index, are under no obligation to continue to publish, and may discontinue publication of, the index. Neither we nor BMO Capital Markets Corp. accepts any responsibility for the calculation, maintenance or publication of any index referred to herein.

Information provided to or filed with the SEC under the Exchange Act and the Investment Company Act of 1940 relating to any Reference Asset that is an ETF may be obtained through the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

We encourage you to review recent levels of the Reference Assets prior to making an investment decision with respect to the notes.

The Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector Index (“NDXT”)

The Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector Index is an equal-weighted, price-return index designed to measure the performance of the technology companies in the Nasdaq-100 Index^®. The Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector began trading on February 22, 2006 at a base value of 1,000.00. The Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector is calculated and published by The Nasdaq OMX Group, Inc. Each issuer of a stock in the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector is classified as a “technology” company according to the Industry Classification Benchmark ("ICB").

Security Eligibility Criteria

Securities in the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector Index must be included in the Nasdaq-100 Index^®. A company must be classified as a “technology” company under the ICB to be eligible for inclusion.

Constituent Weighting

The Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector Index is an equal-weighted index. It is rebalanced quarterly such that all issuers within the Index are assigned an equal Index market value. For issuers represented by multiple securities, those issuers’ Index market values are equally apportioned across their respective Index Securities. Index shares are calculated by dividing each index security's resulting index market value by its last sale price. The Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector Index is rebalanced by using the last sale prices as of the close of trading on the third Friday in March, June, September and December.

Index Calculation

The value of the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector Index equals the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector Index market value divided by the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector Index divisor. The overall Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector Index market value is the aggregate of each Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector stock's market value, adjusted by the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector Index stock's equal-weighting factor used to assign an equal weight at the previous rebalancing, as may be adjusted for any corporate actions. A Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector stock's market value is determined by multiplying the last sale price by the number of shares of the index security included in the NASDAQ-100 Index^®.

If an index security does not trade on the relevant Nasdaq exchange on a given day or the relevant Nasdaq exchange has not opened for trading, the previous index calculation day's closing price for that index security is used. If there is a disruption in trading for an index security during the trading day, the most recent last sale price is used until trading resumes.

Index Maintenance

Deletion Policy

If a component of the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector is removed from the NASDAQ-100 Index^® for any reason, it is also removed from the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector at the same time.

Replacement Policy

When a component of the NASDAQ-100 Index^® that is classified as Technology according to ICB is removed from the NASDAQ-100 Index^®, it is also removed from the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector. As such, if the replacement company being added to the NASDAQ-100 Index^® is classified as Technology according to ICB, it is added to the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector and will assume the weight of the removed company on the index effective date.

When a component of the NASDAQ-100 Index^® that is not classified as Technology according to ICB is removed and the replacement company being added to the NASDAQ-100 Index^® is classified as Technology according to ICB, the replacement company is considered for addition to the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector at the next quarterly rebalance.

When a component of the NASDAQ-100 Index^® that is classified as Technology according to ICB is removed from the NASDAQ-100 Index^® and the replacement company being added to the NASDAQ-100 Index^® is not classified as Technology according to ICB, the company is removed from the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector and the divisor of the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector is adjusted to ensure index continuity.

Additions Policy

If a security is added to the NASDAQ-100 Index^® for any reason, it may be added to the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector at the same time.

Corporate Actions

In the interim periods between scheduled index reconstitution and rebalance events, individual index securities may be the subject to a variety of corporate actions and events that require maintenance and adjustments to the index.

Index Share Adjustments

Other than as a direct result of corporate actions, the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector does not normally experience share adjustments between scheduled index rebalance and reconstitution events.

The NASDAQ-100 Index^® (“NDX”)

The NASDAQ-100 Index^® is a modified market capitalization-weighted index of 100 of the largest stocks of both U.S. and non-U.S. non-financial companies listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market based on market capitalization. It does not contain securities of financial companies, including investment companies. The NASDAQ-100 Index^® which includes companies across a variety of major industry groups, was launched on January 31, 1985, with a base index value of 250.00. On January 1, 1994, the base index value was reset to 125.00. The NASDAQ-100 Index^® composition is reviewed on an annual basis in December. Nasdaq, Inc. publishes the NASDAQ-100 Index^®. Current information regarding the market value of the Nasdaq-100 Index^® is available from Nasdaq, Inc. as well as numerous market information services.

The share weights of the component securities of the Nasdaq-100 Index^® at any time are based upon the total shares outstanding in each of those securities and are additionally subject, in certain cases, to rebalancing. Accordingly, each underlying stock’s influence on the level of the NASDAQ-100 Index^® is directly proportional to the value of its share weight.

Index Calculation

At any moment in time, the level of the NASDAQ-100 Index^® equals the aggregate value of the then-current share weights of each of the component securities, which are based on the total shares outstanding of each such component security, multiplied by each such security’s respective last sale price on The NASDAQ Stock Market (which may be the official closing price published by The NASDAQ Stock Market), and divided by a scaling factor (the “divisor”), which becomes the basis for the reported level of the NASDAQ-100 Index^®. The divisor serves the purpose of scaling such aggregate value to a lower order of magnitude, which is more desirable for reporting purposes.

Underlying Stock Eligibility Criteria and Annual Ranking Review

Initial Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for initial inclusion in the NASDAQ-100 Index^®, a security must be listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market and meet the following criteria:

Continued Eligibility Criteria

In addition, to be eligible for continued inclusion in the NASDAQ-100 Index^® the following criteria apply:

These eligibility criteria may be revised from time to time by Nasdaq, Inc. without regard to the notes.

Annual Ranking Review

The component securities are evaluated on an annual basis (the “Ranking Review”), except under extraordinary circumstances, which may result in an interim evaluation, as follows. Securities that meet the applicable eligibility criteria are ranked by market value. Eligible securities that are already in the NASDAQ-100 Index^® and that are ranked in the top 100 eligible securities (based on market capitalization) are retained in the NASDAQ-100 Index^®. A security that is ranked 101 to 125 is also retained, provided that such security was ranked in the top 100 eligible securities as of the previous Ranking Review or was added to the NASDAQ-100 Index^® subsequent to the previous Ranking Review. Securities not meeting such criteria are replaced. The replacement securities chosen are those eligible securities not currently in the NASDAQ-100 Index^® that have the largest market capitalization. The data used in the ranking includes end of October market data and is updated for total shares outstanding submitted in a publicly filed SEC document via EDGAR through the end of November.

Replacements are made effective after the close of trading on the third Friday in December. Moreover, if at any time during the year other than the Ranking Review, a component security is determined by NASDAQ OMX to become ineligible for continued inclusion in the NASDAQ-100 Index^®, the security will be replaced with the largest market capitalization security meeting the eligibility criteria listed above and not currently included in the NASDAQ-100 Index^®. Issuers that are added as a result of a spin-off are not replaced until after they have been included in a reconstitution.

Index Maintenance

In addition to the Ranking Review, the securities NASDAQ-100 Index^® are monitored every day by Nasdaq, Inc. with respect to changes in total shares outstanding arising from corporate events, such as stock dividends, stock splits and certain spin-offs and rights issuances. Nasdaq, Inc. has adopted the following quarterly scheduled weight adjustment procedures with respect to those changes. If the change in total shares outstanding arising from a corporate action is greater than or equal to 10%, that change will be made to the NASDAQ-100 Index^® as soon as practical, normally within ten days of such corporate action. Otherwise, if the change in total shares outstanding is less than 10%, then all such changes are accumulated and made effective at one time on a quarterly basis after the close of trading on the third Friday in each of March, June, September and December.

In either case, the share weights for those component securities are adjusted by the same percentage amount by which the total shares outstanding have changed in those securities. Ordinarily, whenever there is a change in the share weights, a change in a component security, or a change to the price of a component security due to spin-off, rights issuances or special cash dividends, Nasdaq, Inc. adjusts the divisor to ensure that there is no discontinuity in the level of the NASDAQ-100 Index^® that might otherwise be caused by any of those changes. All changes will be announced in advance.

Index Rebalancing

Under the methodology employed, on a quarterly basis coinciding with Nasdaq, Inc.’s quarterly scheduled weight adjustment procedures, the component securities are categorized as either “Large Stocks” or “Small Stocks” depending on whether their current percentage weights (after taking into account scheduled weight adjustments due to stock repurchases, secondary offerings or other corporate actions) are greater than, or less than or equal to, the average percentage weight in the NASDAQ-100 Index^® (i.e., as a 100-stock index, the average percentage weight in the NASDAQ-100 Index^® is 1%).

This quarterly examination will result in an index rebalancing if it is determined that: (1) the current weight of the single largest market capitalization component security is greater than 24% or (2) the “collective weight” of those component securities, the individual current weights of which are in excess of 4.5%, when added together, exceed 48%. In addition, Nasdaq, Inc. may conduct a special rebalancing at any time if it is determined to be necessary to maintain the integrity of the NASDAQ-100 Index^®.

If either one or both of these weight distribution requirements are met upon quarterly review, or Nasdaq, Inc. determines that a special rebalancing is required, a weight rebalancing will be performed. First, relating to weight distribution requirement (1) above, if the current weight of the single largest component security exceeds 24%, then the weights of all Large Stocks will be scaled down proportionately towards 1% by enough of an amount for the adjusted weight of the single largest component security to be set to 20%. Second, relating to weight distribution requirement (2) above, for those component securities whose individual current weights or adjusted weights in accordance with the preceding step are in excess of 4.5%, if their “collective weight” exceeds 48%, then the weights of all Large Stocks will be scaled down proportionately towards 1% by just enough amount for the “collective weight,” so adjusted, to be set to 40%.

The aggregate weight reduction among the Large Stocks resulting from either or both of the above rescalings will then be redistributed to the Small Stocks in the following iterative manner. In the first iteration, the weight of the largest Small Stock will be scaled upwards by a factor which sets it equal to the average Index weight of 1.0%. The weights of each of the smaller remaining Small Stocks will be scaled up by the same factor, reduced in relation to each stock’s relative ranking among the Small Stocks, such that the smaller the component security in the ranking, the less the scale-up of its weight. This is intended to reduce the market impact of the weight rebalancing on the smallest component securities in the NASDAQ-100 Index^®.

In the second iteration, the weight of the second largest Small Stock, already adjusted in the first iteration, will be scaled upwards by a factor which sets it equal to the average index weight of 1%. The weights of each of the smaller remaining Small Stocks will be scaled up by this same factor, reduced in relation to each stock’s relative ranking among the Small Stocks, such that, once again, the smaller the component stock in the ranking, the less the scale-up of its weight.

Additional iterations will be performed until the accumulated increase in weight among the Small Stocks exactly equals the aggregate weight reduction among the Large Stocks from rebalancing in accordance with weight distribution requirement (1) and/or weight distribution requirement (2).

Then, to complete the rebalancing procedure, once the final percent weights of each of the component securities are set, the share weights will be determined anew based upon the last sale prices and aggregate capitalization of the NASDAQ-100 Index^® at the close of trading on the last day in February, May, August and November. Changes to the share weights will be made effective after the close of trading on the third Friday in March, June, September and December, and an adjustment to the divisor will be made to ensure continuity of the NASDAQ-100 Index^®.

Ordinarily, new rebalanced weights will be determined by applying the above procedures to the current share weights. However, Nasdaq, Inc. may from time to time determine rebalanced weights, if necessary, by instead applying the above procedure to the actual current market capitalization of the component securities. In those instances, Nasdaq, Inc. would announce the different basis for rebalancing prior to its implementation.

License Agreement

The notes are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Nasdaq, Inc. or its affiliates (NASDAQ, with its affiliates, are referred to as the “Corporations”). The Corporations have not passed on the legality or suitability of, or the accuracy or adequacy of descriptions and disclosures relating to, the notes. The Corporations make no representation or warranty, express or implied to the owners of the notes or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the notes particularly, or the ability of the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector Index to track general stock market performance. The Corporations' only relationship to the Issuer (“Licensee”) is in the licensing of the Nasdaq^®, Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector Index trademarks or service marks, and certain trade names of the Corporations and the use of the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector Index which is determined, composed and calculated by NASDAQ without regard to Licensee or the notes. NASDAQ has no obligation to take the needs of the Licensee or the owners of the notes into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the NASDAQ-100 Index^®. The Corporations are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the notes to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the notes are to be converted into cash. The Corporations have no liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the notes.

THE CORPORATIONS DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR UNINTERRUPTED CALCULATION OF NASDAQ-100 Index^® OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN, THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY LICENSEE, OWNERS OF THE NOTES, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE NASDAQ-100 Index^® OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE NASDAQ-100 Index^® OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE CORPORATIONS HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

SPDR^® S&P^® Regional Banking ETF

The SPDR^® S&P^® Regional Banking ETF is an investment portfolio maintained and managed by SSGA Funds Management, Inc. The SPDR^® Series Trust is a registered investment company that consists of numerous separate investment portfolios, including the SPDR^® S&P^® Regional Banking ETF. The SPDR^® S&P^® Regional Banking ETF seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index. Information about the SPDR^® S&P^® Regional Banking ETF filed with the SEC can be found by reference to its SEC file numbers: 333-57793 and 811-08839 or its CIK Code: 0001064642. Shares of the SPDR^® S&P^® Regional Banking ETF are listed on the NYSE Arca under ticker symbol "KRE".

The S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index

All information in this document regarding the S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index, including, without limitation, its make-up, method of calculation and changes in its components, is derived from publicly available information. Such information reflects the policies of, and is subject to change by, S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC ("S&P"), a division of S&P Global. Neither we nor any of our affiliates has undertaken any independent review or due diligence of such information. The S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index is maintained and published by S&P. S&P has no obligation to continue to publish, and may discontinue the publication of, the S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index.

The S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index is a modified equal-weighted index that is designed to measure the performance of the banking sub-industry portion of the S&P Total Market Index ("S&P TMI"). The S&P TMI includes all U.S. common equities listed on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Arca, NYSE American, Nasdaq Global Select Market, Nasdaq Select Market, Nasdaq Capital Market, Cboe BZX, Cboe BYX, Cboe EDGA, Cboe EDGX or Investors Exchange (IEX).

Eligible Constituents

In addition to being included in the S&P TMI and one of the relevant Global Industry Classification Standard ("GICS") sub-industries, a stock must meet market capitalization and liquidity requirements to be included in the S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index. Specifically, companies must satisfy one of the three following combined size and liquidity criteria:

All U.S. companies satisfying these requirements are included in the S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index. The total number of companies in the S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index should be at least 35. If there are fewer than 35 stocks, stocks from a supplementary list of highly correlated sub-industries that meet the market capitalization and liquidity thresholds above are included in order of their float-adjusted market capitalization to reach 35 constituents. Minimum market capitalization requirements may be relaxed to ensure there are at least 22 companies in the S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index as of each rebalancing effective date.

At the discretion of S&P, constituents with shareholder ownership restrictions defined in company bylaws may be deemed ineligible for inclusion in the S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index. Ownership restrictions preventing entities from replicating the index weight of a company may be excluded from the eligible universe or removed from the S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index.

Eligible Constituents

The S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index is calculated by a divisor methodology and uses an adjusted equal-weighting methodology to weight constituent companies.

The initial divisor is set to have a base index value of 1000 on December 17, 1999. The index value is simply the index market value divided by the index divisor, and, in order to maintain index continuity, the divisor is adjusted at each rebalancing and for certain corporate actions. All index divisor adjustments are made after the close of trading based on closing prices.

The weight for each constituent is subject to a hard cap of 4.5% as well as a liquidity cap, where the excess weight is distributed proportionately among the remaining index constituents. As stock prices move, the weights will shift and the modified weights will change, thus requiring rebalancing from time to time to re-establish the proper weighting. Index membership is reviewed quarterly, and rebalancings occur after the closing on the third Friday of the quarter ending month. The reference date for additions and deletions is after the closing of the last trading date of the previous month. At each quarterly rebalancing, companies are initially equally-weighted using closing prices as of the second Friday of the last month of the quarter. The liquidity cap is then applied, followed by the hard cap of 4.5%. Applying the caps and redistributing the excess weight among the remaining index constituents is an iterative process, and as a result, the redistribution of excess weight following the application of the hard cap may cause a stock to exceed the weight limit imposed by the liquidity cap. In such cases, no further adjustments will be made.

Companies are added between rebalancings only if a deletion in the S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index causes the number of constituents in the index to fall below 22. In those cases, each company deletion is accompanied by a company addition. The weight of the new company in the S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index will be the weight that the deleted company had before being removed. In the case of mergers involving at least one index constituent, the merged company will remain in the S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index if it meets all of the eligibility requirements. The merged company will retain the weight the pre-merger company had as a constituent. If both companies involved in a merger are index constituents prior to the merger, the merged company will be added at the weight of the company deemed to be the acquirer in the merger. In the case of spin-offs, the S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index will follow the S&P TMI’s treatment of the action. If the S&P TMI treats the pre- and post-spun company as a deletion/addition action, using the stock’s when-issued price, the S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index will also treat the spin-off in the same way. A company is deleted from S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index if the S&P TMI drops the company. If a company’s GICS classification changes so that the company no longer belongs to one of the applicable qualifying sub-industries after the classification change, the company is removed from the S&P^® Regional Banks Select Industry Index at the next rebalancing.

VanEck^® Gold Miners ETF (“GDX”)

The VanEck^® Gold Miners ETF is an investment portfolio maintained, managed and advised by Van Eck Associates Corporation. The VanEck^® Gold Miners ETF is classified as a “non-diversified” fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940. .The VanEck^® Gold Miners ETF seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^®. Information about the VanEck^® Gold Miners ETF filed with the SEC can be found by reference to its SEC file numbers: 333-123257 and 811-10325 or its CIK Code: 0001137360. Shares of the VanEck^® Gold Miners ETF are listed on the NYSE Arca under ticker symbol "GDX."

The NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^®

All information in this document regarding the NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^®, including, without limitation, its make-up, method of calculation and changes in its components, is derived from publicly available information. Such information reflects the policies of, and is subject to change by, ICE Data Indices, LLC (“IDI”). Neither we nor any of our affiliates has undertaken any independent review or due diligence of such information. The NYSE Arca Gold Miners is maintained and published by IDI. IDI has no obligation to continue to publish, and may discontinue the publication of, the NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^®.

The NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^® is a rules-based index designed to measure the performance of highly capitalized companies in the gold mining industry. The NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^® includes common stocks, ADRs and GDRs of selected companies that are involved primarily in mining for gold or silver ore and that are listed for trading and electronically quoted on a major stock market that is accessible by foreign investors. Generally, this will include exchanges in most developed markets and major emerging markets, and will include companies that are cross-listed, e.g., both U.S. and Canadian listings. IDI will use its discretion to avoid exchanges and markets that are considered “frontier” in nature or have major restrictions to foreign ownership. The NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^® includes companies that derive at least 50% of their revenues from gold mining and related activities There will be a 10% buffer built in so that companies already existing in the index will only be removed from the index in the next review if their gold mining revenues fall below the 40% level. It should be noted that the NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^® will maintain an exposure to companies with a significant revenue exposure to silver mining in addition to gold mining. The IDI will ensure, solely through the company selections in the index rebalances, that the percentage of the NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^® weight that will consist of these “silver-tilted” companies will not exceed 20%.

Only companies with market capitalization greater than $750 million that have an average daily trading volume of at least 50,000 shares over the past three months and an average daily value traded of at least $1 million are eligible for inclusion in the NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^®.

For reasons of practicality, IDI has the discretion to not include all companies that meet the minimum levels for inclusion. These include, but are not limited to, pending corporate actions, litigation or geo-political events that may affect a given stock. In addition, IDI has the discretion to include companies that do not meet the minimum levels for inclusion, if it determines that by doing so it maintains the quality and/or character of the index.

The NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^® was assigned a base date of December 19, 2002 and a base value of 500.00.

Calculation of the NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^®. The NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^® is calculated using a modified market capitalization weighting methodology. The NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^® is weighted based on the market capitalization of each of the component securities, modified to conform to the asset diversification requirements, which are applied in conjunction with the scheduled quarterly adjustments to the NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^® and described below as Diversification Rule 1 and Diversification Rule 2.

The NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^® is reviewed quarterly so that the NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^® components continue to represent the index’s objective of measuring the performance of highly capitalized companies in the gold mining industry. The NYSE Arca may at any time and from time to time change the number of securities comprising the group by adding or deleting one or more securities, or replacing one or more securities contained in the group with one or more substitute securities of its choice, in the event of certain corporate actions or if, in the NYSE Arca’s discretion, such addition, deletion or substitution is necessary or appropriate to maintain the quality and/or character of the NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^®. Changes to the NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^® compositions and/or the component share weights in the NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^® typically take effect after the close of trading on the third Friday of each calendar quarter month in connection with the quarterly index rebalance.

At the time of the quarterly rebalance, the weights for the components stocks (taking into account expected component changes and share adjustments), are modified in accordance with the following procedures.

Diversification Rule 1: If any component stock exceeds 20% of the total value of the NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^®, then all stocks greater than 20% of the NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^® are reduced to represent 20% of the value of the NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^®. The aggregate amount by which all component stocks are reduced is redistributed proportionately across the remaining stocks that represent less than 20% of the index value. After this redistribution, if any other stock then exceeds 20%, the stock is set to 20% of the index value and the redistribution is repeated. If there is no component stock over 20% of the total value of the NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^® to start, then this Diversification Rule 1 is not executed.

Diversification Rule 2: The components are sorted into two groups, large components have a starting index weight of 5% or greater (“large components”) and small components start at under 5% (“small components”)(after any adjustments for Diversification Rule 1). If, after Diversification Rule 1 above is run, there are no large components, this Diversification Rule 2 is not run. Alternatively, if the starting aggregate weight of the large components after Diversification Rule 1 is run is not greater than 45% of the starting index weight, then Diversification Rule 2 is not executed. If Diversification Rule 2 is indeed executed, then the (1) large group and (2) small group will represent 45% and 55%, respectively, of the final index weight. This will be adjusted for through the following process:

Components will be removed from the NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^® during the quarterly review if (i) the market capitalization falls below $450 million, or (ii) the average daily trading volume for the previous three months is lower than 30,000 shares and the average daily value traded is lower than $600,000 for the past three months. In conjunction with the quarterly review, the share weights used in the calculation of the NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^® are determined based upon current shares outstanding modified, if necessary, to provide greater index diversification, as described above. As ag general rule, the index components and their share weights are determined and announced prior to taking effect according to the timing set forth in the methodology, however emergency actions may require IDI to deviate from the normal scheduling. The share weight of each component stock in the index portfolio remains fixed between quarterly reviews except in the event of certain types of corporate actions. The NYSE Arca may substitute stocks or change the number of stocks included in the NYSE^® Arca Gold Miners Index^®, based on changing conditions in the industry or in the event of certain types of corporate actions. If changes are made, the index divisor may be adjusted to ensure that there are no changes to the index price as a result of non-market forces.

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