on a large scale,
which could adversely affect the price and liquidity of fixed-income securities generally and could also result in increased redemptions from the fund. Increased redemptions could cause the
fund to sell securities at inopportune times or depressed prices and result in further losses. Inflation and interest rates have been volatile and may increase in the future. Interest rate increases in
the future may cause the value of fixed-income securities to decrease and, conversely, interest rate reductions may cause the value of fixed-income securities to increase.
High-Yield Debt Securities – High-yield debt securities, commonly referred to as “junk” bonds, are securities
that are rated below “investment grade” or are of comparable quality. Changes
in interest rates, the market’s perception of the issuers, the creditworthiness of
the issuers and negative perceptions of the junk bond market generally may significantly affect the value of these bonds. Junk bonds are considered speculative, tend to be volatile, typically have a higher risk of default,
tend to be less liquid and more difficult to value than higher grade securities, and may result in losses for the fund.
Preferred Stock – Preferred stocks may pay fixed or adjustable rates of return. Preferred stocks are subject to
issuer-specific and market risks applicable generally to equity securities, but also risks
associated with fixed-income securities, such as interest rate risk. A company’s preferred stocks generally pay dividends only after the company makes required payments to creditors, including holders of its bonds and other debt.
As a result, the market prices of preferred stocks are typically more sensitive to changes in the issuer's creditworthiness than are the prices of debt securities. The market value of preferred stocks
generally decreases when interest rates rise.
Fixed-Income Securities – Risks of fixed-income securities include credit risk, interest rate risk, counterparty risk,
prepayment risk, extension risk, valuation risk, and liquidity risk. The value of
fixed-income securities may go up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably, due to general market conditions, such as real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions, tariffs and trade disruptions, wars, social
unrest, inflation, changes in interest rates, lack of liquidity in the bond markets or adverse investor sentiment. In addition, the value of a fixed-income security may decline if the issuer or other obligor
of the security fails to pay principal and/or interest, otherwise defaults or has its credit rating downgraded or is perceived to be less creditworthy, or the credit quality or value of any underlying
assets declines. If the value of fixed-income securities owned by the fund falls, the value of your investment will go down. The fund may lose its entire investment in the fixed-income securities of an
issuer.
Credit – If an issuer or other obligor (such as a party providing insurance or other credit enhancement)
of a security held by the fund or a counterparty to a financial contract with the fund is
unable or unwilling to meet its financial obligations, or is downgraded or perceived to be
less creditworthy (whether by market participants, ratings agencies, pricing services or otherwise), or if the value of any underlying assets declines, the value of your investment will typically decline. A
decline may be rapid and/or significant, particularly in certain market environments. In addition, the fund may incur costs and may be hindered or delayed in enforcing its rights against an issuer,
obligor or counterparty.
Liquidity – The fund may make investments that are illiquid
or that become illiquid after purchase. Illiquid investments can be difficult to value, may
trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wide fluctuations in value. Liquidity risk may be magnified in rising interest rate or volatile environments. If the fund is
forced to sell an illiquid investment to meet redemption requests or other cash needs, the fund may be forced to sell at a substantial loss or may not be able to sell at all. Liquidity of particular
investments, or even entire asset classes, including U.S. Treasury securities, can deteriorate rapidly, particularly during times of market turmoil, and those investments may be difficult or impossible for
the fund to sell. This may prevent the fund from limiting losses.
Counterparty – The fund could lose money if the counterparties
to derivatives, repurchase agreements and/or other financial contracts entered into for the
fund do not fulfill their contractual obligations. In addition, the fund may incur costs and may be hindered or delayed in enforcing its rights against a counterparty. These risks may be greater to the
extent the fund has more contractual exposure to a counterparty.
Extension – When interest rates rise, payments of
fixed-income securities, including asset- and mortgage-backed securities, may occur more
slowly than anticipated, causing their market prices to decline.
Prepayment or Call – Many issuers have a right to prepay
their fixed-income securities. If this happens, the fund will not benefit from the rise in
the market price of the securities that normally accompanies a decline in interest rates and may be forced to reinvest the prepayment proceeds in securities with lower yields.
Sector Focus – To the extent the fund invests more heavily
in a particular market sector, the value of the fund’s shares will be especially
sensitive to developments that significantly affect that sector and there is increased risk that the fund will lose significant value if conditions adversely affect that sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may
perform differently, from the broader market.
Financial Sector – Companies in the financial services sector
are subject to extensive governmental regulation and their profitability is largely
dependent on the availability and cost of capital and can fluctuate significantly when interest rates change, changes in the rate of consumer or corporate debt defaults or due to increased competition. Credit rating
downgrades resulting from financial difficulties of borrowers, decreased liquidity in credit markets, and financial losses associated with investment activities can negatively impact the sector. Insurance
companies may be subject to severe price competition. Adverse economic, business or political
developments could adversely affect financial institutions engaged in mortgage finance or
other lending or investing activities directly or indirectly connected to the value of real estate.
Management – The value of your investment may go down if the investment manager’s or sub-adviser's judgments and decisions are incorrect or otherwise do
not produce the desired results, or if the investment strategy does not work as intended. You may also suffer losses if there are imperfections, errors or limitations in the quantitative, analytic or other
tools, resources, information and data used, investment techniques applied, or the analyses employed or relied on, by the investment manager or sub-adviser, if such tools, resources, information or data are used incorrectly or