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. The Fund invests in 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) or the Federal
Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac)). 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 would provide financial support. Therefore, U.S. Government-related organizations may not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.
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 quality are not available for the Fund to be able to invest in
accordance with its normal investment policies. Interest on municipal obligations, while
generally exempt from federal income tax, may not be exempt from federal alternative minimum
tax.
When-Issued, Delayed Settlement and Forward
Commitment Transactions Risk. The Fund may purchase or sell securities which it is eligible to purchase or sell on a when-issued basis, may purchase and sell such securities for
delayed delivery and may make contracts to purchase or sell such securities for a fixed price at
a future date beyond normal settlement time (forward commitments). When-issued transactions, delayed delivery purchases and forward commitments involve the risk that the security the Fund buys will lose value
prior to its delivery. There also is the risk that the security will not be issued or that the
other party to the transaction will not meet its