High Yield Securities
Risk. The Fund may invest in securities that are issued by companies that are highly leveraged,
less creditworthy or financially distressed. These investments (also known as junk bonds) are
considered to be speculative and are subject to greater risk of loss, greater sensitivity to economic changes, valuation difficulties and potential illiquidity.
In recent years, there has been a broad trend of weaker or less restrictive covenant protections in the high
yield market. 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 high yield securities, increase the claims against assets that are permitted against collateral securing 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 high yield securities issued by such borrowers. Each of these factors might negatively impact the high yield instruments held by the Fund.
No active trading market may exist for some instruments and certain investments may be subject to restrictions
on resale. 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 may be more pronounced for the Fund. When 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.
REITs Risk. The Fund’s investments in real estate securities, including REITs, are subject to the same risks as direct investments in real estate and mortgages, and their
value will depend on the value of the underlying real estate interests. These risks include
default, prepayments, changes in value resulting from changes in interest rates and demand for real and rental property, and the management skill and creditworthiness of REIT issuers. The Fund will indirectly bear its
proportionate share of expenses, including management fees, paid by each REIT in which it invests
in addition to the expenses of the Fund.
Real
Estate Securities Risk. The value of real estate securities in general, and REITs in particular,
are subject to the same risks as direct investments in real estate and mortgages which include,
but are not limited to, sensitivity to changes in real estate values and property taxes, interest
rate risk, tax and regulatory risk, fluctuations in rent schedules and operating expenses,
adverse changes in local, regional or general economic conditions, deterioration of the real
estate market and the financial circumstances of tenants and sellers, unfavorable changes in
zoning, building, environmental and other laws, the need for unanticipated renovations,
unexpected increases in the cost of energy and environmental factors. In addition, the underlying
mortgage loans may be subject to the risks of default or of prepayments that occur earlier or
later than expected, and such loans may also include so-called “sub-prime” mortgages. The
value of REITs will also rise and fall in
response to the management skill and creditworthiness of the issuer. In particular, the value of
these securities may decline when interest rates rise and will also be affected by the real estate market and by the management of the underlying properties. REITs may be more volatile and/or more illiquid than other types of
equity securities. The Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of expenses, including
management fees, paid by each REIT in which it invests in addition to the expenses of the Fund.
In addition, certain of the companies in which the Fund intends to invest
may have developed or commenced development on properties and may develop additional properties in the future. Real estate development involves significant risks in addition to those involved in the ownership and
operation of established properties, including the risks that financing, if needed, may not be
available on favorable terms for development projects, that construction may not be completed on schedule (resulting in increased debt service expense and construction costs), that estimates of the costs of construction may prove
to be inaccurate and that properties may not be leased, rented or operated on profitable terms
and therefore will fail to perform in accordance with expectations. As a result, the value of the
Fund’s investment may decrease in value.
Foreign Securities Risk. U.S. dollar denominated securities of foreign issuers or U.S. affiliates of foreign issuers may be subject to additional risks not faced by domestic
issuers. These risks include political and economic risks, civil conflicts and war, greater
volatility, expropriation and nationalization risks, sanctions or other measures by the United States or other governments, higher transaction costs, delayed settlement, possible foreign controls on investments, liquidity risks and
less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of foreign markets. The securities
markets of many foreign countries are relatively small, with a limited number of companies representing a small number of industries. The Fund may also invest in non-dollar denominated securities. Investments in non-dollar
denominated securities are subject to risks in addition to those summarized above including
currency fluctuations, higher transaction costs, delayed settlement, possible foreign controls on investment, and less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of foreign markets. In addition, the Fund is
limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty’s legal
obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the United States. In certain markets where
securities and other instruments are not traded “delivery versus payment,” the Fund may not receive timely payment for securities or other instruments it has delivered or receive delivery of securities paid for
and may be subject to increased risk that the counterparty will fail to make payments or delivery
when due or default completely. Foreign market trading hours, clearance and settlement procedures,
and holiday schedules may limit the Fund’s ability to buy and sell securities. Events and
evolving conditions in certain economies or markets may alter the risks associated with
investments tied to countries or regions that historically were perceived as comparatively stable
becoming riskier and more volatile. In addition, the Fund is limited in its ability to exercise
its legal rights or enforce a counterparty’s legal obligations in certain jurisdictions
outside of the United States.
Currency Risk. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates will affect the value of the Fund’s securities and may affect the price of the Fund’s Shares.
Generally, when the value of the U.S. dollar rises in value relative to a foreign currency, an investment