Portfolio
Turnover:
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or
“turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the
Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 212% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
The Low Duration Fund invests primarily in investment grade bonds and maintains an
average portfolio duration that is between 0 and 3 years. The Low Duration Fund’s benchmark is the ICE BofA 1-3 Year US Corporate & Government Index.
The Low Duration Fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in debt securities. The Low Duration Fund may invest up to 35% of its assets in non-investment grade bonds (commonly called “high yield” or “junk bonds”). The Low Duration Fund may also invest up to 35% of its assets in assets of foreign issuers, of which 10% (as a percentage of the
Low Duration Fund’s assets) may be invested in emerging markets issuers. Up to 10% of the Low Duration Fund’s assets may be exposed to non-US currency risk. A bond of
a foreign issuer, including an emerging market issuer, will not count toward the 10% limit on non-US currency exposure if the bond is either (i) US dollar-denominated or (ii)
non-US dollar-denominated, but hedged back to US dollars.
The management team evaluates sectors of the bond market and individual securities within these sectors. The management
team selects bonds from several sectors including: U.S. Treasuries and agency securities, commercial and residential mortgage-backed securities, collateralized mortgage
obligations (“CMOs”), asset-backed securities and corporate bonds.
The Low Duration Fund may buy or sell options or futures on a security or an index of securities, or enter into credit default swaps and interest rate or foreign currency transactions, including swaps (collectively, commonly known as
derivatives). The Low Duration Fund may use derivative instruments to hedge its investments or to seek to enhance returns. The Low Duration Fund may seek to obtain market exposure to the securities in which it primarily invests by
entering into a series of purchase and sale contracts or by using other investment techniques (such as reverse repurchase agreements and mortgage dollar rolls).
The Low Duration Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities to achieve its principal
investment strategies.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
Risk is inherent in all investing. The value of your investment in the Fund, as well
as the amount of return you receive on your investment, may fluctuate significantly from day to day and over time. You may lose part or all of your investment in the Fund or your investment may not perform as well as other similar investments. The following is a
summary description of principal risks of investing in the Fund. The relative significance of each risk factor below may change over time and you should review each risk factor carefully.
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Debt Securities Risk — Debt securities, such as bonds, involve risks, such as credit risk, interest rate risk, extension risk, and
prepayment risk, each of which are described in further detail below:
Credit Risk — Credit risk refers to the possibility that the
issuer of a debt security (i.e., the borrower) will not be able to make payments of interest and principal when due. Changes in an issuer’s credit rating or the
market’s perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness may also affect the value of the Fund’s investment in that issuer. The degree of credit risk depends on both the financial condition of the issuer and the terms of the obligation.
Interest Rate Risk — The market value of bonds and other fixed-income securities changes in response to interest rate changes and
other factors. Interest rate risk is the risk that prices of bonds and other fixed-income securities will increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates
rise.
The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the recent period of historically low interest
rates. For example, if interest rates increase by 1%, assuming a current portfolio duration of ten years, and all other factors being equal, the value of the Fund’s investments would be expected to decrease by 10%. (Duration is a
measure of the price sensitivity of a debt security or portfolio of debt securities to relative changes in interest rates.) The magnitude of these fluctuations in the market price of bonds and other fixed-income securities is generally
greater for those securities with longer maturities. Fluctuations in the market price of the Fund’s investments will not affect interest income derived from instruments
already owned by the Fund, but will be