Fund than for funds that invest primarily
in other types of fixed income instruments or equity securities. When Loans and other instruments
are prepaid, the Fund may have to reinvest in instruments with a lower yield or fail to recover additional amounts (i.e., premiums) paid for these instruments, resulting in an unexpected capital loss and/or a decrease
in the amount of dividends and yield. Certain Loans may not be considered securities under the
federal securities laws and, therefore, investments in such Loans may not be subject to certain protections under those laws. In addition, the adviser may not have access to material non-public information to which
other investors may have access.
Inflation-Protected Securities Risk. Inflation-linked debt securities are subject to the effects of changes in market interest rates caused by factors other than inflation (real
interest rates). In general, the price of an inflation-linked security tends to decline when real
interest rates increase. Unlike conventional bonds, the principal and interest payments of inflation-protected securities such as TIPS are adjusted periodically to a specified rate of inflation (e.g., CPI-U). There can
be no assurance that the inflation index used will accurately measure the actual rate of
inflation. These securities may lose value in the event that the actual rate of inflation is different than the rate of the inflation index.
CPI-U Strategy Risk.
The Fund may use CPI-U swaps to hedge inflation risk associated with certain debt securities. There is no guarantee that such strategy will be effective in protecting the return from such securities from inflation
risks. In addition, CPI-U swaps are subject to “Derivatives
Risk.”
Government Securities Risk. The Fund invests in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies and instrumentalities (such as securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), the
Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
(Freddie Mac)). U.S. government securities are subject to market risk, interest rate risk and
credit risk. Securities, such as those issued or guaranteed by Ginnie Mae or the U.S. Treasury,
that are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, are guaranteed only as to the
timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity and the market prices for such
securities will fluctuate. Notwithstanding that these securities are backed by the full faith and
credit of the United States, circumstances could arise that would prevent the payment of interest or principal. This would result in losses to the Fund. Securities issued or guaranteed by U.S. government-related organizations,
such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S.
government and no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will provide financial support.
Therefore, U.S. government-related organizations may not have the funds to meet their payment
obligations in the future.
Asset-Backed, Mortgage-Related and Mortgage-Backed
Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in asset-backed, mortgage-related and mortgage-backed securities including so-called “sub-prime” mortgages that are subject to
certain other risks including prepayment and call risks. When mortgages and other obligations are
prepaid and when securities are called, the Fund may have to reinvest in securities with a lower yield or fail to recover additional amounts (i.e., premiums) paid for securities with higher interest rates, resulting in an unexpected
capital loss and/or a decrease in the amount of dividends and yield. In
periods of either rising or declining
interest rates, the Fund may be subject to extension risk, and may receive principal later than
expected. As a result, in periods of rising interest rates, the Fund may exhibit additional volatility. During periods of difficult or frozen credit markets, significant changes in interest rates or deteriorating economic conditions, such
securities may decline in value, face valuation difficulties, become more volatile and/or become
illiquid. Additionally, asset-backed, mortgage-related and mortgage-backed securities are subject to risks associated with their structure and the nature of the assets underlying the securities and the servicing of those assets.
Certain asset-backed, mortgage-related and mortgage-backed securities may face valuation
difficulties and may be less liquid than other types of asset-backed, mortgage-related and mortgage-backed securities, or debt securities.
Collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and stripped mortgage-backed securities, including those structured as interest-only (IOs) and principal-only (POs), are
more volatile and may be more sensitive to the rate of prepayment than other mortgage-related
securities. The risk of default, as described under “Credit Risk,” for “sub-prime” mortgages is generally higher than other types of mortgage-backed securities. The structure of some of these securities may be
complex and there may be less available information than other types of debt
securities.
Prepayment Risk. The
issuer of certain securities may repay principal in advance, especially when yields fall. Changes in the rate at which prepayments occur can affect the return on investment of these securities. When debt obligations
are prepaid or when securities are called, the Fund may have to reinvest in securities with a
lower yield. The Fund also may fail to recover additional amounts (i.e., premiums) paid for securities with higher coupons, resulting in an unexpected capital loss.
Industry and Sector Focus Risk. At times, the Fund may increase the relative emphasis of its investments in a particular industry or sector. The prices of securities of
issuers in a particular industry or sector may be more susceptible to fluctuations due to changes
in economic or business conditions, government regulations, availability of basic resources or supplies, contagion risk within a particular industry or sector or to other industries or sectors, or other events that affect
that industry or sector more than securities of issuers in other industries and sectors. To the
extent that the Fund increases the relative emphasis of its investments in a particular industry or sector, the value of the Fund’s Shares may fluctuate in response to events affecting that industry or sector.
Foreign Issuer Risk.
U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers or U.S. affiliates of foreign issuers may be subject to additional risks not faced by domestic issuers. These risks include political and economic risks, civil
conflicts and war, greater volatility, expropriation and nationalization risks, sanctions or
other measures by the United States or other governments, and regulatory issues facing issuers in such foreign countries. Events and evolving conditions in certain economies or markets may alter the risks associated with
investments tied to countries or regions that historically were perceived as comparatively stable
becoming riskier and more volatile.
Currency Risk. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates will affect the value of the Fund’s securities and may
affect the price of the Fund’s Shares. Generally, when the value of the U.S. dollar rises
in value relative to a foreign currency, an investment