Investment Risks

Aug. 28, 2026

As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not guaranteed to achieve its investment objective; is not a deposit with a bank; is not insured, endorsed or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency; and is subject to investment risks. The value of your investment in the Fund, as well as the amount of return you receive on your investment, may fluctuate significantly. You may lose part or all of your investment in the Fund or your investment may not perform as well as other similar investments. The Fund is not intended to be a complete investment program but rather one component of a diversified investment portfolio. Many factors affect the Fund’s net asset value and performance. Each risk summarized below is a principal risk of investing in the Fund and different risks may be more significant at different times depending upon market conditions or other factors.

As with any fund, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its goal.

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Market Risk. Overall market risk may affect the value of individual instruments in which the Fund invests. The Fund is subject to the risk that the securities markets will move down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably, based on overall economic conditions and other factors, which may negatively affect the Fund’s performance. Factors such as domestic and foreign (non-U.S.) economic growth and market conditions, real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions, military conflict, war, acts of terrorism, social unrest, natural disasters, recessions, inflation, changes in interest or currency rate levels, adverse changes to credit markets, supply chain disruptions, sanctions, tariffs, and other trade restrictions, the spread of infectious illness or other public health threats, lack of liquidity in the bond or other markets, volatility in securities markets or adverse investor sentiment and political events affect the securities markets. U.S. and foreign stock markets have experienced periods of substantial price volatility in the past and may do so again in the future. Securities markets also may experience long periods of decline in value. A change in financial condition or other event affecting a single issuer or market may adversely impact securities markets as a whole. The value of assets or income from an investment may be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the real value of the Fund’s assets can decline as can the value of the Fund’s distributions. Inflation rates may change frequently and drastically as a result of various factors, including unexpected shifts in the domestic or global economy, and the Fund’s investments may be affected, which may reduce the Fund’s performance. Further, inflation may lead to a rise in interest rates, which may negatively affect the value of debt instruments held by the Fund, resulting in a negative impact on the Fund’s performance. When the value of the Fund’s investments goes down, your investment in the Fund decreases in value and you could lose money.

Local, state, regional, national or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments and could result in decreases to the Fund’s net asset value. Political, geopolitical, natural and other events, including war, terrorism, trade disputes, government shutdowns, market closures, natural and environmental disasters, epidemics, pandemics and other public health crises and related events and governments’ reactions to such events have led, and in the future may lead, to economic uncertainty, decreased economic activity, increased market volatility and other disruptive effects on U.S. and global economies and markets. Such events may have significant adverse direct or indirect effects on the Fund and its investments. For example, a widespread health crisis such as a global pandemic could cause substantial market volatility, exchange trading suspensions and closures, impact the ability to complete redemptions, and affect Fund performance. A health crisis may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social and economic risks. In addition, the increasing interconnectedness of markets around the world may result in many markets being affected by events or conditions in a single country or region or events affecting a single or small number of issuers.

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Market Events Risk. There has been increased volatility, depressed valuations, decreased liquidity and heightened uncertainty in the financial markets during the past several years, including what was experienced in 2020. In recent years, the U.S. renegotiated many of its global trade relationships and imposed or threatened to impose significant import tariffs. The imposition by the U.S. of import tariffs on goods from foreign countries and reciprocal tariffs levied on U.S. goods may lead to price volatility and instability in U.S. and global investment markets. Among other effects, tariffs may increase the cost of production for certain goods or reduce demand for products, which could affect the performance of the Fund’s investments. It is not known whether, or to what extent, any tariff or other trade protections may affect the Fund or its investments. These actions could lead to price volatility and overall declines in U.S. and global investment markets. These conditions are an inevitable part of investing in capital markets and may continue, recur, worsen or spread. The U.S. government and the Federal Reserve, as well as certain foreign governments and central banks, took steps to support financial markets, including by lowering interest rates to historically low levels. This and other government intervention may not work as intended, particularly if the efforts are perceived by investors as being unlikely to achieve the desired results. When the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve reduce market support activities, including by increasing interest rates, such reductions could negatively affect financial markets generally, increase market volatility and reduce the value and liquidity of securities in which the Fund invests. Policy and legislative changes in the United States and in other countries may also contribute to decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the financial markets. The impact of these influences on the markets, and the practical implications for market participants, may not be fully known for some time.

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Management Risk. The risk that investment strategies employed by the Fund’s adviser in selecting investments for the Fund may not result in an increase in the value of your investment or in overall performance equal to other similar investment vehicles having similar investment strategies. Management risk includes the risk that the quantitative model used by the Adviser may not perform as expected, particularly in volatile markets.

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Structured Products Risk. The Fund may invest in Structured Products, including CLOs, CDOs, CMOs, and other asset-backed securities and debt securitizations. Some Structured Products have credit ratings, but are typically issued in various classes with various priorities. Normally, Structured Products are privately offered and sold (that is, they are not registered under the securities laws) and may be characterized by the Fund as illiquid securities; however, an active dealer market may exist for Structured Products that qualify for Rule 144A transactions. The senior and junior tranches of Structured Products may have floating or variable interest rates based on SOFR or another alternative reference rate and are subject to the risks associated with securities tied to a variable interest rate. The Fund may also invest in the equity tranches of a Structured Product, which typically represent the first loss position in the Structured Product, are unrated and are subject to higher risks. Equity tranches of Structured Products typically do not have a fixed coupon and payments on equity tranches will be based on the income received from the underlying collateral and the payments made to the senior tranches, both of which may be based on floating rates based on a variable reference rate.

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Valuation Risk. The sale price that the Fund could receive for a portfolio security may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security, particularly for securities that trade in low volume or volatile markets, or that are valued using a fair value methodology. In addition, the value of the securities in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund’s shares.

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High Yield Securities (“Junk Bonds”) Risk. Investment in or exposure to high yield (lower rated or below investment grade) debt instruments (also known as “junk bonds”) may involve greater levels of interest rate, credit, liquidity and valuation risk than for higher rated instruments. High yield debt instruments are considered predominantly speculative and are higher risk than investment grade instruments with respect to the issuer’s continuing ability to make principal and interest payments and, therefore, such instruments generally involve greater risk of default or price changes than higher rated debt instruments. An economic downturn or period of rising interest rates could adversely affect the value of these securities and market for these securities and reduce market liquidity (liquidity risk).

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Fixed Income Securities Risk. Fixed income securities are subject to interest rate risk, call risk, prepayment and extension risk, credit risk, duration risk, and liquidity risk. In addition, current market conditions may pose heightened risks for fixed income securities. When the Fund invests in fixed income securities, the value of your investment in the Fund will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities owned by the Fund. In general, the market price of fixed income securities with longer maturities or durations will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. Risks associated with rising interest rates are heightened given that interest rates in the U.S. currently remain near historic lows but have recently risen and could rise further in the future. Other risk factors include credit risk (the debtor may default) and prepayment risk (the debtor may pay its obligation early, reducing the amount of interest payments). These risks could affect the value of a particular investment by the Fund, possibly causing the Fund’s share price and total return to be reduced and fluctuate more than other types of investments. The fixed income securities market can be susceptible to increases in volatility and decreases in liquidity. New regulations applicable to and changing business practices of financial intermediaries that make markets in fixed income securities have resulted in less market making activity for certain fixed income securities, which may reduce the liquidity and may increase the volatility for such fixed income securities. Liquidity may decline unpredictably in response to overall economic conditions or credit tightening. For example, a general rise in interest rates may cause investors to move out of fixed income securities on a large scale, which could adversely affect the price and liquidity of fixed income securities and could also result in increased redemptions for the Fund. Duration risk arises when holding long duration and long maturity investments, which will magnify certain risks including interest rate risk and credit risk. Effective duration estimates price changes for relatively small changes in rates. If rates rise significantly, effective duration may tend to understate the drop in a security’s price. If rates drop significantly, effective duration may tend to overstate the rise in a security’s price.

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Collateralized Loan Obligations Risk. CLOs can be difficult to value, may at times be illiquid, may be highly leveraged (which could make them highly volatile), and may produce unexpected investment results due to their complex structure. In addition, CLOs involve many of the same risks of investing in debt securities and asset-backed securities including, but not limited to, interest rate risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, and valuation risk. The Fund is subject to the following risks as a result of its investments in CLOs:

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Asset Manager Risk. The CLO’s performance is linked to the expertise of the CLO manager and its ability to manage the CLO portfolio. The experience of a CLO manager plays an important role in the rating and risk assessment of CLO debt securities. One of the primary risks to investors of a CLO is the potential change in CLO manager, over which the Fund will have no control.

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Legal and Regulatory Risk. The Fund may be adversely affected by new (or revised) laws or regulations that may be imposed by government regulators or self-regulatory organizations that supervise the financial markets. These agencies are empowered to promulgate a variety of rules pursuant to financial reform legislation in the United States. The Fund may also be adversely affected by changes in the enforcement or interpretation of existing statutes and rules. Changes in the regulation of CLOs may adversely affect the value of the investments held by the Fund and the ability of the Fund to execute its investment strategy.

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Limited Recourse Risk. CLO debt securities are limited recourse obligations of their issuers. CLO debt is payable solely from the proceeds of its underlying assets. Consequently, CLO investors must rely solely on distributions from the underlying assets for payments on the CLO debt they hold. No party or entity other than the issuer will be obligated to make payments on CLO debt. CLO debt is not guaranteed by the issuer or any other party or entity involved in the organization and management of a CLO. If income from the underlying loans is insufficient to make payments on the CLO debt, no other assets will be available for payment.

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Redemption Risk. CLO debt securities may be subject to redemption. For example, certain tranches of CLO debt may be redeemed if the CLO manager is unable to identify assets suitable for investment during the period when it has the ability to reinvest the principal proceeds from the sale of assets, scheduled redemptions and prepayments in additional assets (the “Reinvestment Period”). Additionally, holders of subordinated CLO debt may cause the redemption of senior CLO debt. In the event of an early redemption, holders of the CLO debt being redeemed will be repaid earlier than the stated maturity of the debt. The timing of redemptions may adversely affect the returns on CLO debt.

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Reinvestment Risk. The CLO manager may not find suitable assets in which to invest during the Reinvestment Period or to replace assets that the manager has determined are no longer suitable for investment (for example, if a security has been downgraded by a rating agency). Additionally, the Reinvestment Period is a pre-determined finite period of time; however, there is a risk that the Reinvestment Period may terminate early if, for example, the CLO defaults on payments on the securities which it issues or if the CLO manager determines that it can no longer reinvest in underlying assets. Early termination of the Reinvestment Period could adversely affect a CLO investment.

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Credit Risk. The risk that the Fund could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a fixed income security is unwilling or unable to make timely payments to meet its contractual obligations on investments held by the Fund. Changes in the credit rating of a debt security held by the Fund could have a similar effect.

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Interest Rate Risk. Generally, when interest rates rise, prices of fixed-income securities fall. However, market factors, such as the demand for particular fixed income securities, may cause the price of certain fixed income securities to fall while the prices of other securities rise or remain unchanged. Very low or negative interest rates may magnify interest rate risk. Changing interest rates, including rates that fall below zero, may have unpredictable effects on markets, may result in heightened market volatility and may detract from Fund performance to the extent the Fund is exposed to such interest rates and/or volatility.

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Yield Curve Risk. This is the risk that there is an adverse shift in market interest rates of fixed income investments. The risk is associated with either flattening or steepening of the yield curve, which is a result of changing yields among comparable bonds with different maturities. If the yield curve flattens, then the yield spread between long-and short-term interest rates narrows and the price of a bond will change. If the curve steepens, then the spread between the long- and short-term interest rates increases which means long-term bond prices decrease relative to short-term bond prices.

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Prepayment Risk. When interest rates decline, fixed income securities with stated interest rates may have the principal paid earlier than expected, requiring the Fund to invest the proceeds at generally lower interest rates.

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Extension Risk. An issuer could exercise its right to pay principal on an obligation held by the Fund (such as a mortgage-backed security) later than expected. This may happen when there is a rise in interest rates. Under these circumstances, the value of the obligation will decrease, and the Fund will also suffer from the inability to reinvest in higher yielding securities.

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Concentration in Certain Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk. The risks of concentrating in residential mortgage-backed securities (agency and non-agency) and commercial mortgage-backed securities include susceptibility to changes in interest rates and the risks associated with the market’s perception of issuers, the creditworthiness of the parties involved and investing in real estate securities.

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Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities are subject to the risks of traditional fixed-income instruments, however they are also subject to other risks, including prepayment and extension risk (meaning that if interest rates fall, the underlying debt may be repaid ahead of schedule, reducing the value of the Fund’s investments, and if interest rates rise, there may be fewer prepayments, which could cause the average bond maturity to rise, increasing the potential for the Fund to lose money), interest rate risk, market risk and management risk. Mortgage-backed securities include caps and floors, inverse floaters, mortgage dollar rolls, private mortgage pass-through securities, resets and stripped mortgage securities. A systemic and persistent increase in interest rate volatility may also negatively impact a number of the Fund’s mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities holdings. In addition, mortgage-backed securities comprised of subprime mortgages and investments in other asset-backed securities collateralized by subprime loans may be subject to a higher degree of credit risk and valuation risk. Additionally, such securities may be subject to a higher degree of liquidity risk, because the liquidity of such investments may vary dramatically over time.

Certain mortgage-backed securities may be secured by pools of mortgages on single-family, multi-family properties, as well as commercial properties. Similarly, asset-backed securities may be secured by pools of loans, such as corporate loans, student loans, automobile loans and credit card receivables. The credit risk on such securities is affected by homeowners or borrowers defaulting on their loans. The values of assets underlying mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, may decline and therefore may not be adequate to cover underlying investors. Some mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities have experienced extraordinary weakness and volatility in recent years. Possible legislation in the area of residential mortgages, credit cards, corporate loans and other loans that may collateralize the securities in which the Fund may invest could negatively impact the value of the Fund’s investments. To the extent the Fund focuses its investments in particular types of mortgage-backed or asset-backed securities, the Fund may be more susceptible to risk factors affecting such types of securities.

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Unrated Securities Risk. Unrated securities may be less liquid than comparable rated securities and involve the risk that the Adviser may not accurately evaluate the security’s comparative credit rating.

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Residential Loans and Mortgages Risk. In addition to interest rate, default and other risks of fixed income securities, investments in whole loans and debt instruments backed by residential loans or mortgages, (or pools of loans or mortgages) carry additional risks, including the possibility that the quality of the collateral may decline in value and the potential for the liquidity of residential loans and mortgages to vary over time. These risks are greater for subprime residential and mortgage loans. Because they do not trade in a liquid market, residential loans typically can only be sold to a limited universe of institutional investors and may be difficult for the Fund to value. In addition, in the event that a loan is foreclosed on, the Fund could become the owner (in whole or in part) of any collateral, which may include, among other things, real estate or other real or personal property, and the Fund would bear the costs and liabilities of owning, holding or disposing of such property.

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Floating or Variable Rate Securities Risk. Floating or variable rate securities pay interest at rates that adjust in response to changes in a specified interest rate or reset at predetermined dates (such as the end of a calendar quarter). Securities with floating or variable interest rates are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than securities with fixed interest rates, but may decline in value if their interest rates do not rise as much, or as quickly, as comparable market interest rates. Although floating or variable rate securities are generally less sensitive to interest rate risk than fixed rate securities, they are subject to credit, liquidity and default risk and may be subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale, which could impair their value.

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Sector Risk. The risk that if the Fund invests a significant portion of its total assets in certain issuers within the same economic sector, an adverse economic, business or political development or natural or other event, including war, terrorism, natural and environmental disasters, epidemics, pandemics and other public health crises, affecting that sector may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund’s investments were not so focused. While the Fund may not concentrate in any one industry, the Fund may invest without limitation in a particular sector. Also, a significant dislocation in one or more industries (e.g, energy, commodities, etc.) could put pressure on bonds issued by those sectors.

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Rating Agencies Risk. Ratings are not an absolute standard of quality, but rather general indicators that reflect only the view of the originating rating agencies from which an explanation of the significance of such ratings may be obtained. There is no assurance that a particular rating will continue for any given period of time or that any such rating will not be revised downward or withdrawn entirely. Such changes may negatively affect the liquidity or market price of the securities in which the Fund invests. The ratings of securitized assets may not adequately reflect the credit risk of those assets due to their structure.

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Illiquid Investments Risk. The Fund may, at times, hold investments that are illiquid or become illiquid, by virtue of the absence of a readily available market for certain of its investments, or because of legal or contractual restrictions on sales. The Fund could lose money if it is unable to dispose of an investment at a time or price that is most beneficial to the Fund. The Fund may invest in instruments that trade in lower volumes and may make investments that may be less liquid than other investments. Certain securities that are liquid when purchased may later become illiquid or less liquid, particularly in times of overall market developments, economic distress or adverse investor perception.

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Currency Risk. The risk that foreign (non-U.S.) currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and adversely affect the value of the Fund’s investments in foreign (non-U.S.) currencies or in securities that trade in, and receive revenues in, foreign (non-U.S.) currencies.

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Cybersecurity Risk. There is risk to the Fund of an unauthorized breach and access to fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or the risk of an incident occurring that causes the Fund, the investment adviser, custodian, transfer agent, distributor and other service providers and financial intermediaries (“Service Providers”) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or lose operational functionality. Successful cyber-attacks or other cyber-failures or events affecting the Fund or its Service Providers may adversely impact the Fund or its shareholders.

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Emerging Markets Risk. Investing in emerging markets involves not only the risks described herein with respect to investing in foreign securities, but also other risks, including exposure to economic structures that are generally less diverse and mature, and to political systems that can be expected to have less stability than those of developed countries. The typically small size of the markets may also result in a lack of liquidity and in price volatility of these securities. Emerging markets are riskier than more developed markets because they tend to develop unevenly and may never fully develop. Investments in emerging markets may be considered speculative and share the risks of foreign developed markets but to a greater extent. Emerging markets are more likely to experience hyperinflation and currency devaluations, which adversely affect returns to U.S. investors. In addition, many emerging financial markets have far lower trading volumes and less liquidity than developed markets, which may result in increased price volatility of emerging market investments. The legal remedies for investors in emerging markets may be more limited than the remedies available in the U.S., and the ability of U.S. authorities (e.g., SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice) to bring actions against bad actors may be limited.

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Foreign (Non-U.S.) Investment Risk. Foreign (non-U.S.) securities present greater investment risks than investing in the securities of U.S. issuers and may experience more rapid and extreme changes in value than the securities of U.S. companies, due to less information about foreign (non-U.S.) companies in the form of reports and ratings than about U.S. issuers; different accounting, auditing and financial reporting requirements; smaller markets; nationalization; expropriation or confiscatory taxation; currency blockage; or political changes or diplomatic developments. Foreign (non-U.S.) securities may decline in value due to conditions specific to an individual country, including unfavorable economic conditions relative to the United States. Foreign (non-U.S.) securities may also be less liquid and more difficult to value than securities of U.S. issuers.

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Gap Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk that the value of an investment will change dramatically from one level to another with no trading in between and/or before the Fund can exit from the investment. Usually, such movements occur when there are adverse news announcements, which can cause a stock price or derivative value to drop substantially from the previous day’s closing price. Trading halts may lead to gap risk.

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Industry Concentration Risk. The Fund may be susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund’s investment more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in securities of a particular industry, group of industries or sector.

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Liquidity Risk. The Fund may, at times, hold investments that are illiquid or become illiquid. Illiquidity can be caused by a variety of factors, including economic conditions, market events, events relating to the issuer of the securities, the absence of a readily available market for certain investments, a drop in overall market trading volume, an inability to find a ready buyer, or legal or contractual restrictions on the securities’ resale. The Fund could lose money if it is unable to dispose of an investment at a time or price that is most beneficial to the Fund. The Fund may invest in instruments that trade in lower volumes and may make investments that may be less liquid than other investments. Trading opportunities are more limited for fixed-income securities that have not received any credit ratings, have received ratings below investment grade or are not widely held. These features make it more difficult to sell or buy a security at a favorable time or price. When there is no willing buyer and/or investments can not be readily sold at the desired time or price, in order to raise cash (to pay redemption proceeds or satisfy other obligations or for other reasons), the Fund may have to accept a lower price to sell a security or may not be able to sell the security at all, and the Fund may have to sell other securities at unfavorable times or prices or give up an investment opportunity, any of which could have a negative effect on the Fund’s performance. The risk of loss may increase depending on the size and frequency of redemption requests, whether the redemption requests occur in times of overall market turmoil or declining prices, and whether the securities the Fund intends to sell have decreased in value or are illiquid. There is a risk that the Fund could not meet requests to redeem shares issued by the Fund without significant dilution of remaining investors’ interests in the Fund. Infrequent trading of securities may also lead to an increase in their price volatility. In addition, it may be more difficult for the Fund to value its investments in illiquid securities than more liquid securities. Certain securities that are liquid when purchased may later become illiquid or less liquid, particularly in times of overall market developments, economic distress or adverse investor perceptions. Liquidity risk may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from mutual funds may be higher than normal, causing increased supply in the market due to selling activity. In the past, in stressed markets, certain types of securities suffered periods of illiquidity if disfavored by the market. All of these risks may increase during periods of market turmoil, such as that experienced in 2020 with COVID-19 and could have a negative effect on the Fund’s performance.

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Mezzanine Securities Risk. Mezzanine securities carry the risk that the issuer will not be able to meet its obligations and that the equity securities purchased with the mezzanine investments may lose value.

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Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may experience high portfolio turnover, including investments made on a shorter-term basis, which may lead to increased Fund expenses that may result in lower investment returns. High portfolio turnover may also result in higher short-term capital gains taxable to shareholders.

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Treasury Inflation Protected Securities Risk. The value of inflation protected securities issued by the U.S. Treasury (“TIPS”) generally fluctuates in response to inflationary concerns. As inflationary expectations increase, TIPS will become more attractive, because they protect future interest payments against inflation. Conversely, as inflationary concerns decrease, TIPS will become less attractive and less valuable.

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U.S. Government Securities Risk. Treasury obligations may differ in their interest rates, maturities, times of issuance and other characteristics. Obligations of U.S. Government agencies and authorities are supported by varying degrees of credit but generally are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Government will provide financial support to its agencies and authorities if it is not obligated by law to do so. In addition, the value of U.S. Government securities may be affected by changes in the credit rating of the U.S. Government.

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Volatility Risk. The Fund’s investments may appreciate or decrease significantly in value over short periods of time. The value of an investment in the Fund’s portfolio may fluctuate due to events or factors that affect industries, sectors or markets generally or that affect a particular investment, industry or sector. The value of an investment in the Fund’s portfolio may also be more volatile than the market as a whole. This volatility may affect the Fund’s NAV per share, including by causing it to experience significant increases or declines in value over short periods of time. Events or financial circumstances affecting individual investments, industries or sectors may increase the volatility of the Fund.