Asset-Backed,
Mortgage-Related and Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk. Mortgage-related and
asset-backed securities are subject to certain other risks, including prepayment and call risks. During periods of difficult or frozen credit markets, significant changes in interest rates, or deteriorating
economic conditions, mortgage-related and asset-backed securities may decline in value, face
valuation difficulties, become more volatile and/or become illiquid. 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. 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.
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.
Municipal Obligations and
Securities Risk. Because the Fund may invest in municipal obligations, including municipal
securities, the Fund may be susceptible to political, legislative, economic, regulatory, tax or
other factors affecting issuers of these municipal obligations, such as state and local governments and their agencies. 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.
The amount of public information available about municipal obligations is generally less than for corporate
equities or bonds, meaning that the investment performance of municipal obligations may be more
dependent on the analytical abilities of the investment adviser than stock or corporate bond investments. The secondary market for municipal obligations also tends to be less well-developed and less liquid than many
other securities markets, which may limit the Fund’s ability to sell its municipal
obligations at attractive prices. The differences between the price at which an obligation can be purchased and the price at which it can be sold may widen during periods of market distress. Less liquid obligations can
become more difficult to value and be subject to erratic price movements. In addition, changes in
U.S. federal tax laws or the activity of an issuer may adversely affect the tax-exempt status of municipal obligations. Loss of tax-exempt status may result in a significant decline in the values of such municipal
obligations.
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 bonds and thus the value of the Fund’s investments.
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
securities issued by the municipality and the value of the Fund’s investments. Interest on municipal obligations, while generally exempt from federal income tax, may not be exempt from federal alternative minimum tax.
When-Issued, Delayed Settlement and Forward Commitment
Transactions Risk. The Fund may purchase or sell securities which it is eligible to purchase or sell on a when-issued basis, may purchase and sell such securities for
delayed delivery and may make contracts to purchase or sell such securities for a fixed price at
a future date beyond normal settlement time (forward commitments). When-issued transactions, delayed delivery purchases and forward commitments involve the risk that the security the Fund buys will lose value
prior to its delivery. There also is the risk that the security will not be issued or that the
other party to the transaction will not meet its obligation. If this occurs, the Fund loses both the investment opportunity for the assets it set aside to pay for the security and any gain in the security’s
price.
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