country or region will adversely impact
markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may
underperform in comparison to securities in general financial markets, a particular financial
market or other asset classes due to a number of factors, including inflation (or expectations for
inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for
particular products or resources, market instability, financial system instability, debt crises and
downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, trade wars, retaliatory trade measures, sanctions and other trade
barriers, supply chain disruptions, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control
programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters
or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics or the threat or
potential of one or more such factors and occurrences.
Asset-Backed, Mortgage-Related and Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk. Mortgage-related and asset-backed securities are subject to certain other risks, including prepayment and
call risks. During periods of difficult or frozen credit markets, significant changes in interest
rates, or deteriorating economic conditions, mortgage-related and asset-backed securities may decline in value, face valuation difficulties, become more volatile and/or become illiquid. When mortgages and other
obligations are prepaid and when securities are called, the Fund may have to reinvest in
securities with a lower yield or fail to recover additional amounts (i.e., premiums) paid for securities with higher interest rates, resulting in an unexpected capital loss and/or a decrease in the amount of dividends
and yield. In periods of either rising or declining interest rates, the Fund may be subject to
extension risk, and may receive principal later than expected. As a result, in periods of rising interest rates, the Fund may exhibit additional volatility. Additionally, asset-backed, mortgage-related and mortgage-backed
securities are subject to risks associated with their structure and the nature of the assets
underlying the securities and the servicing of those assets. Certain asset-backed, mortgage-related and mortgage-backed securities may face valuation difficulties and may be less liquid than other types of asset-backed,
mortgage-related and mortgage-backed securities, or debt securities.
Government Securities Risk. U.S. Government securities
include securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies and
instrumentalities (such as securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac)
or other Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs)). U.S. Government securities are subject to
market risk, interest rate risk and credit risk. Securities, such as those issued or guaranteed by
Ginnie Mae or the U.S. Treasury, that are backed by the full faith and credit of the United
States are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity
and the market prices for such securities will fluctuate. The income generated by investments may
not keep pace with inflation. Actions by governments and central banking authorities could result
in changes in interest rates. Periods of higher inflation could cause such authorities to raise interest rates, which may adversely affect the Fund and its investments. Notwithstanding that these securities are backed by the
full faith and credit of the United States, circumstances could arise
that would prevent the payment of interest
or principal. This would result in losses to the Fund. Securities issued or guaranteed by U.S.
Government-related organizations, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government and no assurance can be given that the U.S. Government will provide
financial support. Therefore, U.S. Government-related organizations may not have the funds to
meet their payment obligations in the future. U.S. Government securities include zero coupon securities, which tend to be subject to greater market risk than interest-paying securities of similar
maturities.
Municipal Obligations and Securities
Risk. Because the Fund may invest in municipal obligations, including municipal securities,
the Fund may be susceptible to political, legislative, economic, regulatory, tax or other factors
affecting issuers of these municipal obligations, such as state and local governments and their
agencies. The risk of a municipal obligation generally depends on the financial and credit status of the issuer. Changes in a municipality’s financial health may make it difficult for the municipality to make interest and
principal payments when due. This could decrease the Fund’s income or hurt the ability to
preserve capital and liquidity. In addition, budgetary constraints of state and local governments
may lead to reduced tax revenues and may further limit their ability to service municipal
obligations. Under some circumstances, municipal obligations might not pay interest unless the
state legislature or municipality authorizes money for that purpose.
The amount of public information available about municipal obligations is
generally less than for corporate equities or bonds, meaning that the investment performance of municipal obligations may be more dependent on the analytical abilities of the investment adviser than stock or
corporate bond investments. The secondary market for municipal obligations also tends to be less
well-developed and less liquid than many other securities markets, which may limit the Fund’s ability to sell its municipal obligations at attractive prices. The differences between the price at which an obligation can be
purchased and the price at which it can be sold may widen during periods of market distress. Less
liquid obligations can become more difficult to value and be subject to erratic price movements. In
addition, changes in U.S. federal tax laws or the activity of an issuer may adversely affect the
tax-exempt status of municipal obligations. Loss of tax-exempt status may result in a significant
decline in the values of such municipal obligations.
Municipal obligations may be more susceptible to downgrades or defaults during recessions or similar periods
of economic stress. In addition, since some municipal obligations may be secured or guaranteed by
banks and other institutions, the risk to the Fund could increase if the banking or financial sector suffers an economic downturn and/or if the credit ratings of the institutions issuing the guarantee are
downgraded or at risk of being downgraded by a national rating organization. Such a downward
revision or risk of being downgraded may have an adverse effect on the market prices of the obligations and thus the value of the Fund’s investments.
In addition to being downgraded, an insolvent municipality may file for bankruptcy. The reorganization of a municipality’s debts may significantly affect the rights of
creditors and the value of the securities issued by the municipality and the value of the
Fund’s investments. There may be times that, in the opinion of the adviser, municipal money
market securities of sufficient