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. While interest earned
on municipal obligations is generally not subject to federal income tax, any interest earned on
taxable municipal obligations is fully taxable at the federal level and may be subject to state and/or local income tax.
Municipal Housing Authority Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest more than 25% of its total assets in municipal housing authority obligations. As a result, the Fund
could be more susceptible to developments which affect those obligations.
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.
Alternative Minimum Tax Risk. The Fund may invest in
securities, the interest on which may be subject to the federal alternative minimum
tax.
Mortgage-Related and Other Asset-Backed
Securities Risk. Mortgage-related and asset-backed securities, including certain
municipal housing authority obligations, differ from conventional debt securities and are subject
to certain additional risks because principal is paid back over the life of the security rather
than at maturity. The value of these securities will be influenced by the factors affecting the housing market and the assets underlying such securities. As a result, during periods of declining asset values,
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. These securities
are also subject to prepayment and call
risk. In periods of either rising or declining interest rates, the Fund may be subject to
contraction risk which is the risk that borrowers will increase the rate at which they prepay the
maturity value of mortgages and other obligations. 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 dividend and yield. In either periods of rising
or declining interest rates, the Fund may be subject to extension risk which is the risk that the expected maturity of an obligation will lengthen in duration due to a decrease in prepayments. As a result, in certain
interest rate environments, the Fund may exhibit additional volatility. Collateralized mortgage
obligations (CMOs), interest-only (IOs) and principal-only (POs) stripped mortgage-backed securities are more volatile and may be subject to a higher risk of non-payment than other mortgage related securities.
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.
Debt
Securities and Other Callable Securities Risk. As part of its main investment strategy, the Fund
invests in debt securities. The issuers of these securities and other callable securities may be
able to repay principal in advance, especially when interest rates fall. Changes in prepayment rates can affect the return on investment and yield of these securities. When debt obligations are prepaid and 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 interest rates, resulting in an unexpected capital loss.
Taxability Risk. There is no guarantee that all of the Fund’s income from municipal investments will remain exempt from federal or state or local income taxes. The Fund’s investments in municipal securities rely on the opinion of the issuer’s bond counsel that the interest paid on those
securities will not be subject to federal income tax. Tax opinions are generally provided at the
time the municipal security is initially issued. However, after the Fund buys a security, the Internal Revenue Service may determine that a bond issued as tax-exempt should in fact be taxable or there may be unfavorable
changes in tax laws or noncompliant conduct of a securities issuer that may cause income from all
or certain municipal securities to be taxable. In order to pay tax-exempt interest, tax-exempt securities must meet certain legal requirements. Failure to meet such requirements may cause the interest received and
distributed by the Fund to shareholders to be taxable. If the Fund fails to meet the requirements
necessary to pay out exempt-interest dividends to its shareholders, the income distributions resulting from all of its investments, including its municipal securities, may be subject to federal income tax when
received by shareholders.
In addition, future laws, regulations, rulings or court decisions may cause interest on municipal securities to be subject, directly or indirectly, to U.S. federal income
taxation or interest on state municipal securities to be subject to state or local