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, foreign currency appreciation, or improving credit fundamentals for a particular sector or security. The Fund may also invest up to 10% of its
total assets in preferred securities.
Principal Risks
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 decline in value because of an increase 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 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, 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
High Yield Risk: the risk that high yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly known as
“junk bonds”) are subject to greater levels of credit, call and liquidity risks. High yield securities are considered primarily speculative with respect to the issuer’s continuing ability to make
principal and interest payments, and may be more volatile than higher-rated securities of similar maturity
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, financial leverage and 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 futures, swaps and structured securities), including leverage, liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and
management risks, and valuation complexity. Changes in the value of a derivative 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. The Fund’s use of derivatives may result in losses to the Fund, a reduction in the Fund’s returns and/or increased volatility. Over-the-counter
(“OTC”) derivatives 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 OTC derivatives. The primary credit risk on derivatives 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 mutual fund’s use of derivatives and related instruments could potentially limit or impact the Fund’s ability to invest in derivatives, limit the
Fund’s ability to employ certain strategies that use derivatives and/or adversely affect the value of derivatives and the Fund’s performance
Equity Risk: the risk that the value of equity securities, such as common stocks and preferred securities, may decline due to general market conditions which are not
specifically related to a particular company or to factors affecting a particular industry or industries. Equity securities generally have greater price volatility than fixed income securities
Mortgage-Related and Other Asset-Backed Securities Risk: the risks
of investing in mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities, including interest rate risk, extension risk, prepayment risk and credit risk
Foreign (Non-U.S.)
Investment Risk: the risk that investing in foreign (non-U.S.) securities may result in the Fund experiencing more rapid and extreme changes in value than
a fund that invests exclusively in securities of U.S. companies, due to smaller markets, differing
reporting, accounting and auditing standards, increased risk of delayed settlement of portfolio
transactions or loss of certificates of portfolio securities, and the risk of unfavorable foreign government actions, including nationalization, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, currency blockage, or political
changes or diplomatic developments or the imposition of sanctions and other similar measures. Foreign securities may also be less liquid and more difficult to value than securities of U.S. issuers
Emerging Markets Risk: the risk of investing in emerging market securities, primarily increased foreign (non-U.S.) investment risk
Sovereign Debt Risk: the risk that investments in fixed income instruments issued by sovereign entities may decline in value as a
result of default or other adverse credit event resulting from an issuer’s