country or region will adversely impact
markets or issuers in 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.
Interest Rate Risk. The Fund’s investments in bonds
and other debt securities will change in value based on changes in interest rates. If rates
increase, the value of these investments generally declines. Securities with greater interest rate sensitivity and longer maturities generally are subject to greater fluctuations in value. The Fund may invest in variable and
floating rate securities. Although these instruments are generally less sensitive to interest
rate changes than fixed rate instruments, the value of variable and floating rate securities may decline if their interest rates do not rise as quickly, or as much, as general interest rates. The Fund may face a heightened level of
interest rate risk due to certain changes in monetary policy. It is difficult to predict the pace
at which central banks or monetary authorities may change interest rates or the timing, frequency, or magnitude of such changes. Any such changes could be sudden and could expose debt markets to significant
volatility and reduced liquidity for Fund investments.
Credit Risk. The Fund’s investments are subject to the risk that issuers and/or counterparties will fail to make payments when due or default completely. Prices of the
Fund’s investments may be adversely affected if any of the issuers or counterparties it is
invested in are subject to an actual or perceived deterioration in their credit quality. Credit
spreads may increase, which may reduce the market values of the Fund’s securities. Credit spread risk is the risk that economic and market conditions or any actual or perceived credit deterioration may lead
to an increase in the credit spreads (i.e., the difference in yield between two securities of
similar maturity but different credit quality) and a decline in price of the issuer’s securities.
Government Securities Risk. The Fund invests in 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), or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
(Freddie Mac)). 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.
Asset-Backed, Mortgage-Related and Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in asset-backed, mortgage-related and mortgage-backed securities including so called “sub-prime” mortgages that are subject to
certain other risks including prepayment and call risks. 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.
During periods of difficult or frozen credit markets, significant changes in interest rates or
deteriorating economic conditions, such securities may decline in value, face valuation
difficulties, become more volatile and/or become illiquid. 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.
Collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and stripped mortgage-backed securities, including those structured as IOs and POs, are more volatile and may be more
sensitive to the rate of prepayments than other mortgage-related securities.
The risk of default, as described under “Credit Risk,” for “sub-prime” mortgages is generally higher than other types of mortgage-backed securities. The structure of some of these
securities may be complex and there may be less available information than other types of debt
securities.
Prepayment Risk. The issuer of certain securities may repay principal in advance, especially when yields fall. Changes in the
rate at which prepayments or redemptions occur can affect the return on investment of these
securities. When debt obligations are prepaid or when securities are called, the Fund may have to
reinvest in securities with a lower yield. The Fund also may fail to recover additional amounts
(i.e., premiums) paid for securities with higher coupons, resulting in an unexpected capital loss.
Foreign Issuer Risk. U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers or U.S. affiliates of foreign issuers may be subject to
additional risks not faced by domestic issuers. These risks include political and economic risks,
civil conflicts and war, greater volatility, expropriation and nationalization risks, sanctions
or other measures by the United States or other governments, and regulatory issues facing issuers in such foreign countries. Events and evolving conditions in certain economies or markets may alter the risks associated with
investments tied