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 credit analysis applied to the
Fund’s debt securities 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.
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.
California Municipal
Securities Risk. The Fund is more susceptible to political, economic, regulatory or other factors affecting issuers of California municipal
securities than a fund which does not focus its investments in such issuers. Accordingly, events in California may affect the Fund’s investments and performance.
Municipal Issuer Focus Risk. The municipal issuers in which the Fund invests may be located in the same geographic area or may pay their interest obligations from revenue of
similar projects, such as hospitals, airports, utility systems and housing finance agencies. This may make the Fund’s investments more susceptible to similar social, economic, political or regulatory occurrences,
making the Fund more susceptible to experience a drop in its share price than if the Fund had been more diversified across issuers that did not have similar characteristics.
Investing in U.S. Territories, Commonwealths and Possessions Risk. The Fund also invests in obligations of the governments of U.S. territories, commonwealths and possessions such as Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands,
Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands to the extent such obligations are exempt from regular federal individual and state income taxes. These investments also are considered to be “California municipal
securities” for purposes of this prospectus. Accordingly, the Fund may be adversely affected by local political, economic, social and environmental conditions and developments, including natural disasters, within these U.S. territories,
commonwealths and possessions affecting the issuers of such obligations.
Certain of the municipalities in which the Fund invests, including Puerto
Rico, currently experience significant financial difficulties, which may include default,
insolvency or bankruptcy. As a result, securities issued by certain of these municipalities are currently considered below-investment-grade securities. A credit rating downgrade relating to, default by, or insolvency or bankruptcy of, one or several
municipal security issuers of a state, territory, commonwealth or possession in which the Fund invests could affect the payment of principal and interest, the market values and marketability of many or all municipal obligations of
such state, territory, commonwealth or possession.
The Schedule of Investments included in the Fund's annual and semi-annual
reports and in Form N-CSR identifies the percentage of the Fund invested in Puerto Rican municipal securities, as of the reporting date, which may be substantial.
Tobacco Related Bonds Risk. In 1998,
U.S. tobacco manufacturers representing a majority of U.S. market share reached an out of court
agreement, known as the MSA, to settle claims against them by 46 states and six U.S.
jurisdictions. The tobacco manufacturers agreed to make
annual payments to the government entities in exchange for the release of all litigation claims. A number of
the states have sold bonds that are backed by those future payments. The actual settlement payments are based on factors including, but not limited to, annual domestic cigarette shipments, cigarette consumption, inflation
and the financial capability of participating tobacco companies. Payments could be reduced if demand for cigarettes and cigarette consumption decrease due to, without limitation, further regulation or restrictions on cigarette
sales or smoking, anti-smoking campaigns or tax increases; if market share is lost to non-MSA
manufacturers; or if there is a negative outcome in litigation regarding the MSA, including with
respect to the amount of annual payments owed by participating manufacturers under the MSA.
Land-Secured or “Dirt” Bonds Risk. These
bonds, which include special assessment, special tax, and tax increment financing bonds, are
issued to promote residential, commercial and industrial growth and redevelopment. They are
exposed to real estate development-related risks. The bonds could default if the developments failed to progress as anticipated or if taxpayers failed to pay the assessments, fees and taxes specified in the financing plans for
a project.
Municipal Lease Obligations
Risk. Municipal lease obligations are used by state and local governments to obtain funds to acquire land, equipment or facilities. The Fund can
invest in certificates of participation that represent a proportionate interest in payments made under municipal lease obligations. Most municipal lease obligations, while secured by the leased property, are not general
obligations of the issuing municipality. They often contain “non-appropriation” clauses under which the municipal government has no obligation to make lease or installment payments in future years unless money is
appropriated on a yearly basis.
If the municipal government stops making payments or transfers its payment
obligations to a private entity, the obligation could lose value or become taxable. Although the obligation may be secured by the leased equipment or facilities, the disposition of the property in the event of non-appropriation or foreclosure
might prove difficult, time consuming and costly, and may result in a delay in recovering or the failure to recover the original investment. Some lease obligations may not have an active trading market, making it difficult for the
Fund to sell them quickly at an acceptable price.
Unrated Securities Risk. The investment
adviser may internally assign ratings to securities that are not rated by any nationally recognized
statistical rating organization, after assessing their credit quality and other factors, in
categories similar to those of nationally recognized statistical rating organizations. There can be no assurance, nor is it intended, that the investment adviser’s credit analysis process is consistent or comparable with the credit analysis
process used by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization. Unrated securities are considered “investment-grade” or “below-investment-grade” if judged by the investment adviser to be comparable to rated
investment-grade or below-investment-grade securities. The investment adviser’s rating does not constitute a guarantee of the credit quality. In addition, some unrated securities may not have an active trading market or may trade
less actively than rated securities, which means that unrated securities may be difficult to sell promptly at an acceptable price.
Medium- and Lower-Grade Municipal Securities Risk. Medium- and
lower-grade municipal securities generally involve more volatility and greater risks, including credit, market, liquidity and management risks, than higher-grade securities. Furthermore, many issuers of medium- and lower-grade securities choose not to have a
rating assigned to their obligations. As such, the Fund’s portfolio may consist of a higher portion of unrated securities than an investment company investing solely in higher-grade securities. Unrated securities
may not be as attractive to as many buyers as are rated securities, which may have the effect of limiting the Fund’s ability to sell such securities at the desired price.
High Yield Debt Securities (Junk Bond/Below-Investment Grade) Risk. Investments in high yield debt securities (junk bonds) and