markets, significant changes in interest
rates or deteriorating economic conditions, such securities may decline in value, face valuation
difficulties, become more volatile and/or become illiquid. 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.
Collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and stripped mortgage-backed securities, including those structured as IOs and POs, are more volatile and may be more
sensitive to the rate of prepayments than other mortgage-related securities.
The risk of default, as described under “Credit Risk,” for “sub-prime” mortgages is generally higher than other types of mortgage-backed securities. The structure of some of these
securities may be complex and there may be less available information than other types of debt
securities.
Prepayment Risk. The issuer of certain securities may repay principal in advance, especially when yields fall. Changes in the
rate at which prepayments or redemptions occur can affect the return on investment of these
securities. When debt obligations are prepaid or when securities are called, the Fund may have to
reinvest in securities with a lower yield. The Fund also may fail to recover additional amounts
(i.e., premiums) paid for securities with higher coupons, resulting in an unexpected capital loss.
Mortgage Dollar Roll Risk. The Fund may enter into mortgage dollar rolls involving mortgage pass-through securities including mortgage TBAs and other mortgage-backed securities. During the period between the sale and repurchase in a
mortgage dollar roll transaction, the Fund will not be entitled to receive interest and principal
payments on the securities sold. Losses may arise due to changes in the value of the securities or if the counterparty does not perform under the terms of the agreement. If the counterparty files for bankruptcy or
becomes insolvent, the Fund’s right to repurchase or sell securities may be limited. Short
sales of mortgage TBAs and engaging in mortgage dollar rolls may be subject to leverage risks as
described under “Derivatives Risk.” In addition, mortgage dollar rolls may increase
interest rate risk and result in an increased portfolio turnover rate which increases costs and may increase taxable gains.
High Yield Securities and Loan Risk. The Fund invests in instruments including junk bonds, Loans and instruments that are issued by companies that are highly leveraged, less
creditworthy or financially distressed. These investments are considered to be speculative and
may be subject to greater risk of loss (including substantial or total loss), greater sensitivity to economic changes, valuation difficulties and potential illiquidity. Such investments may be subject to
additional risks including subordination to other creditors, no collateral or limited rights in
collateral, lack of a regular trading market, extended settlement periods, liquidity risks, prepayment risks, potentially less protection under the federal securities laws and lack of publicly available information.
In recent years, there has been a broad trend of weaker or less restrictive covenant protections in both the
Loan and high yield markets. Among other things, under such weaker or less restrictive covenants,
borrowers might be able to exercise more flexibility with respect to certain activities than borrowers who are subject to stronger or more protective covenants. For example, borrowers might be able to incur more debt,
including secured debt, return more capital to shareholders, remove or reduce assets that are
designated as collateral securing Loans or high yield securities, increase the claims against assets that are permitted against collateral securing Loans or high yield securities or otherwise manage their business in
ways that could impact creditors negatively. In addition, certain privately held borrowers might
be permitted to file less frequent, less detailed or less timely financial reporting or other information, which could negatively impact the value of the Loans or high yield securities issued by such borrowers. Each of
these factors might negatively impact the Loans and high yield instruments held by the
Fund.
High yield securities and Loans that are deemed to be liquid at the time of purchase may become illiquid. No
active trading market may exist for some Loans and other instruments and certain investments may
be subject to restrictions on resale. In addition, the settlement period for Loans is uncertain as there is no standardized settlement schedule applicable to such investments. Certain Loans may take more than seven
days to settle. The inability to dispose of the Fund’s securities and other investments in
a timely fashion could result in losses to the Fund. Because some instruments may have a more limited secondary market, liquidity and valuation risk is more pronounced for the Fund than for funds that invest primarily in
other types of fixed income instruments or equity securities. When Loans and other instruments
are prepaid, the Fund may have to reinvest in instruments with a lower yield or fail to recover additional amounts (i.e., premiums) paid for these instruments, resulting in an unexpected capital loss and/or a decrease
in the amount of dividends and yield. Certain Loans may not be considered securities under the
federal securities laws and, therefore, investments in such Loans may not be subject to certain protections under those laws. In addition, the adviser may not have access to material non-public information to which
other investors may have access.
Sovereign Debt Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued or guaranteed by foreign governmental entities (known as sovereign debt securities). These investments are
subject to the risk of payment delays or defaults, due, for example, to cash flow problems,
insufficient foreign currency reserves, political considerations, large debt positions relative to the country’s economy or failure to implement economic reforms. There is no legal or bankruptcy process for collecting
sovereign debt.
Foreign Securities and Emerging
Markets Risk. Investments in foreign issuers and foreign securities (including depositary receipts) are subject to additional risks, including political and economic risks, unstable governments, civil
conflicts and war, greater volatility, decreased market liquidity, expropriation and
nationalization risks, sanctions or other measures by the United States or other governments,
currency fluctuations, higher transaction costs, delayed settlement, possible foreign controls on
investment, and less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of foreign markets. In certain markets where securities and other instruments are not traded “delivery versus payment,” the Fund may not
receive timely payment for