Some (but not all) of the US
Government securities and mortgage-related securities in which the Fund will invest are backed by the full faith and credit of the US Government, which means that payment of interest and principal is guaranteed, but
yield and market value are not. These securities include, but are not limited to, direct obligations issued by the US Treasury, and obligations of certain entities that may be chartered or sponsored by Acts of
Congress, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA or “Ginnie Mae”), the Farmers Home Administration and the Export-Import Bank. Securities issued by other government entities that may be
chartered or sponsored by Acts of Congress, in which the Fund may invest, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States and must rely on their own resources to repay the debt. These securities
include, but are not limited to, obligations of the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA or “Fannie Mae”), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC or “Freddie Mac”), the
Federal Home Loan Bank, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the United States Postal Service, each of which has the right to borrow from the United States Treasury to meet its obligations, and obligations of the Farm
Credit System, which depends entirely upon its own resources to repay its debt obligations.
High current return means the
return received from interest income from US Government and other debt securities and from net gains realized from sales of portfolio securities. The Fund may also realize income from premiums from covered put and
call options written by the Fund on US Government securities as well as options on futures contracts on US Government securities, options on securities indexes and net gains from closing purchase and sales
transactions with respect to these options. The writing of options on US Government securities, options on futures contracts on US Government securities and options on securities indexes may limit the Fund's potential
for capital gains on its portfolio.
Most, if not all, of the Fund's
debt securities are “investment-grade.” This means major rating services, like S&P Global Ratings (S&P) or Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody's), have rated the securities within one of their
four highest quality grades. Debt obligations in the fourth highest grade are regarded as investment-grade, but have speculative characteristics and are riskier than higher rated securities. A rating is an assessment
of the likelihood of timely repayment of interest and principal and can be useful when comparing different debt obligations. These ratings are not a guarantee of quality. The opinions of the rating agencies do not
reflect market risk and they may at times lag behind the current financial conditions of a company. In the event that a security receives different ratings from different rating services, the Fund will treat the
security as being rated in the highest rating category received from a rating service. The Fund may also invest in obligations that are not rated, but that the subadviser believes are of comparable quality to the
obligations described above.
Principal Risks
All investments have risks to some
degree. An investment in the Fund is not guaranteed to achieve its investment objective; is not a deposit with a bank; is not insured, endorsed or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other
government agency; and is subject to investment risks, including possible loss of your investment. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.
Bond Obligations Risk. As with credit risk, market risk and interest rate risk, the Fund's holdings, share price, yield and total return may fluctuate in response to bond market movements. The value of bonds may
decline for issuer-related reasons, including management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods and services. Certain types of fixed income obligations also may be subject to
“call and redemption risk,” which is the risk that the issuer may call a bond held by the Fund for redemption before it matures and the Fund may lose income.
Credit Risk. This is the risk that the issuer, the guarantor or the insurer of a fixed income security, or the counterparty to a contract, may be unable or unwilling to make timely principal and
interest payments, or to otherwise honor its obligations. Additionally, fixed income securities could lose value due to a loss of confidence in the ability of the issuer, guarantor, insurer or counterparty to pay back
debt. The longer the maturity and the lower the credit quality of a bond, the more sensitive it is to credit risk.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives involve special risks and costs and may result in losses to the Fund. The successful use of derivatives requires sophisticated management, and, to the extent that derivatives
are used, the Fund will depend on the subadviser’s ability to analyze and manage derivatives transactions. The prices of derivatives may move in unexpected ways, especially in abnormal market conditions. Some
derivatives are “leveraged” and therefore may magnify or otherwise increase investment losses to the Fund. The Fund's use of derivatives may also increase the amount of taxes payable by shareholders. Other
risks arise from the potential inability to terminate or sell derivatives positions. A liquid secondary market may not always exist for the Fund's derivatives positions. In fact, many over-the-counter derivative
instruments lack liquidity beyond the counterparty to the instrument. Over-the-counter derivative instruments also involve the risk that the other party will not meet its obligations to the Fund.
The US Government and foreign
governments have adopted (and may adopt further) regulations governing derivatives markets, including mandatory clearing of certain derivatives, margin and reporting requirements. The ultimate impact of the
regulations remains unclear. Additional regulation of derivatives may make derivatives more costly, limit their availability or utility, or otherwise adversely affect their performance or disrupt markets.
Economic and Market Events Risk. Events in the US and global financial markets, including actions taken by the US Federal Reserve or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth or the functioning of
the securities markets, may at times result in unusually high market volatility, which could negatively impact performance. Relatively reduced liquidity in credit and fixed income markets could adversely affect
issuers worldwide.
Extension Risk. When interest rates rise, repayments of fixed income securities may occur more slowly than anticipated, extending the effective duration of these securities at below market interest rates
and causing their market prices to decline more than they would have declined due to the rise in interest rates alone. This may cause the Fund’s share price to be more volatile.