securities that are rated investment grade
and below investment grade by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs) or unrated securities of comparable quality.
The
Fund may purchase asset-backed securities.
The Fund may also invest in new debt
offerings and securities that are subject to resale restrictions such as those contained in Rule 144A promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which securities may be illiquid or thinly traded.
The Fund’s investments may include securities that do not produce immediate cash income, such as zero coupon securities and payment-in-kind securities.
The Fund may purchase and sell securities on a when-issued and delayed
delivery basis, which means that the Fund buys or sells a security with payment and delivery taking place in the future. The Fund may also engage in “to be announced” (TBA) transactions, which are transactions in which a fund buys or
sells mortgage-backed securities on a forward commitment basis.
The Fund can invest in derivative instruments including futures contracts
and swap contracts.
The Fund can use futures contracts, including Treasury and
interest rate futures, to increase or reduce its exposure to interest rate changes.
The Fund can use swap contracts, including interest rate swaps, to hedge or
adjust its exposure to interest rates. The Fund can also use swap contracts, including credit default swaps, to create long or short exposure to corporate or sovereign debt securities.
The Fund will invest more than 25% of its net assets in the financial services sector.
The
Fund will attempt to maintain a dollar-weighted average portfolio duration of less than one year.
The portfolio managers collaborate with teams of market-specific
specialists to implement the Fund’s strategy. Although these specialists provide input in
the management of the Fund, the portfolio managers retain responsibility for ensuring the Fund is positioned appropriately in terms of risk exposures and portfolio structure.
In general, the portfolio managers will look for attractive risk-reward
opportunities and securities that best enable the Fund to achieve its objectives. Decisions to
purchase or sell securities are primarily determined by relative value considerations along with economic and credit-related fundamentals, market supply and demand, market dislocations and situation-specific opportunities. The purchase
or sale of securities may also be related to a decision to alter the Fund’s risk exposures (such as duration, yield curve positioning, and sector exposure), a need to limit or reduce the Fund’s exposure to a
particular security or issuer, degradation of an issuer’s credit quality, or general liquidity needs of the Fund.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
As with any
mutual fund investment, loss of money is a risk of investing. An investment in the Fund is not a
deposit in a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. The risks associated with an investment in the Fund can increase during times of significant market volatility. The principal risks of investing in the Fund
are:
Market Risk. The market values of the Fund’s investments, and therefore the value of the Fund’s shares, will go up and down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably.
Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry or section of the economy, or it may affect the market as a whole. The value of the Fund’s investments may go up or down due to general market conditions that are not specifically
related to the particular issuer, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general outlook for revenues or corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates, regional or global
instability, natural or environmental disasters, widespread disease or other public health issues, war, military conflict, acts of terrorism, economic crisis or adverse investor sentiment generally. During a general downturn in the
financial markets, multiple asset classes may
decline in value. When markets perform well, there can be no assurance that specific investments held by the
Fund will rise in value.
Debt Securities Risk. The prices of debt securities held by the Fund will be affected by changes in interest rates, the creditworthiness of the issuer and other factors. An
increase in prevailing interest rates typically causes the value of existing debt securities to fall and often has a greater impact on longer-duration debt securities and higher quality debt securities. Falling interest rates will
cause the Fund to reinvest the proceeds of debt securities that have been repaid by the issuer at lower interest rates. Falling interest rates may also reduce the Fund’s distributable income because interest payments on floating
rate debt instruments held by the Fund will decline. The Fund could lose money on investments in debt securities if the issuer or borrower fails to meet its obligations to make interest payments and/or to repay principal in a
timely manner. Changes in an issuer’s financial strength, the market’s perception of such strength or in the credit rating of the issuer or the security may affect the value of debt securities. The credit analysis applied to the
Fund’s debt securities may fail to anticipate such changes, which could result in buying a debt security at an inopportune time or failing to sell a debt security in advance of a price decline or other credit event.
Changing Fixed Income Market Conditions Risk. Increases in the
federal funds and equivalent foreign rates or other changes to monetary policy or regulatory
actions may expose fixed income markets to heightened volatility, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree, and to reduced liquidity for certain fixed income investments, particularly those with longer maturities. Such changes and
resulting increased volatility may adversely impact the Fund, including its operations, universe of potential investment options, and return potential. It is difficult to predict the impact of interest rate changes on various
markets. In addition, decreases in fixed income dealer market-making capacity may also potentially lead to heightened volatility and reduced liquidity in the fixed income markets. As a result, the value of the Fund’s
investments and share price may decline. Changes in central bank policies and other governmental actions and political events within the U.S. and abroad may also, among other things, affect investor and consumer expectations and
confidence in the financial markets, which could result in higher than normal redemptions by shareholders, which could potentially increase the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate and transaction costs.
Money Market Fund Risk. Although money market funds generally seek to preserve the value of an investment at $1.00 per share, the Fund may lose money by investing in money
market funds. A money market fund's sponsor is not required to reimburse the money market fund for
losses. The credit quality of a money market fund's holdings can change rapidly in certain
markets, and the default of a single holding could have an adverse impact on the money market fund's share price. A money market fund's share price can also be negatively affected during periods of high redemption pressures, illiquid
markets and/or significant market volatility.
Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Asset-backed securities are subject to prepayment or call risk, which is the risk that a borrower's payments may be received earlier or later than
expected due to changes in prepayment rates on underlying loans, which could result in the Fund reinvesting these early payments at lower interest rates, thereby reducing the Fund's income. Asset-backed securities also are
subject to extension risk, which is the risk that a rise in interest rates could reduce the rate of prepayments, causing the price of the asset-backed securities and the Fund’s share price to fall.
Rule 144A Securities and Other Exempt Securities Risk. The market for Rule 144A and other securities exempt from certain registration requirements may be less active than the market for publicly-traded securities. Rule 144A and other exempt
securities, while initially privately placed, carry the risk that their liquidity may become impaired and the Fund may be unable to dispose of the securities at a desirable time or price.
Repurchase Agreement
Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk that the counterparty may default on its obligation to repurchase the underlying instruments collateralizing the
repurchase agreement, which may cause the