The 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. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

To pursue its goals, the fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in municipal bonds that provide income exempt from federal personal income tax. Municipal bonds are debt securities or other obligations issued by states, territories and possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities, or multistate agencies and authorities.

The fund normally invests at least 50% of its net assets in municipal bonds rated BBB/Baa or lower or the unrated equivalent as determined by Insight North America LLC, the fund's sub-adviser. Municipal bonds rated below investment grade (BB/Ba or lower) are commonly known as "high yield" or "junk" bonds. These bonds typically offer higher yields than investment grade bonds, but involve greater risks, including the possibility of default, and increased market price volatility. The fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in defaulted municipal bonds. The fund may invest up to 50% of its net assets in higher quality municipal bonds (those rated AAA/Aaa to A or the unrated equivalent as determined by the fund's sub-adviser). The fund's investments may include securities that are subject to resale restrictions such as those contained in Rule 144A promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended ("Securities Act").

The dollar-weighted average maturity of the fund's portfolio normally exceeds ten years, but the fund may invest without regard to maturity. A bond's maturity is the length of time until the principal must be fully repaid with interest. Dollar-weighted average maturity is an average of the stated maturities of the bonds held by the fund, based on their dollar-weighted proportions in the fund.

The fund's sub-adviser focuses on identifying undervalued sectors and securities. To select municipal bonds for the fund, the sub-adviser uses fundamental credit analysis to estimate the relative value and attractiveness of various sectors and securities and actively trades among various sectors and securities based on their apparent relative values. The fund seeks to invest in several different sectors and does not seek to overweight any particular sector but may do so depending on each sector's relative value at a given time.

A rigorous sell discipline is employed to continuously evaluate all fund holdings. Current holdings may become sell candidates if creditworthiness is deteriorating, if bonds with better risk and return characteristics become available, or if the holding no longer meets the sub-adviser's strategic or portfolio construction objectives.

Although the fund seeks to provide income exempt from federal income tax, income from some of the fund's holdings may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The bar chart shows changes in the performance of the fund's Class Z shares from year to year. Sales charges, if any, are not reflected in the bar chart and, if those charges were included, returns would have been less than those shown. The table compares the average annual total returns of the fund's shares to those of the Bloomberg U.S. Municipal Bond Index, a broad measure of market performance, and the Bloomberg Municipal High Yield Index, an index reflecting the market segments in which the fund invests. The fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future. Performance for each share class will vary due to differences in expenses. More recent performance information may be available at www.bny.com/investments.

During the periods shown in the chart:
Best Quarter
2023, Q4: 9.63
Worst Quarter
2020, Q1: (8.61)

The year-to-date total return of the fund's Class Z shares as of September 30, 2025 was -0.41%.

After-tax performance is shown only for Class Z shares. After-tax performance of the fund's other share classes will vary. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through U.S. tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares may be higher than returns before taxes or returns after taxes on distributions due to an assumed tax benefit from losses on a sale of the fund's shares at the end of the period.

An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency. It is not a complete investment program. The fund's share price fluctuates, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money.

· Interest rate risk: Prices of bonds and other fixed rate fixed-income securities tend to move inversely with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in rates will adversely affect fixed-income securities and, accordingly, will cause the value of the fund's investments in these securities to decline. A wide variety of market factors can cause interest rates to rise, including central bank monetary policy, rising inflation and changes in general economic conditions. It is difficult to predict the pace at which central banks or monetary authorities may increase (or decrease) interest rates or the timing, frequency, or magnitude of such changes. During periods of very low interest rates, which occur from time to time due to market forces or actions of governments and/or their central banks, including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in the U.S., the fund may be subject to a greater risk of principal decline from rising interest rates. When interest rates fall, the fund's investments in new securities may be at lower yields and may reduce the fund's income. Changing interest rates may have unpredictable effects on markets, may result in heightened market volatility and may detract from fund performance. The magnitude of these fluctuations in the market price of fixed-income securities is generally greater for securities with longer effective maturities and durations because such instruments do not mature, reset interest rates or become callable for longer periods of time. Unlike investment grade bonds, however, the prices of high yield ("junk") bonds may fluctuate unpredictably and not necessarily inversely with changes in interest rates.

· High yield securities risk: High yield ("junk") securities involve greater credit risk, including the risk of default, than investment grade securities, and are considered predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer's ability to make principal and interest payments. These securities are especially sensitive to adverse changes in general economic conditions, to changes in the financial condition of their issuers and to price fluctuation in response to changes in interest rates. During periods of economic downturn or rising interest rates, issuers of below investment grade securities may experience financial stress that could adversely affect their ability to make payments of principal and interest and increase the possibility of default.

· Rule 144A securities risk:  Rule 144A securities are restricted securities that, while privately placed, are eligible for purchase and resale pursuant to Rule 144A by "qualified institutional buyers," as defined under the Securities Act. The market for Rule 144A and other securities exempt from certain registration requirements typically is less active than the market for publicly-traded securities. As such, investing in Rule 144A securities may reduce the liquidity of the fund's investments, and the fund may be unable to sell the security at the desired time or price, if at all. The purchase price and subsequent valuation of Rule 144A securities normally reflect a discount, which may be significant, from the market price of comparable unrestricted securities for which a liquid trading market exists.

· Valuation risk: The price that the fund could receive upon the sale (or other disposition) of an investment may differ from the fund's valuation of the investment, particularly for investments that trade in lower volumes, investments that are valued using a fair valuation methodology or a price provided by an independent pricing service, or during market turmoil or volatility. As a result, the price received upon the sale of an investment may be less than the value ascribed by the fund, and the fund could realize a greater than expected loss or lesser than expected gain upon the sale of the investment. The fund's ability to value its investments also may be impacted by technological issues and/or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

· Management risk: The investment process used by the fund's sub-adviser could fail to achieve the fund's investment goals and cause your fund investment to lose value.