The following table sets forth information regarding the Fund’s outstanding senior securities as of the end of the Fund’s last ten fiscal years, as applicable. The Fund’s senior securities during this time period are comprised of borrowings that constitute “senior securities” as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (1940 Act). The information in this table is derived from the financial statements. The financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2026 have been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”), independent registered public accounting firm. The financial statements with respect to the fiscal years ended prior to 2025, where applicable, have been audited by other auditors. The Fund’s audited financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2026, including the report of PwC thereon, and accompanying notes thereto, are included in this Annual Report.

 

 

The following table sets forth information regarding the Fund’s outstanding senior securities as of the end of the Fund’s last ten fiscal years, as applicable. The Fund’s senior securities during this time period are comprised of borrowings that constitute “senior securities” as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (1940 Act). The information in this table is derived from the financial statements. The financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2026 have been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”), independent registered public accounting firm. The financial statements with respect to the fiscal years ended prior to 2025, where applicable, have been audited by other auditors. The Fund’s audited financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2026, including the report of PwC thereon, and accompanying notes thereto, are included in this Annual Report.

PRINCIPAL RISKS OF THE FUND

The factors that are most likely to have a material effect on the Fund’s portfolio as a whole are called “principal risks.” The Fund is subject to the principal risks indicated below, whether through direct investment or derivative positions. The Fund may be subject to additional risks other than those identified and described below because the types of investments made by the Fund can change over time.

Risks of NBB

 

 

Portfolio Level Risks

 

 

Below Investment Grade Risk

Build America Bonds (“BABs”) Risk

Call Risk

Credit Risk

Credit Spread Risk

Defaulted or Distress Securities Risk

Deflation Risk

Derivatives Risk

Direct Lending Risk

Duration Risk

Economic Sector Risk

Financial Futures and Options Transactions Risk

Floating and Variable Rate Securities Risk

Hedging Risk

Income Risk

Inflation Risk

Insurance Risk

Interest Rate Risk

Inverse Floating Rate Securities Risk

Municipal Securities Risk

Municipal Securities Market Liquidity Risk

Municipal Securities Market Risk

Other Investment Companies Risk

Reinvestment Risk

Restricted and Illiquid Investments Risk

Special Risks Related to Certain Municipal Obligations

Structured Products Risk

Swap Transactions Risk

Tobacco Settlement Bond Risk

Unrated Securities Risk

Valuation Risk

When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Transactions Risk

Zero Coupon Bonds Risk

 

Fund Level and Other Risks

 

 

Anti-Takeover Provisions

Counterparty Risk

Cybersecurity Risk

Economic and Political Events Risk

Fund Tax Risk

Global Economic Risk

Investment and Market Risk

Legislation and Regulatory Risk

Leverage Risk

Market Discount from Net Asset Value

Recent Market Conditions

Reverse Repurchase Agreement Risk

 

 

 

Municipal securities of below investment grade quality are regarded as having speculative characteristics with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay dividends or interest and repay principal, and may be subject to higher price volatility and default risk than investment grade municipal securities of comparable terms and duration. Issuers of lower grade municipal securities may be highly leveraged and may not have available to them more traditional methods of financing. The prices of these lower grade securities are typically more sensitive to negative developments, such as a decline in the issuer’s revenues or a general economic downturn. The secondary market for lower rated municipal securities may not be as liquid as the secondary market for more highly rated municipal securities, a factor which may have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to dispose of a particular municipal security. If a below investment grade municipal security goes into default, or its issuer enters bankruptcy, it might be difficult to sell that security in a timely manner at a reasonable price.

BABs are taxable municipal obligations issued pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that are subject to federal subsidies of up to 35% of the interest payable on the bonds in the form of direct subsidies to the bond issuer or refundable tax credits to the bond holder. BABs are not guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. While the federal subsidy continues for the life of the bonds, provided that the issuer continues to meet all applicable program eligibility requirements, there is no assurance that the federal subsidy will be continued at original levels. Under the sequestration process under the Budget Control Act of 2011, automatic spending cuts that became effective on March 1, 2013 reduced the federal subsidy for BABs and other subsidized taxable municipal bonds. The reduced federal subsidy has been extended through 2030. The subsidy payments were reduced by 6.6% in 2018 and 6.2% in 2019, 5.9% in 2020 and 5.7% between 2021 and 2030. Further decreases in the level of the subsidy may impair the ability of issuers to make interest payments when due.

BABs were an alternative form of financing to state and local governments whose primary means for accessing the capital markets had been through issuance of tax free municipal bonds. Pursuant to the terms of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the issuance of BABs ceased on December 31, 2010. As a result, the availability of such bonds is limited and there can be no assurance that BABs will be actively traded. The market for the bonds and/or their liquidity may be negatively affected. Changes to the U.S. federal income tax laws or other federal legislation may affect the demand for and supply of taxable municipal bonds, including BABs, and/or trigger extraordinary call features of the BABs. The extraordinary call features of certain BABs permit early redemption at par value, which, if triggered, could result in potential losses for the Fund if such BABs were purchased at prices above par, and may require the Fund to reinvest redemption proceeds in lower-yielding securities.

BABs involve similar risks as traditional municipal bonds, including credit, call and market risk. Because certain states, including California, New York, Illinois, Texas and Ohio, were heavy issuers of BABs, the Fund may have a greater exposure to the economic or other factors affecting such states than a more diversified national municipal bond fund. In addition, should a BAB’s issuer fail to continue to meet the applicable requirements, it is possible that such issuer may not receive federal cash subsidy payments, impairing the issuer’s ability to make scheduled interest payments. BABs may be subject to greater reinvestment risk, which is the risk that the Fund is unable to invest in bonds with similar yields, as BABs with attractive above-market purchase yields mature or are called.

The Fund may invest in municipal securities that are subject to call risk. Such municipal securities may be redeemed at the option of the issuer, or “called,” before their stated maturity or redemption date. In general, an issuer will call its instruments if they can be refinanced by issuing new instruments that bear a lower interest rate. The Fund is subject to the possibility that during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer will call its high yielding municipal securities. The Fund would then be forced to invest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income.

Issuers of municipal securities in which the Fund may invest may default on their obligations, including to pay principal or interest when due. This would result in a reduction of income to the Fund, a reduction in the value of a municipal security experiencing and potentially a decrease in the net asset value (“NAV”) of the Fund. To the extent that the credit rating assigned to a municipal security in the Fund’s portfolio is downgraded, the market price and liquidity of such security may be adversely affected.

Credit spread risk is the risk that credit spreads (the difference in yield between securities that is due to differences in their credit quality) may increase when the market believes that municipal securities generally have a greater risk of default. Increasing credit spreads may reduce the market values of the Fund’s securities. Credit spreads often increase more for lower rated and unrated securities than for investment grade securities. In addition, when credit spreads increase, reductions in market value will generally be greater for longer-maturity securities.

Investments in “distressed” securities, meaning those whose issuers are experiencing financial difficulties or distress at the time the security is acquired, present a substantial risk of future default. In the event distressed securities become defaulted securities or the Fund otherwise holds defaulted securities, the Fund may incur losses, including additional expenses, to the extent it is required to seek recovery upon a default in the payment of principal or interest on those securities. In any reorganization or liquidation proceeding relating to a portfolio security, the Fund may lose its entire investment or may be required to accept cash or securities with a value less than its original investment. Defaulted or distressed securities may be subject to restrictions on resale.

Deflation risk is the risk that prices throughout the economy decline over time. Deflation may have an adverse effect on the creditworthiness of issuers and may make issuer default more likely, which may result in a decline in the value of the Fund’s portfolio.

The use of derivatives involves additional risks and transaction costs which could leave the Fund in a worse position than if it had not used these instruments. Derivative instruments can be used to acquire or to transfer the risk and returns of a municipal security or other asset without buying or selling the municipal security or asset. These instruments may entail investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest. As a result, a small investment in derivatives can result in losses that greatly exceed the original investment. Derivatives can be highly volatile, illiquid and difficult to value. An derivative transaction between the Fund and a counterparty that is not cleared through a central counterparty also involves the risk that a loss may be sustained as a result of the failure of the counterparty to the contract to make

 

required payments. The payment obligation for a cleared derivative transaction is guaranteed by a central counterparty, which exposes the Fund to the creditworthiness of the central counterparty. The use of certain derivatives involves leverage, which can cause the Fund’s portfolio to be more volatile than if the portfolio had not been leveraged. Leverage can significantly magnify the effect of price movements of the reference asset, disproportionately increasing the Fund’s losses and reducing the Fund’s opportunities for gains when the reference asset changes in unexpected ways. In some instances, such leverage could result in losses that exceed the original amount invested.

It is possible that regulatory or other developments in the derivatives market, including changes in government regulation, could adversely impact the Fund’s ability to invest in certain derivatives or successfully use derivative instruments.

The Fund may engage in direct lending. Direct loans between the Fund and a borrower may not be administered by an underwriter or agent bank. The Fund may provide financing to commercial borrowers directly or through companies affiliated with the Fund. The terms of the direct loans are negotiated with borrowers in private transactions. Furthermore, a direct loan may be secured or unsecured. The Fund will rely primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower and/or any collateral for payment of interest and repayment of principal. Direct loans may subject the Fund to liquidity risk, interest rate risk, and borrower default or insolvency. Direct loans are not publicly traded and may not have a secondary market which may have an adverse impact on the ability of the Fund to dispose of a direct loan and/or value the direct loan. The Fund’s performance may be impacted by the Fund’s ability to lend on favorable terms as the Fund may be subject to increased competition or a reduced supply of qualifying loans which could lead to lower yields and reduce Fund performance.

As part of its lending activities, the Fund may originate loans to companies that are experiencing significant financial or business difficulties, including companies involved in bankruptcy or other reorganization and liquidation proceedings. Although the terms of such financing may result in significant financial returns to the Fund, they involve a substantial degree of risk. The level of analytical sophistication, both financial and legal, necessary for successful financing to companies experiencing significant business and financial difficulties is unusually high. Different types of assets may be used as collateral for the Fund’s loans and, accordingly, the valuation of and risks associated with such collateral will vary by loan. There is no assurance that the Fund will correctly evaluate the value of the assets collateralizing the Fund’s loans or the prospects for a successful reorganization or similar action. In any reorganization or liquidation proceeding relating to a borrower that the Fund is lending money to, the Fund may lose all or part of the amounts advanced to the borrower or may be required to accept collateral with a value less than the amount of the loan advanced by the Fund to the borrower. Furthermore, in the event of a default by a borrower, the Fund may have difficulty disposing of the assets used as collateral for a loan. To the extent the Fund seeks to engage in direct lending, the Fund will be subject to enhanced risks of litigation, regulatory actions and other proceedings. As a result, the Fund may be required to pay legal fees, settlement costs, damages, penalties or other charges, any or all of which could materially adversely affect the Fund and its holdings.

Duration is the sensitivity, expressed in years, of the price of a fixed-income security to changes in the general level of interest rates (or yields). Securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to interest rate (or yield) changes, which typically corresponds to increased volatility and risk, than securities with shorter durations. For example, if a security or portfolio has a duration of three years and interest rates increase by 1%, then the security or portfolio would decline in value by approximately 3%. Duration differs from maturity in that it considers potential changes to interest rates, and a security’s coupon payments, yield, price and par value and call features, in addition to the amount of time until the security matures. The duration of a security will be expected to change over time with changes in market factors and time to maturity.

The Fund may invest a significant amount of its total assets in municipal securities in the same economic sector. This may make the Fund more susceptible to adverse economic, political or regulatory occurrences affecting an economic sector, making the Fund more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that sector than funds that invest more broadly. As the percentage of the Fund’s Managed Assets invested in a particular sector increases, so does the potential for fluctuation in the value of the Fund’s assets. In addition, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in certain sectors of the municipal securities market, such as health care facilities, private educational facilities, special taxing districts and utility districts, and private activity bonds including industrial development bonds on behalf of transportation companies, whose credit quality and performance may be more susceptible to economic, business, political, regulatory and other developments than other sectors of municipal issuers. If the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in one or more particular sectors, the Fund’s performance may be subject to additional risk and variability.

The Fund may use certain transactions for hedging the portfolio’s exposure to credit risk and the risk of increases in interest rates, which could result in poorer overall performance for the Fund. There may be an imperfect correlation between price movements of the futures and options and price movements of the portfolio securities being hedged.

If the Fund engages in futures transactions or in the writing of options on futures, it will be required to maintain initial margin and maintenance margin and may be required to make daily variation margin payments in accordance with applicable rules of the exchanges and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”). If the Fund purchases a financial futures contract or a call option or writes a put option in order to hedge the anticipated purchase of municipal securities, and if the Fund fails to complete the anticipated purchase transaction, the Fund may have a loss or a gain on the futures or options transaction that will not be offset by price movements in the municipal securities that were the subject of the anticipatory hedge. There can be no assurance that a liquid market will exist at a time when the Fund seeks to close out a derivatives or futures or a futures option position, and the Fund would remain obligated to meet margin requirements until the position is closed.

Floating and variable rate securities provide for adjustment in the interest rate paid on the obligations. The terms of such obligations typically provide that interest rates are adjusted based upon an interest or market rate adjustment as provided in the respective obligations. The adjustment intervals may be regular, and range from daily up to annually, or may be event-based, such as based on a change in the prime rate. Because of the interest rate adjustment feature, floating and variable rate securities provide an investor with a certain degree of protection against rises in interest rates, although the investor will participate in any declines in interest rates as well. Generally, changes in interest rates will have a smaller effect on the market value of floating and variable rate securities than on the market value of comparable fixed-

 

income obligations. Thus, investing in floating and variable rate securities generally allows less opportunity for capital appreciation and depreciation than investing in comparable fixed-income securities. Floating and variable rate securities may be subject to greater liquidity risk than other debt securities, meaning that there may be limitations on the Fund’s ability to sell the securities at any given time. Such securities also may lose value.

The Fund’s use of derivatives or other transactions to reduce risk involves costs and will be subject to the investment adviser’s and/or the ability to predict correctly changes in the relationships of such hedge instruments to the Fund’s portfolio holdings or other factors. No assurance can be given that the investment adviser’s and/or the judgment in this respect will be correct, and no assurance can be given that the Fund will enter into hedging or other transactions at times or under circumstances in which it may be advisable to do so. Hedging activities may reduce the Fund’s opportunities for gain by offsetting the positive effects of favorable price movements and may result in net losses.

The Fund’s level of current income could decline due to falling market interest rates. This is because, in a falling interest rate environment, the Fund generally will have to invest the proceeds from maturing portfolio securities in lower-yielding securities.

Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the real value of the common shares and distributions can decline. Currently, inflation rates are elevated relative to normal market conditions and could increase.

The Fund may purchase municipal securities that are secured by insurance, bank credit agreements or escrow accounts. The credit quality of the companies that provide such credit enhancements will affect the value of those securities. Certain significant providers of insurance for municipal securities have incurred significant losses as a result of exposure to mortgages and other lower credit quality investments. As a result, such losses reduced the insurers’ capital and called into question their continued ability to perform their obligations under such insurance if they are called upon to do so in the future. While an insured municipal security will typically be deemed to have the rating of its insurer, if the insurer of a municipal security suffers a downgrade in its credit rating or the market discounts the value of the insurance provided by the insurer, the value of the municipal security would more closely, if not entirely, reflect such rating. In such a case, the value of insurance associated with a municipal security may not add any value. The insurance feature of a municipal security does not guarantee the full payment of principal and interest through the life of an insured obligation, the market value of the insured obligation or the NAV of the common shares represented by such insured obligation.

Interest rate risk is the risk that municipal securities in the Fund’s portfolio will decline in value because of changes in market interest rates. Generally, when market interest rates rise, the market value of such securities will fall, and vice versa. As interest rates decline, issuers of municipal securities may prepay principal earlier than scheduled, forcing the Fund to reinvest in lower-yielding securities and potentially reducing the Fund’s income. As interest rates increase, slower than expected principal payments may extend the average life of municipal securities, potentially locking in a below-market interest rate and reducing the Fund’s value. In typical market interest rate environments, the prices of longer-term municipal securities generally fluctuate more than prices of shorter-term municipal securities as interest rates change. If the Fund invests in floating rate securities, the market value of such securities may fall in a declining interest rate environment and may also fall in a rising interest rate environment if there is a lag between the rise in interest rates and the rest. A secondary risk associated with declining interest rates is the risk that income earned by the Fund on floating rate securities may decline due to lower coupon payments on floating- rate securities.

In general, income on inverse floating rate securities will decrease when short-term interest rates increase and increase when short-term interest rates decrease. Investments in inverse floating rate securities may subject the Fund to the risks of reduced or eliminated interest payments and losses of principal. In addition, inverse floating rate securities may increase or decrease in value at a greater rate than the underlying interest rate, which effectively leverages the Fund’s investment. As a result, the market value of such securities generally will be more volatile than that of fixed rate securities.

The Fund may invest in inverse floating rate securities issued by special purpose trusts that have recourse to the Fund. In such instances, the Fund may be at risk of loss that exceeds its investment in the inverse floating rate securities.

The Fund may be required to sell its inverse floating rate securities at less than favorable prices, or liquidate other Fund portfolio holdings in certain circumstances, including, but not limited to, the following:

 

 

 

The values of municipal securities may be adversely affected by local political and economic conditions and developments. Adverse conditions in an industry significant to a local economy could have a correspondingly adverse effect on the financial condition of local issuers. Other factors that could affect municipal securities include a change in the local, state, or national economy, a downgrade of a state’s credit rating or the rating of authorities or political subdivisions of the state, demographic factors, ecological or environmental concerns, inability or perceived inability of a government authority to collect sufficient tax or other revenues, statutory limitations on the issuer’s ability to increase taxes, and other developments generally affecting the revenue of issuers (for example, legislation or court decisions reducing state aid to local governments or mandating additional services). This risk would be heightened to the extent that the Fund invests a substantial portion of the below-investment grade quality portion of its portfolio in the bonds of similar projects (such as those relating to the education, health care, housing, transportation, or utilities industries), in industrial development bonds, or in particular types of municipal securities (such as general obligation bonds, municipal lease obligations, private activity bonds or moral obligation bonds) that are particularly exposed to specific types of adverse economic, business or political events. The value of municipal securities may also be adversely affected by rising health care costs, increasing unfunded pension liabilities, and by the phasing out of federal programs providing financial support. In recent periods, a number of municipal issuers have defaulted

 

on obligations, been downgraded or commenced insolvency proceedings. Financial difficulties of municipal issuers may continue or get worse. In addition, the amount of public information available about municipal bonds is generally less than for certain corporate equities or bonds, meaning that the investment performance of the Fund may be more dependent on the analytical abilities of the Fund’s than funds that invest in stock or other corporate investments.

To the extent that a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the securities of issuers located in a given state or U.S. territory, it will be disproportionally affected by political and economic conditions and developments in that state or territory and may involve greater risk than funds that invest in a larger universe of securities. In addition, economic, political or regulatory changes in that state or territory could adversely affect municipal securities issuers in that state or territory and therefore the value of a fund’s investment portfolio.

Inventories of municipal securities held by brokers and dealers have decreased in recent years, lessening their ability to make a market in these securities. This reduction in market making capacity has the potential to decrease the Fund’s ability to buy or sell municipal securities at attractive prices, and increase municipal security price volatility and trading costs, particularly during periods of economic or market stress. In addition, recent federal banking regulations may cause certain dealers to reduce their inventories of municipal securities, which may further decrease the Fund’s ability to buy or sell municipal securities. As a result, the Fund may be forced to accept a lower price to sell a security, to sell other securities to raise cash, or to give up an investment opportunity, any of which could have a negative effect on performance. If the Fund needed to sell large blocks of municipal securities to raise cash to meet its obligations, those sales could further reduce the municipal securities’ prices and hurt performance.

The amount of public information available about the municipal securities in the Fund’s portfolio is generally less than that for corporate equities or bonds, and the investment performance of the Fund may therefore be more dependent on the analytical abilities of the than if the Fund were a stock fund or taxable bond fund. The secondary market for municipal securities, particularly below investment grade municipal securities, also tends to be less well-developed or liquid than many other securities markets, which may adversely affect the Fund’s ability to sell its municipal securities at attractive prices.

Investing in an investment company exposes the Fund to all of the risks of that investment company’s investments. The Fund, as a holder of the securities of other investment companies, will bear its pro rata portion of the other investment companies’ expenses, including advisory fees. These expenses are in addition to the direct expenses of the Fund’s own operations. As a result, the cost of investing in investment company shares may exceed the costs of investing directly in its underlying investments. In addition, securities of other investment companies may be leveraged. As a result, the Fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities and therefore magnify the Fund’s leverage risk.

With respect to ETF’s, an ETF that is based on a specific index may not be able to replicate and maintain exactly the composition and relative weighting of securities in the index. The value of an ETF based on a specific index is subject to change as the values of its respective component assets fluctuate according to market volatility. ETFs typically rely on a limited pool of authorized participants to create and redeem shares, and an active trading market for ETF shares may not develop or be maintained. The market value of shares of ETFs and funds may differ from their NAV.

Reinvestment risk is the risk that income from the Fund’s portfolio will decline if and when the Fund invests the proceeds from matured, traded or called municipal securities at market interest rates that are below the portfolio’s current earnings rate. A decline in income could affect the common shares’ market price, NAV and/or a common shareholder’s overall returns.

Illiquid investments are investments that are not readily marketable. These investments may include restricted investments, including Rule 144A securities, which cannot be resold to the public without an effective registration statement under the 1933 Act, or if they are unregistered may be sold only in a privately negotiated transaction or pursuant to an available exemption from registration. The Fund may not be able to readily dispose of such investments at prices that approximate those at which the Fund could sell such investments if they were more widely traded and, as a result of such illiquidity, the Fund may have to sell other investments or engage in borrowing transactions if necessary to raise cash to meet its obligations. Limited liquidity can also affect the market price of investments, thereby adversely affecting the Fund’s NAV and ability to make dividend distributions. The financial markets in general have in recent years experienced periods of extreme secondary market supply and demand imbalance, resulting in a loss of liquidity during which market prices were suddenly and substantially below traditional measures of intrinsic value. During such periods, some investments could be sold only at arbitrary prices and with substantial losses. Periods of such market dislocation may occur again at any time.

Municipal leases and certificates of participation involve special risks not normally associated with general obligations or revenue bonds. Leases and installment purchase or conditional sale contracts (which normally provide for title to the leased asset to pass eventually to the governmental issuer) have evolved as a means for governmental issuers to acquire property and equipment without meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements for the issuance of debt. The debt issuance limitations are deemed to be inapplicable because of the inclusion in many leases or contracts of clauses that relieve the governmental issuer of any obligation to make future payments under the lease or contract unless money is appropriated for such purpose by the appropriate legislative body. In addition, such leases or contracts may be subject to the temporary abatement of payments in the event that the governmental issuer is prevented from maintaining occupancy of the leased premises or utilizing the leased equipment. Although the obligations may be secured by the leased equipment or facilities, the disposition of the property in the event of or foreclosure might prove difficult, time consuming and costly, and may result in a delay in recovering or the failure to fully recover the Fund’s original investment. In the event of the issuer would be in default and taking ownership of the assets may be a remedy available to the Fund, although the Fund does not anticipate that such a remedy would normally be pursued.

 

Certificates of participation involve the same risks as the underlying municipal leases. In addition, the Fund may be dependent upon the municipal authority issuing the certificates of participation to exercise remedies with respect to the underlying securities. Certificates of participation also entail a risk of default or bankruptcy, both of the issuer of the municipal lease and also the municipal agency issuing the certificate of participation.

In addition to the general risks associated with investments in debt securities, holders of structured products bear risks of the underlying investments, index or reference obligation and are subject to counterparty, valuation and liquidity risk. The Fund may have the right to receive payments to which it is entitled only from the structured product, and generally does not have direct rights against the issuer or the entity that sold assets to the special purpose trust. While certain structured products enable the investor to acquire interests in a pool of securities without the brokerage and other expenses associated with directly holding the same securities, investors in structured products generally pay their share of the structured product’s administrative and other expenses. When investing in structured products, it is impossible to predict whether the underlying index or prices of the underlying securities will rise or fall, but prices of the underlying indices and securities (and, therefore, the prices of structured products) will be influenced by the same types of political and economic events that affect particular issuers of securities and capital markets generally. Structured products may also be less liquid, more volatile and more difficult to price than other types of securities.

Like most derivative instruments, the use of swaps is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. In addition, the use of swaps requires an understanding by the investment adviser and/or the of not only the referenced asset, rate or index, but also of the swap itself. If the investment adviser and/ or the is incorrect in its forecasts of default risks, market spreads or other applicable factors or events, the investment performance of the Fund would diminish compared with what it would have been if these techniques were not used.

Tobacco settlement bonds are municipal securities that are backed solely by expected revenues to be derived from lawsuits involving tobacco related deaths and illnesses which were settled between certain states and American tobacco companies. Tobacco settlement bonds are secured by an issuing state’s proportionate share in the Master Settlement Agreement, an agreement between 46 states and nearly all of the U.S. tobacco manufacturers (the “MSA”). Under the terms of the MSA, the actual amount of future settlement payments by tobacco-manufacturers is dependent on many factors, including, among other things, reduced cigarette consumption. Payments made by tobacco manufacturers could be negatively impacted if the decrease in tobacco consumption is significantly greater than the forecasted decline.

Unrated securities determined by the Fund’s investment adviser to be of comparable quality to rated investments which the Fund may purchase may pay a higher dividend or interest rate than such rated investments and be subject to a greater risk of illiquidity or price changes. Less public information is typically available about unrated investments or issuers than rated investments or issuers. Some unrated securities may not have an active trading market or may be difficult to value, which means the Fund might have difficulty selling them promptly at an acceptable price. To the extent that the Fund invests in unrated securities, the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objectives will be more dependent on the investment adviser’s credit analysis than would be the case when the Fund invests in rated securities.

Certain securities in which the Fund invests typically are valued by a pricing service utilizing a range of market-based inputs and assumptions, including readily available market quotations obtained from broker-dealers making markets in such instruments, cash flows and transactions for comparable instruments. There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to sell a portfolio security at the price established by the pricing service, which could result in a loss to the Fund. Pricing services generally price securities assuming orderly transactions of an institutional “round lot” size, but some trades may occur in smaller, “odd lot” sizes, often at lower prices than institutional round lot trades. Different pricing services may incorporate different assumptions and inputs into their valuation methodologies, potentially resulting in different values for the same securities. As a result, if the Fund were to change pricing services, or if the Fund’s pricing service were to change its valuation methodology, there could be a material impact, either positive or negative, on the Fund’s NAV.

When-issued and delayed-delivery transactions may involve an element of risk because no interest accrues on the securities prior to settlement and, because securities are subject to market fluctuations, the value of the securities at time of delivery may be less (or more) than their cost. A separate account of the Fund will be established with its custodian consisting of cash equivalents or liquid securities having a market value at all times at least equal to the amount of any delayed payment commitment.

Because interest on zero coupon bonds is not paid on a current basis, the values of zero coupon bonds will be more volatile in response to interest rate changes than the values of bonds that distribute income regularly. Although zero coupon bonds generate income for accounting purposes, they do not produce cash flow, and thus the Fund could be forced to liquidate securities at an inopportune time in order to generate cash to distribute to shareholders as required by tax laws.

The Declaration of Trust and the Fund’s include provisions that could limit the ability of other entities or persons to acquire control of the Fund or convert the Fund to status. These provisions could have the effect of depriving the Common Shareholders of opportunities to sell their Common Shares at a premium over the then-current market price of the Common Shares.

Changes in the credit quality of the companies that serve as the Fund’s counterparties with respect to derivatives or other transactions supported by another party’s credit will affect the value of those instruments. Certain entities that have served as counterparties in the markets for these transactions have incurred or may incur in the future significant financial hardships including bankruptcy and losses as a result of exposure to mortgages and other lower-quality credit investments. As a result, such hardships have reduced these entities’ capital and called into question their continued ability to perform their obligations under such transactions. By using such derivatives or other transactions, the Fund assumes the risk that its counterparties could experience similar financial hardships. In the event of the insolvency of a counterparty, the Fund may sustain losses or be unable to liquidate a derivatives position.

The Fund and its service providers are susceptible to operational and information security risk resulting from cyber incidents. Cyber incidents refer to both intentional attacks and unintentional events including: processing errors, human errors, technical errors including computer glitches and system malfunctions, inadequate or failed internal or external processes, market-wide technical-related disruptions,

 

unauthorized access to digital systems (through “hacking” or malicious software coding), computer viruses, and cyber-attacks which shut down, disable, slow or otherwise disrupt operations, business processes or website access or functionality (including denial of service attacks). Cyber incidents could adversely impact the Fund and cause the Fund to incur financial loss and expense, as well as face exposure to regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures. In addition, substantial costs may be incurred in order to prevent any cyber incidents in the future. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cybersecurity plans and systems put in place by its service providers or any other third parties whose operations may affect the Fund.

The Fund may be more sensitive to adverse economic, business or political developments if it invests a substantial portion of its assets in the municipal securities of similar projects (such as those relating to the education, health care, housing, transportation, or utilities industries), industrial development bonds, or in particular types of municipal securities (such as general obligation bonds, private activity bonds or moral obligation bonds). Such developments may adversely affect a specific industry or local political and economic conditions, and thus may lead to declines in the creditworthiness and value of such municipal securities.

The Fund has elected to be treated and intends to qualify each year as a Regulated Investment Company (“RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). As a RIC, the Fund is not expected to be subject to U.S. federal income tax to the extent that it distributes its investment company taxable income and net capital gains. To qualify for the special tax treatment available to a RIC, the Fund must comply with certain investment, distribution, and diversification requirements. Under certain circumstances, the Fund may be forced to sell certain assets when it is not advantageous in order to meet these requirements, which may reduce the Fund’s overall return. If the Fund fails to meet any of these requirements, subject to the opportunity to cure such failures under applicable provisions of the Code, the Fund’s income would be subject to a double level of U.S. federal income tax. The Fund’s income, including its net capital gain, would first be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate rates, even if such income were distributed to shareholders and, second, all distributions by the Fund from earnings and profits, including distributions of net capital gain (if any), would be taxable to shareholders as dividends.

National and regional economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country, region or market might adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or market. Changes in legal, political, regulatory, tax and economic conditions may cause fluctuations in markets and asset prices around the world, which could negatively impact the value of the Fund’s investments. Major economic or political disruptions, particularly in large economies, may have global negative economic and market repercussions. Additionally, instability in various countries, war, natural and environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illnesses or other public health emergencies, terrorist attacks in the United States and around the world, growing social and political discord in the United States, debt crises, the response of the international community—through economic sanctions and otherwise—to international events, further downgrade of U.S. government securities, changes in the U.S. president or political shifts in Congress, trade disputes and other similar events may adversely affect the global economy and the markets and issuers in which the Fund invests. These events could reduce consumer demand or economic output, result in market closure, travel restrictions or quarantines, and generally have a significant impact on the global economy. These events could also impair the information technology and other operational systems upon which the Fund’s service providers, including the Fund’s rely, and could otherwise disrupt the ability of employees of the Fund’s service providers to perform essential tasks on behalf of the Fund.

The Fund does not know and cannot predict how long the securities markets may be affected by these events, and the future impact of these and similar events on the global economy and securities markets is uncertain. The Fund may be adversely affected by abrogation of international agreements and national laws which have created the market instruments in which the Fund may invest, failure of the designated national and international authorities to enforce compliance with the same laws and agreements, failure of local, national and international organizations to carry out the duties prescribed to them under the relevant agreements, revisions of these laws and agreements which dilute their effectiveness or conflicting interpretation of provisions of the same laws and agreements.

Governmental and quasi-governmental authorities and regulators throughout the world have in the past responded to major economic disruptions with a variety of significant fiscal and monetary policy changes, including but not limited to, direct capital infusions into companies, new monetary programs and dramatically lower interest rates. An unexpected or quick reversal of these policies, or the ineffectiveness of these policies, could increase volatility in securities markets, which could adversely affect the Fund’s investments.

An investment in common shares is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount that you invest. Common shares frequently trade at a discount to their NAV. An investment in common shares represents an indirect investment in the securities owned by the Fund. Common shares at any point in time may be worth less than your original investment, even after taking into account the reinvestment of Fund dividends and distributions.

At any time after the date of this report, legislation or additional regulations may be enacted that could negatively affect the assets of the Fund, securities held by the Fund or the issuers of such securities. Fund shareholders may incur increased costs resulting from such legislation or additional regulation. There can be no assurance that future legislation, regulation or deregulation will not have a material adverse effect on the Fund or will not impair the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objectives.

The use of leverage creates special risks for common shareholders, including potential interest rate risks and the likelihood of greater volatility of NAV and market price of, and distributions on, the common shares. The use of leverage in a declining market will likely cause a greater decline in the Fund’s NAV, which may result at a greater decline of the common share price, than if the Fund were not to have used leverage.

Certain types of leverage may result in the Fund being subject to certain covenants, asset coverage or other portfolio composition limits by its lenders, debt or preferred securities purchasers, rating agencies that may rate the debt or preferred securities, or reverse repurchase counterparties. Such limitations may be more stringent than those imposed by the 1940 Act and may impact whether the Fund is able to maintain its desired amount of leverage. In addition, whenever the Fund incurs borrowings and/or preferred shares are outstanding, Common Shareholders will not be entitled to receive any cash distributions from the Fund unless all interest on such borrowings has been paid and all accumulated dividends on

 

preferred shares have been paid, unless asset coverage (as defined in the 1940 Act) with respect to any borrowings would be at least 300% after giving effect to the distributions and asset coverage (as defined in the 1940 Act) with respect to preferred shares would be at least 200% after giving effect to the distributions.

The Fund will pay (and common shareholders will bear) any costs and expenses relating to the Fund’s use of leverage, which will result in a reduction in the Fund’s NAV. The investment adviser may, based on its assessment of market conditions and composition of the Fund’s holdings, increase or decrease the amount of leverage. Such changes may impact the Fund’s distributions and the price of the common shares in the secondary market. There is no assurance that the Fund’s use of leverage will be successful.

The Fund may seek to refinance its leverage over time, in the ordinary course, as current forms of leverage mature or it is otherwise desirable to refinance; however, the form that such leverage will take cannot be predicted at this time. If the Fund is unable to replace existing leverage on comparable terms, its costs of leverage will increase. Accordingly, there is no assurance that the use of leverage may result in a higher yield or return to common shareholders.

The amount of fees paid to the investment adviser and the for investment advisory services will be higher if the Fund uses leverage because the fees will be calculated based on the Fund’s Managed Assets - this may create an incentive for the investment adviser and the to leverage the Fund or increase the Fund’s leverage.

Shares of investment companies like the Fund frequently trade at prices lower than their NAV. This characteristic is a risk separate and distinct from the risk that the Fund’s NAV could decrease as a result of investment activities. Whether investors will realize gains or losses upon the sale of the common shares will depend not upon the Fund’s NAV but entirely upon whether the market price of the common shares at the time of sale is above or below the investor’s purchase price for the common shares. Furthermore, management may have difficulty meeting the Fund’s investment objectives during periods of market turmoil and as investors’ perceptions regarding funds or their underlying investments change. Because the market price of the common shares will be determined by factors such as relative supply of and demand for the common shares in the market, general market and economic circumstances, and other factors beyond the control of the Fund, the Fund cannot predict whether the common shares will trade at, below or above NAV. The common shares are designed primarily for long-term investors, and you should not view the Fund as a vehicle for short-term trading purposes.

Periods of unusually high financial market volatility and restrictive credit conditions, at times limited to a particular sector or geographic area, have occurred in the past and may be expected to recur in the future. Some countries, including the United States, have adopted or have signaled protectionist trade measures, including the imposition of tariffs, relaxation of the financial industry regulations that followed the financial crisis, and/or reductions to corporate taxes. The scope of these policy changes is still developing, but the equity and debt markets may react strongly to expectations of change, which could increase volatility, particularly if a resulting policy runs counter to the market’s expectations. The outcome of such changes cannot be foreseen at the present time. In addition, geopolitical and other risks, including environmental and public health risks, may add to instability in the world economy and markets generally. As a result of increasingly interconnected global economies and financial markets, the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by events impacting a country or region, regardless of whether the Fund invests in issuers located in or with significant exposure to such country or region.

Ukraine has experienced ongoing military conflict, most recently commencing in February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine; this conflict may expand and military attacks could occur elsewhere in Europe. Europe has also been struggling with mass migration from the Middle East and Africa. The ultimate effects of these events and other socio-political or geographical issues are not known but could profoundly affect global economies and markets. Additionally, in October 2023 armed conflict broke out between Israel and the militant group Hamas after Hamas infiltrated Israel’s southern border from the Gaza Strip. Israel has since declared war against Hamas and this conflict has escalated into a greater regional conflict among Israel, Iran, and Hamas and other militant groups. These conflicts have caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The ultimate effects of these events, including the United States’ potential involvement in any global conflict(s), along with other socio-political or geographical issues are not known but could profoundly affect global economies and markets.

The ongoing trade war between China and the United States, including the imposition of tariffs by each country on the other country’s products, has created a tense political environment. These actions may trigger a significant reduction in international trade, adverse effects in the supply of certain manufactured goods, substantial adverse price changes for goods and possible failure of individual companies and/or large segments of China’s export industry and U.S. importers, which could have a negative impact on the Fund’s performance. U.S. companies that source material and goods from China and those that make large amounts of sales in China would are vulnerable to an escalation of trade tensions. Beginning in early 2025, the United States also imposed tariffs on other countries, including Mexico and Canada. The possibility of additional tariffs being imposed or the outbreak of a trade war may adversely impact U.S. and international markets. Uncertainty regarding the outcome of the trade tensions and the potential for a trade war could cause the U.S. dollar to decline further. Events such as these and their consequences are difficult to predict and it is unclear whether further tariffs may be imposed or other escalating actions may be taken in the future. Additionally, political uncertainty regarding U.S. policy, including the U.S. government’s approach to trade, may impact the markets and the Fund’s performance.

The U.S. Federal Reserve (the “Fed”) has in the past sharply raised interest rates, and has signaled an intention to maintain relatively higher interest rates until current inflation levels with the Fed’s long-term inflation target. Changing interest rate environments impact the various sectors of the economy in different ways. For example, in March 2023, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) was appointed receiver for each of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, the second- and third-largest bank failures in U.S. history, which failures may be attributable, in part, to rising interest rates. Bank failures may have a destabilizing impact on the broader banking industry or markets generally.

The impact of these developments in the near- and long-term is unknown and could have additional adverse effects on economies, financial markets and asset valuations around the world.

 

A reverse repurchase agreement, in economic essence, constitutes a securitized borrowing by the Fund from the security purchaser. The Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements for the purpose of creating a leveraged investment exposure and, as such, their usage involves essentially the same risks associated with a leveraging strategy generally since the proceeds from these agreements may be invested in additional portfolio securities. Reverse repurchase agreements tend to be short-term in tenor, and there can be no assurances that the purchaser (lender) will commit to extend or “roll” a given agreement upon its agreed-upon repurchase date or an alternative purchaser can be identified on similar terms. Reverse repurchase agreements also involve the risk that the purchaser fails to return the securities as agreed upon, files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent. The Fund may be restricted from taking normal portfolio actions during such time, could be subject to loss to the extent that the proceeds of the agreement are less than the value of securities subject to the agreement and may experience adverse tax consequences.

 

The following table shows for the periods indicated: (i) the high and low sales prices for the Common Shares reported as of the end of the day on the NYSE, (ii) the corresponding NAV per share; and (iii) the premium/(discount) to NAV per share at which the Common Shares were trading as of such date.

NBB

The following table shows, as of March 31, 2026 the Fund’s: (i) NAV per Common Share, (ii) market price, (iii) percentage of premium/(discount) to NAV per Common Share and, (iv) net assets attributable to Common Shares.

 

Shares of investment companies, including the Fund, may frequently trade at prices lower than NAV, the Fund’s Board of Trustees (Board) has currently determined that, at least annually, it will consider action that might be taken to reduce or eliminate any material discount from NAV in respect of Common Shares, which may include the repurchase of such shares in the open market or in private transactions, the making of a tender offer for such shares at NAV, or the conversion of the Fund to an investment company. The Fund cannot assure you that its Board will decide to take any of these actions, or that share repurchases or tender offers will actually reduce market discount.

BABs are taxable municipal obligations issued pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that are subject to federal subsidies of up to 35% of the interest payable on the bonds in the form of direct subsidies to the bond issuer or refundable tax credits to the bond holder. BABs are not guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. While the federal subsidy continues for the life of the bonds, provided that the issuer continues to meet all applicable program eligibility requirements, there is no assurance that the federal subsidy will be continued at original levels. Under the sequestration process under the Budget Control Act of 2011, automatic spending cuts that became effective on March 1, 2013 reduced the federal subsidy for BABs and other subsidized taxable municipal bonds. The reduced federal subsidy has been extended through 2030. The subsidy payments were reduced by 6.6% in 2018 and 6.2% in 2019, 5.9% in 2020 and 5.7% between 2021 and 2030. Further decreases in the level of the subsidy may impair the ability of issuers to make interest payments when due.

BABs were an alternative form of financing to state and local governments whose primary means for accessing the capital markets had been through issuance of tax free municipal bonds. Pursuant to the terms of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the issuance of BABs ceased on December 31, 2010. As a result, the availability of such bonds is limited and there can be no assurance that BABs will be actively traded. The market for the bonds and/or their liquidity may be negatively affected. Changes to the U.S. federal income tax laws or other federal legislation may affect the demand for and supply of taxable municipal bonds, including BABs, and/or trigger extraordinary call features of the BABs. The extraordinary call features of certain BABs permit early redemption at par value, which, if triggered, could result in potential losses for the Fund if such BABs were purchased at prices above par, and may require the Fund to reinvest redemption proceeds in lower-yielding securities.

BABs involve similar risks as traditional municipal bonds, including credit, call and market risk. Because certain states, including California, New York, Illinois, Texas and Ohio, were heavy issuers of BABs, the Fund may have a greater exposure to the economic or other factors affecting such states than a more diversified national municipal bond fund. In addition, should a BAB’s issuer fail to continue to meet the applicable requirements, it is possible that such issuer may not receive federal cash subsidy payments, impairing the issuer’s ability to make scheduled interest payments. BABs may be subject to greater reinvestment risk, which is the risk that the Fund is unable to invest in bonds with similar yields, as BABs with attractive above-market purchase yields mature or are called.

Issuers of municipal securities in which the Fund may invest may default on their obligations, including to pay principal or interest when due. This would result in a reduction of income to the Fund, a reduction in the value of a municipal security experiencing and potentially a decrease in the net asset value (“NAV”) of the Fund. To the extent that the credit rating assigned to a municipal security in the Fund’s portfolio is downgraded, the market price and liquidity of such security may be adversely affected.

Investments in “distressed” securities, meaning those whose issuers are experiencing financial difficulties or distress at the time the security is acquired, present a substantial risk of future default. In the event distressed securities become defaulted securities or the Fund otherwise holds defaulted securities, the Fund may incur losses, including additional expenses, to the extent it is required to seek recovery upon a default in the payment of principal or interest on those securities. In any reorganization or liquidation proceeding relating to a portfolio security, the Fund may lose its entire investment or may be required to accept cash or securities with a value less than its original investment. Defaulted or distressed securities may be subject to restrictions on resale.

The use of derivatives involves additional risks and transaction costs which could leave the Fund in a worse position than if it had not used these instruments. Derivative instruments can be used to acquire or to transfer the risk and returns of a municipal security or other asset without buying or selling the municipal security or asset. These instruments may entail investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest. As a result, a small investment in derivatives can result in losses that greatly exceed the original investment. Derivatives can be highly volatile, illiquid and difficult to value. An derivative transaction between the Fund and a counterparty that is not cleared through a central counterparty also involves the risk that a loss may be sustained as a result of the failure of the counterparty to the contract to make

 

required payments. The payment obligation for a cleared derivative transaction is guaranteed by a central counterparty, which exposes the Fund to the creditworthiness of the central counterparty. The use of certain derivatives involves leverage, which can cause the Fund’s portfolio to be more volatile than if the portfolio had not been leveraged. Leverage can significantly magnify the effect of price movements of the reference asset, disproportionately increasing the Fund’s losses and reducing the Fund’s opportunities for gains when the reference asset changes in unexpected ways. In some instances, such leverage could result in losses that exceed the original amount invested.

It is possible that regulatory or other developments in the derivatives market, including changes in government regulation, could adversely impact the Fund’s ability to invest in certain derivatives or successfully use derivative instruments.

Duration is the sensitivity, expressed in years, of the price of a fixed-income security to changes in the general level of interest rates (or yields). Securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to interest rate (or yield) changes, which typically corresponds to increased volatility and risk, than securities with shorter durations. For example, if a security or portfolio has a duration of three years and interest rates increase by 1%, then the security or portfolio would decline in value by approximately 3%. Duration differs from maturity in that it considers potential changes to interest rates, and a security’s coupon payments, yield, price and par value and call features, in addition to the amount of time until the security matures. The duration of a security will be expected to change over time with changes in market factors and time to maturity.

The Fund may use certain transactions for hedging the portfolio’s exposure to credit risk and the risk of increases in interest rates, which could result in poorer overall performance for the Fund. There may be an imperfect correlation between price movements of the futures and options and price movements of the portfolio securities being hedged.

If the Fund engages in futures transactions or in the writing of options on futures, it will be required to maintain initial margin and maintenance margin and may be required to make daily variation margin payments in accordance with applicable rules of the exchanges and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”). If the Fund purchases a financial futures contract or a call option or writes a put option in order to hedge the anticipated purchase of municipal securities, and if the Fund fails to complete the anticipated purchase transaction, the Fund may have a loss or a gain on the futures or options transaction that will not be offset by price movements in the municipal securities that were the subject of the anticipatory hedge. There can be no assurance that a liquid market will exist at a time when the Fund seeks to close out a derivatives or futures or a futures option position, and the Fund would remain obligated to meet margin requirements until the position is closed.

The Fund’s use of derivatives or other transactions to reduce risk involves costs and will be subject to the investment adviser’s and/or the ability to predict correctly changes in the relationships of such hedge instruments to the Fund’s portfolio holdings or other factors. No assurance can be given that the investment adviser’s and/or the judgment in this respect will be correct, and no assurance can be given that the Fund will enter into hedging or other transactions at times or under circumstances in which it may be advisable to do so. Hedging activities may reduce the Fund’s opportunities for gain by offsetting the positive effects of favorable price movements and may result in net losses.

Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the real value of the common shares and distributions can decline. Currently, inflation rates are elevated relative to normal market conditions and could increase.

In general, income on inverse floating rate securities will decrease when short-term interest rates increase and increase when short-term interest rates decrease. Investments in inverse floating rate securities may subject the Fund to the risks of reduced or eliminated interest payments and losses of principal. In addition, inverse floating rate securities may increase or decrease in value at a greater rate than the underlying interest rate, which effectively leverages the Fund’s investment. As a result, the market value of such securities generally will be more volatile than that of fixed rate securities.

The Fund may invest in inverse floating rate securities issued by special purpose trusts that have recourse to the Fund. In such instances, the Fund may be at risk of loss that exceeds its investment in the inverse floating rate securities.

The Fund may be required to sell its inverse floating rate securities at less than favorable prices, or liquidate other Fund portfolio holdings in certain circumstances, including, but not limited to, the following:

 

 

 

Inventories of municipal securities held by brokers and dealers have decreased in recent years, lessening their ability to make a market in these securities. This reduction in market making capacity has the potential to decrease the Fund’s ability to buy or sell municipal securities at attractive prices, and increase municipal security price volatility and trading costs, particularly during periods of economic or market stress. In addition, recent federal banking regulations may cause certain dealers to reduce their inventories of municipal securities, which may further decrease the Fund’s ability to buy or sell municipal securities. As a result, the Fund may be forced to accept a lower price to sell a security, to sell other securities to raise cash, or to give up an investment opportunity, any of which could have a negative effect on performance. If the Fund needed to sell large blocks of municipal securities to raise cash to meet its obligations, those sales could further reduce the municipal securities’ prices and hurt performance.

Investing in an investment company exposes the Fund to all of the risks of that investment company’s investments. The Fund, as a holder of the securities of other investment companies, will bear its pro rata portion of the other investment companies’ expenses, including advisory fees. These expenses are in addition to the direct expenses of the Fund’s own operations. As a result, the cost of investing in investment company shares may exceed the costs of investing directly in its underlying investments. In addition, securities of other investment companies may be leveraged. As a result, the Fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities and therefore magnify the Fund’s leverage risk.

With respect to ETF’s, an ETF that is based on a specific index may not be able to replicate and maintain exactly the composition and relative weighting of securities in the index. The value of an ETF based on a specific index is subject to change as the values of its respective component assets fluctuate according to market volatility. ETFs typically rely on a limited pool of authorized participants to create and redeem shares, and an active trading market for ETF shares may not develop or be maintained. The market value of shares of ETFs and funds may differ from their NAV.

Illiquid investments are investments that are not readily marketable. These investments may include restricted investments, including Rule 144A securities, which cannot be resold to the public without an effective registration statement under the 1933 Act, or if they are unregistered may be sold only in a privately negotiated transaction or pursuant to an available exemption from registration. The Fund may not be able to readily dispose of such investments at prices that approximate those at which the Fund could sell such investments if they were more widely traded and, as a result of such illiquidity, the Fund may have to sell other investments or engage in borrowing transactions if necessary to raise cash to meet its obligations. Limited liquidity can also affect the market price of investments, thereby adversely affecting the Fund’s NAV and ability to make dividend distributions. The financial markets in general have in recent years experienced periods of extreme secondary market supply and demand imbalance, resulting in a loss of liquidity during which market prices were suddenly and substantially below traditional measures of intrinsic value. During such periods, some investments could be sold only at arbitrary prices and with substantial losses. Periods of such market dislocation may occur again at any time.

In addition to the general risks associated with investments in debt securities, holders of structured products bear risks of the underlying investments, index or reference obligation and are subject to counterparty, valuation and liquidity risk. The Fund may have the right to receive payments to which it is entitled only from the structured product, and generally does not have direct rights against the issuer or the entity that sold assets to the special purpose trust. While certain structured products enable the investor to acquire interests in a pool of securities without the brokerage and other expenses associated with directly holding the same securities, investors in structured products generally pay their share of the structured product’s administrative and other expenses. When investing in structured products, it is impossible to predict whether the underlying index or prices of the underlying securities will rise or fall, but prices of the underlying indices and securities (and, therefore, the prices of structured products) will be influenced by the same types of political and economic events that affect particular issuers of securities and capital markets generally. Structured products may also be less liquid, more volatile and more difficult to price than other types of securities.

Tobacco settlement bonds are municipal securities that are backed solely by expected revenues to be derived from lawsuits involving tobacco related deaths and illnesses which were settled between certain states and American tobacco companies. Tobacco settlement bonds are secured by an issuing state’s proportionate share in the Master Settlement Agreement, an agreement between 46 states and nearly all of the U.S. tobacco manufacturers (the “MSA”). Under the terms of the MSA, the actual amount of future settlement payments by tobacco-manufacturers is dependent on many factors, including, among other things, reduced cigarette consumption. Payments made by tobacco manufacturers could be negatively impacted if the decrease in tobacco consumption is significantly greater than the forecasted decline.

Certain securities in which the Fund invests typically are valued by a pricing service utilizing a range of market-based inputs and assumptions, including readily available market quotations obtained from broker-dealers making markets in such instruments, cash flows and transactions for comparable instruments. There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to sell a portfolio security at the price established by the pricing service, which could result in a loss to the Fund. Pricing services generally price securities assuming orderly transactions of an institutional “round lot” size, but some trades may occur in smaller, “odd lot” sizes, often at lower prices than institutional round lot trades. Different pricing services may incorporate different assumptions and inputs into their valuation methodologies, potentially resulting in different values for the same securities. As a result, if the Fund were to change pricing services, or if the Fund’s pricing service were to change its valuation methodology, there could be a material impact, either positive or negative, on the Fund’s NAV.

Because interest on zero coupon bonds is not paid on a current basis, the values of zero coupon bonds will be more volatile in response to interest rate changes than the values of bonds that distribute income regularly. Although zero coupon bonds generate income for accounting purposes, they do not produce cash flow, and thus the Fund could be forced to liquidate securities at an inopportune time in order to generate cash to distribute to shareholders as required by tax laws.

Changes in the credit quality of the companies that serve as the Fund’s counterparties with respect to derivatives or other transactions supported by another party’s credit will affect the value of those instruments. Certain entities that have served as counterparties in the markets for these transactions have incurred or may incur in the future significant financial hardships including bankruptcy and losses as a result of exposure to mortgages and other lower-quality credit investments. As a result, such hardships have reduced these entities’ capital and called into question their continued ability to perform their obligations under such transactions. By using such derivatives or other transactions, the Fund assumes the risk that its counterparties could experience similar financial hardships. In the event of the insolvency of a counterparty, the Fund may sustain losses or be unable to liquidate a derivatives position.

The Fund may be more sensitive to adverse economic, business or political developments if it invests a substantial portion of its assets in the municipal securities of similar projects (such as those relating to the education, health care, housing, transportation, or utilities industries), industrial development bonds, or in particular types of municipal securities (such as general obligation bonds, private activity bonds or moral obligation bonds). Such developments may adversely affect a specific industry or local political and economic conditions, and thus may lead to declines in the creditworthiness and value of such municipal securities.