Fund will limit investments to those securities that are Eligible Securities as defined by applicable
regulations at the time of purchase.
The Fund may invest in U.S. dollar-denominated foreign securities. Some of the Fund’s
investments, although U.S. dollar-denominated, may be subject to foreign credit exposure.
The Fund may also invest in daily and weekly variable-rate demand
notes. The Fund may invest in securities that are subject to resale restrictions such as those contained in
Rule 144A promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
In selecting securities for the Fund’s portfolio, the portfolio managers focus
on securities that offer safety, liquidity, and a competitive yield. The Adviser conducts a credit analysis of each potential issuer prior to the purchase of its securities. The Adviser’s credit research process considers factors that include, but are not
limited to, an issuer’s operations, capital structure and environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) considerations.
The portfolio managers normally hold portfolio securities to
maturity, but may sell a security when they deem it advisable, such as when market or credit factors
materially change.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The risks associated with an investment in the Fund can increase during times of significant market volatility. The principal risks of investing in the Fund
are:
Money Market Fund Risk. Although the Fund seeks to preserve the value
of your investment at $1.00 per share, you may lose money by investing in the Fund. The share price of
money market funds can fall below the $1.00 share price. The Fund may impose a fee upon the sale of your
shares or may temporarily suspend your ability to sell shares if the Fund’s liquidity falls below
required minimums because of market conditions or other factors. The Fund’s sponsor has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the Fund, and you should not rely on
or expect that the sponsor will enter into support agreements or take other actions to provide financial
support to the Fund or maintain the Fund’s $1.00 share price at any time. The credit quality of the Fund’s holdings can change rapidly in certain markets, and the default of a single
holding could have an adverse impact on the Fund’s share price. The Fund’s share price can also be negatively affected during periods of high redemption pressures, illiquid markets, and/or significant market
volatility.
Debt Securities Risk. The prices of debt securities held by the Fund will be affected by changes in interest rates, the creditworthiness of
the issuer and other factors. An increase in prevailing interest rates typically causes the value of
existing debt securities to fall and often has a greater impact on longer-duration debt securities and higher quality debt securities. Falling interest rates will cause the Fund to reinvest the proceeds of debt securities that have been repaid by the issuer at
lower interest rates. Falling interest rates may also reduce the Fund’s distributable income because interest payments on floating rate debt instruments held by the Fund will decline. The Fund could lose money on investments in
debt securities if the issuer or borrower fails to meet its obligations to make interest payments and/or to
repay principal in a timely manner. Changes in an issuer’s financial strength, the market’s
perception of such strength or in the credit rating of the issuer or the security may affect the value of debt securities. The Adviser’s credit analysis may fail to anticipate such changes, which could result in buying a debt security at an inopportune time or
failing to sell a debt security in advance of a price decline or other credit event.
Market Risk. The market values of the Fund’s investments, and therefore the value of the Fund’s shares, will go up and
down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry or section of
the economy, or it may affect the market as a whole. The value of the Fund’s investments may go up or down due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to the particular issuer, such as real or perceived adverse economic
conditions, changes in the general
outlook for revenues or corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates, regional or global
instability, natural or environmental disasters, widespread disease or other public health issues, war, acts of terrorism or adverse investor sentiment generally. During a general downturn in the financial markets, multiple asset classes may
decline in value. When markets perform well, there can be no assurance that specific investments held by
the Fund will rise in value.
Banking and Financial
Services Industry Focus Risk. From time to time, the Fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in
unsecured bank instruments, including but not limited to certificates of deposit and time deposits, or
securities that may have guarantees or credit and liquidity enhancements provided by banks, insurance companies or other financial institutions. To the extent the Fund focuses its investments in these instruments or securities, the Fund’s
performance will depend on the overall condition of those industries and the individual banks and financial
institutions in which the Fund invests (directly or indirectly), the supply of short-term financing,
changes in government regulation, changes in interest rates, and economic downturns in the United States and abroad.
Foreign Securities and Credit Exposure Risk. U.S. dollar-denominated securities carrying foreign credit exposure may be affected by unfavorable political, economic or governmental developments that could affect payments of principal and interest. Furthermore, the
Fund's foreign investments may be adversely affected by political and social instability, changes in
economic or taxation policies, difficulty in enforcing obligations, decreased liquidity or increased volatility. Foreign investments also involve the risk of the possible seizure, nationalization or expropriation of the issuer or foreign deposits (in which the Fund
could lose its entire investments in a certain market) and the possible adoption of foreign governmental
restrictions such as exchange controls.
Restricted Securities Risk. Limitations on the resale of restricted securities may have an adverse effect on their marketability, and may prevent the Fund from disposing of them promptly at reasonable prices. There can be no assurance that a trading market
will exist at any time for any particular restricted security. Transaction costs may be higher for
restricted securities and such securities may be difficult to value and may have significant
volatility.
Repurchase Agreement Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk that the counterparty may default on its obligation to repurchase the underlying
instruments collateralizing the repurchase agreement, which may cause the Fund to lose money. These risks
are magnified to the extent that a repurchase agreement is secured by securities other than cash or U.S.
Government securities.
U.S. Government Obligations Risk. Obligations of U.S. Government agencies and authorities receive varying levels of support and may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the
U.S. Government, which could affect the Fund’s ability to recover should they default. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Government will provide financial support to its agencies and authorities if it is not obligated by
law to do so.
Municipal Securities Risk. The risk of a municipal obligation generally depends on the financial and credit status of the issuer. Constitutional
amendments, legislative enactments, executive orders, administrative regulations, voter initiatives, and
the issuer’s regional economic conditions may affect the municipal security’s value, interest payments, repayment of principal and the Fund’s ability to sell the security. Failure of a municipal security issuer to comply with
applicable tax requirements may make income paid thereon taxable, resulting in a decline in the security’s value. In addition, there could be changes in applicable tax laws or tax treatments that reduce or eliminate the current federal
income tax exemption on municipal securities or otherwise adversely affect the current federal or state tax
status of municipal securities.
LIBOR Transition
Risk. The Fund invests in financial instruments that utilize the London Interbank Offered Rate
(“LIBOR”) as the reference or benchmark rate for variable interest rate calculations. On July 27, 2017, the head of the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority announced a