March 31, 2026, the portfolio turnover rate of the Fund was 44% of the average value of the Fund. A higher portfolio turnover rate reflects a greater number of securities being bought or sold, which may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Examples, affect the Fund’s performance.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund primarily invests in a broad range of investment grade debt securities, including corporate bonds, mortgage-related securities, asset-backed securities, debt securities issued by the U.S. government or its related agencies, debt securities issued by states or local governments and their agencies, authorities and other instrumentalities, U.S. dollar-denominated debt securities issued by developed foreign governments and corporations and floating and variable rate debt instruments; structured notes, including hybrid or “indexed” securities and event-linked bonds; delayed funding loans and revolving credit facilities; bank certificates of deposit; fixed time deposits and bankers’ acceptances; repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements. For these purposes, the Fund defines investment grade securities as: (i) securities rated BBB-/Baa3 or higher by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (“NRSRO”), (ii) securities with comparable short-term NRSRO ratings, or (iii) unrated securities determined by the Sub-Adviser to be of comparable quality, each at the time of purchase. The Fund considers “split-rated” securities, i.e., when two or more NRSROs assign different ratings for the same security, to be of investment grade if at least one of the ratings of the security is comparable to or higher than the ratings disclosed above.
While the Fund invests primarily in investment grade securities, it may invest up to 5% of its assets in non-investment grade securities, rated B- or above by a NRSRO or, if unrated, deemed to be of comparable quality by the Sub-Adviser, each at the time of purchase.
The Fund may invest its assets in illiquid or thinly traded investments. The Fund also may invest in privately issued debt securities of domestic preferred stock, convertible debt securities, American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), including securities that are subject to resale restrictions such as those contained in Rule 144A promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
The Sub-Adviser normally invests the Fund’s assets across different groups of industries/sectors but may invest a significant percentage of the Fund’s assets in issuers in a single sector. The components of the Fund are likely to change over time.
The Fund may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.
The Fund is a non-diversified investment company.
Fundamental Research Process. The Sub-Adviser’s fundamental research process combines a bottom-up issuer analysis and top-down market assessment. A bottom-up issuer analysis relies upon the Sub-Adviser’s fundamental research analysis of individual issuers. A top-down market assessment provides a framework for portfolio risk positioning and sector allocations. Once this is determined, the Sub-Adviser looks for companies that it believes have sustainable competitive positions, strong management teams and the ability to repay or refinance its debt obligations. The Sub-Adviser performs a credit analysis on each potential issuer and a relative value analysis for each potential investment. When selecting investments, the Sub-Adviser may invest in instruments that it believes have the potential for capital appreciation.
Individual investment selection is based on the Sub-Adviser’s fundamental research process. Individual investments may be purchased or sold in the event the Sub-Adviser decides to adjust debt asset class weightings within the portfolio. An investment is generally sold when the Sub-Adviser believes that the issue has realized its price appreciation target, the issue no longer offers relative value, or an adverse change in corporate or sector fundamentals has occurred.
Principal Risks
As with any mutual fund, the value of the Fund’s investments, and therefore the value of your shares, may go up or down and you could lose money. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment goal. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Italicized terms refer to separate Principal Risks that are each defined in the Principal Risks section below.
While the Fund may be subject to various risk exposures at any given time depending on market conditions and other factors impacting holdings and investment strategies, the Fund under normal circumstances is subject to the following principal risks:
•Debt Instruments Risk: Debt securities and other debt instruments are subject to many risks, including interest rate risk and credit risk, which may affect their value. The market value of a fixed-income security may decline due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company. The fixed-income securities market can be susceptible to increases in volatility and decreases in liquidity. Federal Reserve policy in response to market conditions may adversely affect the value, volatility and liquidity of debt securities.
•Credit Risk: An issuer or guarantor of a debt instrument might be unable or unwilling to meet its financial obligations and might not make interest or principal payments on an instrument when those payments are due