other countries or regions. Securities in
the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in general financial
markets, a particular financial market or other asset classes due to a number of factors,
including inflation (or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, financial system instability,
debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory
events, other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such
as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters or events, country instability, and
infectious disease epidemics or pandemics or the threat or potential of one or more such factors and occurrences.
Municipal Obligations and Securities Risk. The risk of a municipal obligation generally depends on the financial and credit status of the issuer. Changes in a municipality’s financial health may make it difficult for the municipality
to make interest and principal payments when due. This could decrease the Fund’s income or
hurt the ability to preserve capital and liquidity.
Under some
circumstances, municipal obligations might not pay interest unless the state legislature or municipality authorizes money for that purpose.
Municipal obligations may be more susceptible to downgrades or defaults during recessions or similar periods
of economic stress. In addition, since some municipal obligations may be secured or guaranteed by
banks and other institutions, the risk to the Fund could increase if the banking or financial sector suffers an economic downturn and/or if the credit ratings of the institutions issuing the guarantee are
downgraded or at risk of being downgraded by a national rating organization. Such a downward
revision or risk of being downgraded may have an adverse effect on the market prices of the obligations and thus the value of the Fund’s investments. To the extent that the financial institutions securing the
municipal obligations are located outside the U.S., these securities could be riskier than those
backed by U.S. institutions because of possible political, social or economic instability, higher transaction costs, currency fluctuations, and possible delayed settlement.
In addition to being downgraded, an insolvent municipality may file for bankruptcy. The reorganization of a
municipality’s debts may significantly affect the rights of creditors and the value of the
obligations issued by the municipality and the value of the Fund’s investments.
There may be times that, in the opinion of the adviser, municipal money
market securities of sufficient quality are not available for the Fund to be able to invest in accordance with its normal investment policies. Interest on municipal bonds, while generally exempt from federal income tax, may be
subject to state and/or local income tax and may not be exempt from federal alternative minimum
tax.
Government Securities Risk. U.S. Government securities include 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), the Federal Home Loan
Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) or other Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs)). 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. The income generated
by investments may not keep pace with inflation. Actions by governments and central banking authorities could result in changes in interest rates. Periods of higher inflation could cause such authorities to raise
interest rates, which may adversely affect the Fund and its investments. 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. U.S.
Government securities include zero coupon securities, which tend to be subject to greater market risk than interest-paying securities of similar maturities.
Investments in Weekly Liquid Assets Risk. Because the Fund limits its purchases to weekly liquid assets (as defined under Rule 2a-7), which are generally high-quality,
short-term securities, its yield may be lower than other money market funds that purchase
longer-term securities. In addition, to the extent there are shortages in the supply of weekly liquid assets, it may be difficult for the Fund to purchase weekly liquid assets.
Tax Risk. The Fund may invest in securities whose interest is subject to federal income tax or the federal alternative minimum tax. Consult your tax professional for more
information.
Transactions Risk. The Fund could experience a loss and its liquidity may be negatively impacted when selling securities to
meet redemption requests. The risk of loss increases if the redemption requests are unusually
large or frequent or occur in times of overall market turmoil or declining prices. Similarly,
large purchases of Fund shares may adversely affect the Fund’s performance to the extent
that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash and is required to maintain a larger cash position than it ordinarily would.
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.
Floating and Variable Rate Securities Risk. Floating and variable rate securities provide for a periodic adjustment in the interest rate paid on the securities. The rate
adjustment intervals may be regular and range from daily up to annually, or may be based on an
event, such as a change in the prime rate. Floating and variable rate securities may be subject to greater liquidity risk