factors are expected to have a material negative or positive impact on the
cash flows or risk profiles of securities or instruments in which the Fund may invest. These determinations may not be conclusive and securities of issuers that may be negatively impacted by such factors may be purchased and retained by the Fund
while the Fund may divest or not invest in securities of issuers that may be positively impacted by such factors.
The Fund’s Main Investment Risks
The Fund is subject to management risk and may not achieve its
objective if the adviser’s expectations regarding particular instruments or markets are not met.
An investment in this Fund or any other
fund may not provide a complete investment program. The suitability of an investment in the Fund should be considered based on the investment objective, strategies and risks described in this prospectus, considered in light of all of the other
investments in your portfolio, as well as your risk tolerance, financial goals and time horizons. You may want to consult with a financial advisor to determine if this Fund is suitable for you.
The Fund is subject to the main risks noted below, any of
which may adversely affect the Fund’s performance and ability to meet its investment objective.
General Market Risk.
Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions.
Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in general financial markets, a particular financial market or other asset classes, due to a number of factors, including inflation (or expectations for
inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory events,
other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental
disasters, natural disasters or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics.
For example, the outbreak of COVID-19, a novel coronavirus
disease, has negatively affected economies, markets and individual companies throughout the world, including those in which the Fund invests. The effects of this pandemic to public health and business and market conditions, including exchange
trading suspensions and closures may continue to have a significant negative impact on the performance of the Fund’s investments, increase the Fund’s volatility, exacerbate pre-existing political, social and economic risks to the Fund,
and negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations. The Fund’s operations may be interrupted as a result, which may contribute to the negative impact on investment performance. In addition, governments, their regulatory
agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions in response to the pandemic that could affect the instruments in which the Fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in
ways that could have a significant negative impact on the Fund’s
investment performance. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, or other future epidemics or pandemics, is currently unknown.
Interest Rate Risk. The
Fund’s investments in bonds and other debt securities will change in value based on changes in interest rates. If rates increase, the value of these investments generally declines. Securities with greater interest rate sensitivity and longer
maturities generally are subject to greater fluctuations in value. The Fund may invest in variable and floating rate Loans and other variable and floating rate securities. Although these instruments are generally less sensitive to interest rate
changes than fixed rate instruments, the value of variable and floating rate Loans and other securities may decline if their interest rates do not rise as quickly, or as much, as general interest rates. The Fund may face a heightened level of
interest rate risk due to certain changes in monetary policy. During periods when interest rates are low or there are negative interest rates, the Fund’s yield (and total return) also may be low or the Fund may be unable to maintain positive
returns.
Credit Risk. The Fund’s investments are subject to the risk that issuers and/or counterparties will fail to make payments when due or default completely. Prices of the Fund’s investments may be adversely affected if any
of the issuers or counterparties it is invested in are subject to an actual or perceived deterioration in their credit quality. Credit spreads may increase, which may reduce the market values of the Fund’s securities. Credit spread risk is the
risk that economic and market conditions or any actual or perceived credit deterioration may lead to an increase in the credit spreads (i.e., the difference in yield between two securities of similar maturity but different credit quality) and a
decline in price of the issuer’s securities.
Derivatives Risk.
Derivatives, including futures, options, swaps, forward foreign currency contracts and price locks, may be riskier than other types of investments and may increase the volatility of the Fund. Derivatives may be sensitive to changes in economic and
market conditions and may create leverage, which could result in losses that significantly exceed the Fund’s original investment. Certain derivatives also expose the Fund to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the derivative counterparty
will not fulfill its contractual obligations (and includes credit risk associated with the counterparty). Certain derivatives are synthetic instruments that attempt to replicate the performance of certain reference assets. With regard to such
derivatives, the Fund does not have a claim on the reference assets and is subject to enhanced counterparty risk. Derivatives may not perform as expected, so the Fund may not realize the intended benefits. When used for hedging, the change in value
of a derivative may not correlate as expected with the currency, security or other risk being hedged. In addition, given their complexity, derivatives expose the Fund to risks of mispricing or improper valuation. Certain of the Fund’s
transactions in foreign currency derivatives and other derivatives could also affect the amount, timing and character of distributions to shareholders which may result in the Fund realizing more short-term capital gain and ordinary income subject to
tax at ordinary income tax rates than it would if it did not engage in such transactions, which may adversely impact the Fund’s after-tax returns.