rates. The Fund may invest without limit in
securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or government-sponsored
enterprises. In addition, the Fund may invest up to 10% of its total assets in investment grade securities rated below Aaa by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”), or equivalently rated by Standard
& Poor’s Ratings Services (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings, Inc. (“Fitch”), subject to a minimum rating of Baa by Moody’s, or equivalently rated by S&P or Fitch, or, if unrated, determined by PIMCO to be of comparable quality;
provided that, investments in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or government-sponsored enterprises are not subject to this limit. In the event that ratings services assign
different ratings to the same security, PIMCO will use the highest rating as the credit rating for that security. The Fund may not invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies, but may invest without limit in U.S.
dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers. The Fund may invest up to 10% of its total assets in U.S. dollar-denominated securities and instruments that are economically tied to emerging market
countries.
The Fund may invest, without limitation, in derivative
instruments, such as options, futures contracts or swap agreements, or in mortgage- or
asset-backed securities, subject to applicable law and any other restrictions described in the
Fund’s prospectus or Statement of Additional Information. The Fund may purchase or sell securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment basis and may engage in short sales. The Fund may, without
limitation, 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 buy backs or dollar rolls). The “total return” sought by the Fund consists of income earned on the Fund’s investments, plus capital appreciation, if any, which generally arises from decreases in interest rates or
improving credit fundamentals for a particular sector or security.
GNMA, a wholly owned U.S. Government corporation, is authorized to
guarantee, with the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government, the timely payment of principal
and interest on securities issued by institutions approved by GNMA and backed by pools of mortgages
insured by the Federal Housing Administration, or guaranteed by the Department of Veterans
Affairs. The Fund may also invest up to 10% of its total assets in preferred securities.
It is possible to lose money on an investment in the Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund, which could adversely affect its net asset value, yield and total return,
are listed below.
Interest Rate Risk: the risk that fixed income securities will fluctuate in value because of a change in interest rates; a fund with a longer average portfolio duration will be more
sensitive to changes in interest rates than a fund with a shorter average portfolio duration
Call Risk: the risk that an issuer may exercise its right to redeem a fixed income security earlier than expected (a call). Issuers may call outstanding securities prior to their
maturity for a number of reasons (e.g., declining interest rates, changes in credit spreads and
improvements in the issuer’s credit quality). If an issuer calls a security that the Fund has invested in, the Fund may not recoup the full amount of its initial investment or may not
realize the full anticipated earnings from the investment and may be forced to reinvest in lower-yielding securities, securities with greater credit risks or securities with other, less favorable
features
Credit Risk: the risk that the Fund could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a fixed income security, or the counterparty to a derivative contract, or the issuer or guarantor
of collateral, is unable or unwilling, or is perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as unable or unwilling, to meet its financial obligations
Market Risk: the risk that the value of securities owned by the Fund may go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, due to factors affecting securities markets generally
or particular industries
Issuer Risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for a reason directly related to the issuer, such as management performance, changes in financial condition or
credit rating, financial leverage, reputation or reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services
Liquidity Risk: the risk that a particular investment may be difficult to purchase or sell and that the Fund may be unable to sell illiquid investments at an advantageous time or price
or achieve its desired level of exposure to a certain sector. Liquidity risk may result from the
lack of an active market, reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make
a market in fixed income securities, and may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed income funds may be higher than normal, causing increased
supply in the market due to selling activity
Derivatives Risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments (such as forwards, futures, swaps and structured securities)
and other similar investments, including leverage, liquidity, interest rate, market, counterparty
(including credit), operational, legal and management risks, and valuation complexity. Changes in the value of a derivative or other similar investment may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than,
the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Fund could lose more than the initial amount invested.
Changes in the value of a derivative or other similar instrument may also create margin delivery
or settlement payment obligations for the Fund. The Fund’s use of derivatives or other similar investments may result in losses to the Fund, a reduction in the Fund’s returns and/or increased volatility.
Non-centrally-cleared over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivatives or other similar investments are also subject to the risk that a counterparty to the transaction will not fulfill its contractual obligations to the other party, as many of
the protections afforded to centrally-cleared derivative transactions might not be available for
non-centrally-cleared OTC derivatives or other similar investments. The primary credit risk on
derivatives or other similar investments that are exchange-traded or traded through a central clearing counterparty resides with the Fund's clearing broker or the clearinghouse. Changes in regulation relating to a registered
fund’s use of derivatives and related