Example. This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, dividends and distributions are reinvested, and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions (and giving effect to fee waivers and expense reimbursements in the first year), your costs would be:
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1 Year
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3 Years
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5 Years
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10 Years
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Class A Shares
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$299
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$536
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$792
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$1,525
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Class I Shares
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$68
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$260
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$467
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$1,065
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Portfolio Turnover. The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over”) its portfolio. A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 17.75% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund pursues its primary goal by investing principally in a laddered maturity portfolio of municipal obligations issued by New York State and its agencies, and by New York State local governments and their agencies. Thornburg Investment Management, Inc. (“Thornburg”) actively manages the Fund’s portfolio. Investment decisions are based upon outlooks for interest rates and securities markets, the supply of municipal debt obligations, and analysis of specific securities. The Fund invests in obligations and participations in obligations which are rated by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization at the time of purchase as investment grade or, if unrated, are issued by obligors which Thornburg determines have comparable investment grade obligations outstanding or which are deemed by Thornburg to be comparable to obligors with outstanding investment grade obligations. “Participations” are undivided interests in pools of securities where the underlying credit support passes through to the participants. The Fund may invest in obligations issued by United States territories and possessions. The Fund’s portfolio is “laddered” by investing in obligations of different maturities so that some obligations mature during each of the coming years.
Because the magnitude of changes in value of interest-bearing obligations is greater for obligations with longer terms given an equivalent change in interest rates, the Fund seeks to reduce changes in its share value by maintaining a portfolio of investments with a dollar-weighted average maturity of normally three to ten years. As a result, the Fund also maintains a portfolio of investments having a dollar-weighted average effective duration of normally no more than ten years. Duration is a measure of estimated sensitivity to interest rate changes. A portfolio with a longer average effective duration will typically be more sensitive to interest rate changes than a portfolio with a shorter average effective duration. Duration is commonly expressed as a number, which is the expected percentage change in an obligation’s price upon a 1% change in interest rates. For example, an obligation with a duration of 10 would be expected to change in price by approximately 10% in response to a 1% change in interest rates. During temporary periods the Fund’s portfolio maturity and average effective duration may be reduced for defensive purposes. There is no limitation on the maturity of any specific security the Fund may purchase. The Fund may dispose of any security before it matures. The Fund also attempts to reduce changes in its share value through credit analysis, selection and diversification.
The Fund ordinarily acquires and holds securities for investment rather than for realization of gains by short-term trading on market fluctuations. However, it may dispose of any security prior to its scheduled maturity to enhance income or reduce loss, to change the portfolio’s average maturity, or to otherwise respond to current market conditions. The objective of preserving capital may prevent the Fund from obtaining the highest yields available.
Under normal conditions the Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in municipal obligations originating in New York State which are exempt from New York State and regular federal income taxes, and normally invests 100% of its assets in municipal obligations originating in New York or issued by United States territories and possessions and exempt from regular federal income tax. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in taxable securities which would produce income not exempt from federal or New York income tax because of market conditions, pending investment of idle funds or to afford liquidity. The Fund’s temporary taxable investments may exceed 20% of its assets when made for defensive purposes during periods of abnormal market conditions. If the Fund found it necessary to own taxable investments, some of the Fund’s income would be subject to federal and New York State and City income taxes.
Principal Investment Risks
An investment in the Fund is not a deposit in any bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Accordingly, the loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. The value of the Fund’s shares and its dividends may fluctuate from day to day and over time, and when you sell your shares they may be worth less than what you paid for them. The following is a summary of the principal risks of investing in the Fund.
Management Risk – The Fund is an actively managed portfolio, and the value of the Fund may be reduced if Thornburg pursues unsuccessful investments or fails to correctly identify risks affecting the broad economy or specific issuers in which the Fund invests.
Interest Rate Risk – When interest rates increase, the value of the Fund’s investments may decline and the Fund’s share value may be reduced. This effect is typically more pronounced for intermediate and longer-term obligations. When interest rates decrease, the Fund’s dividends may decline. Decreases in market interest rates may also result in prepayments of obligations the Fund acquires, requiring the Fund to reinvest at lower interest rates.
Credit Risk – If obligations held by the Fund are downgraded by ratings agencies or go into default, or if legislation or other government action reduces the ability of issuers to pay principal and interest when due, the value of those obligations may decline and the Fund’s share value and the dividends paid by the Fund may be reduced. Lower-rated or unrated obligations held by the Fund may have, or may be perceived to have, greater risk of default and ratings downgrades. Municipal leases held by the Fund may be subject to non-appropriation provisions which permit governmental issuers to discontinue payments to the Fund under the leases.