activity bonds and taxable investments will not exceed,
in the aggregate, 20% of the Fund’s Net Assets. The interest from private activity bonds
(including the Fund’s distributions of such interest) may be a preference item for
purposes of the federal alternative minimum tax. 100% of the Fund’s portfolio will be invested in U.S. dollar-denominated securities.
The Fund invests in securities rated at least BBB or Baa by a NRSRO at the time of purchase, or if
unrated, determined by its investment adviser to be of comparable credit quality.
The Fund may also seek to obtain exposure to fixed income investments
through investments in affiliated or unaffiliated investment companies, including
exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”).
The team uses a
multi-faceted approach when evaluating whether to add or maintain exposure to any individual position. A top-down approach is used to assess broad macro trends while a bottom-up analysis is used to determine relative value between
individual securities. As part of the team’s fundamental investment process, the team may integrate environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors alongside traditional fundamental
factors. In addition, individual securities will be considered for purchase or sale based on credit profile, risk, structure, pricing, and portfolio impact, as well as duration management, restructuring, opportunistic trading and
tax loss harvesting. No one factor or consideration is determinative in the fundamental
investment process.
Under normal interest rate conditions, the Fund’s duration is expected to approximate that of the
Bloomberg Municipal Bond 1-3 Year Blend Index, plus or minus 0.5 years. (Historically, over the last five years, the duration of the Bloomberg Municipal Bond 1-3 Year Blend Index has ranged between 1.98 and 2.19 years). The
reference to “Short Duration” in the Fund’s name refers to this duration. “Duration” is a measure of a debt security’s price sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The longer the duration of the Fund
(or an individual debt security), the more sensitive its market price to changes in interest rates. For example, if market interest rates increase by 1%, the market price of a debt security with a positive duration of 3
years will generally decrease by approximately 3%. Conversely, a 1% decline in market interest rates will generally result in an increase of approximately 3% of that security’s market price.
The Investment Adviser measures the Fund’s performance against the Bloomberg Municipal Bond 1-3 Year
Blend Index.
Principal Risks of the Fund |
Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or
guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or any government agency. The Fund should not be relied upon as a complete investment program. There can be no assurance that the Fund
will achieve its investment objective. Investments in the Fund involve substantial risks which prospective investors should consider carefully before investing. The Fund's principal risks are presented
below in alphabetical order, and not in the order of importance or potential exposure.
Credit/Default Risk. An issuer or guarantor of fixed income securities
or instruments held by the Fund (which may have low credit ratings) may default on its
obligation to pay interest and repay principal or default on any other obligation. Additionally, the credit quality of securities or instruments may deteriorate rapidly, which may impair the Fund's liquidity and cause
significant deterioration in net asset value (“NAV”). These risks are heightened in market environments where interest rates are rising as well as in connection with the Fund’s investments in non-investment
grade fixed income securities.
Geographic and Sector Risk. If the Fund invests a significant portion of its total assets in certain issuers within the same state, geographic region or economic sector, an
adverse economic, business, political, environmental or other development affecting that state, region or sector may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if its investments were not so focused.
Interest Rate Risk. When interest rates increase, fixed income securities or instruments held by the Fund will generally
decline in value. Long-term fixed income securities or instruments will normally have more
price volatility because of this risk than short-term fixed income securities or instruments. Changing interest rates may have unpredictable effects on the markets, may result in heightened market volatility and may detract from Fund
performance. In addition, changes in monetary policy may exacerbate the risks associated with changing interest rates. Funds with longer average portfolio durations will generally be more sensitive to changes
in interest rates than funds with a shorter average portfolio duration. Fluctuations in interest rates may also affect the liquidity of fixed income securities and instruments held by the Fund.
Large Shareholder Transactions Risk. The Fund may experience adverse effects when certain large shareholders purchase or redeem large amounts of shares of the Fund.
Such large shareholder redemptions, which may occur rapidly or unexpectedly, may cause the
Fund to sell portfolio securities at times when it would not otherwise do so, which may
negatively impact the Fund's NAV and liquidity. Similarly, large Fund share purchases may adversely affect the Fund's performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash or otherwise maintains a larger
cash position than it ordinarily would. These transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable income to shareholders if such sales of investments resulted in gains, and may also increase transaction costs.
In addition, a large redemption could result in the Fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the Fund's expense ratio.
Liquidity Risk. The Fund may make investments that are illiquid or that may become less liquid in response to market developments or adverse investor perceptions. Illiquid
investments may be more difficult to value. Liquidity risk may also refer to the risk that the Fund will not be able to pay redemption proceeds within the allowable time period because of unusual market conditions,
declining prices of the securities sold, an unusually high volume of redemption requests, or other reasons. To meet redemption requests, the Fund may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under
unfavorable conditions. Liquidity risk may be the result of, among other things, the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed income securities or the lack of an
active market. The potential for liquidity risk may be magnified by a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed income funds may be higher than normal,
potentially causing increased supply in the market due to selling activity. Redemptions by large shareholders may have a negative impact on the Fund’s liquidity.
Market Risk. The value of the securities in which the Fund invests may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual companies, particular sectors, governments or
countries and/or general economic conditions throughout the world due to increasingly interconnected global economies and financial markets. Events such as war, military conflict, geopolitical disputes, acts
of terrorism, social or political unrest, natural disasters, recessions, inflation, rapid interest rate changes, supply chain disruptions, tariffs and other restrictions on trade, sanctions or the spread of
infectious illness or other public health threats, or the threat or potential of one or more such events and developments, could also significantly impact the Fund and its investments.