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Dec. 31, 2020
Federated Hermes Institutional High Yield Bond Fund
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8.5pt;font-weight:bold;">Federated Hermes Institutional High Yield Bond Fund (the “Fund”)</span>
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;text-transform:uppercase;">RISK/RETURN SUMMARY: INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE</span>
The Fund’s investment objective is to seek high current income.
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;text-transform:uppercase;">RISK/RETURN SUMMARY: FEES AND EXPENSES</span>
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell the Fund’s Institutional Shares (IS) and Class R6 Shares (R6). If you purchase the Fund’s Shares through a broker acting as an agent on behalf of its customers, you may be required to pay a commission to such broker; such commissions, if any, are not reflected in the Example below.
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8.5pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;">Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)</span>
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8.5pt;font-weight:bold;">Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)</span>
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8.5pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;">Example</span>
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that operating expenses are as shown in the table above and remain the same. Although your actual costs and returns may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8.5pt;font-weight:bold;">Portfolio Turnover</span>
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate 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 Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 32% of the average value of its portfolio.
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;text-transform:uppercase;">RISK/RETURN SUMMARY: INVESTMENTS, RISKS and PERFORMANCE</span><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8.5pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;">What are the Fund’s Main Investment Strategies?</span>
The Fund pursues its investment objective by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of high yield corporate bonds (also known as “junk bonds”), which include debt securities issued by U.S. or foreign businesses (including emerging market debt securities). The Fund’s investment adviser (the “Adviser”) selects securities that it believes have attractive risk-return characteristics. The Adviser’s securities selection process includes an analysis of the issuer’s financial condition, business and product strength, competitive position and management expertise. The Adviser does not limit the Fund’s investments to securities of a particular maturity range.The Fund may invest in derivative contracts (for example, futures contracts, option contracts and swap contracts) to implement its investment strategies as more fully described in the Fund’s Prospectus. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s use of derivative contracts or hybrid instruments will work as intended. Derivative investments made by the Fund are included within the Fund’s 80% policy (as described below) and are calculated at market value.The Fund will invest its assets so that at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) are invested in investments rated below investment-grade. The Fund will notify shareholders in advance of any change in its investment policy that would enable the Fund to invest, under normal circumstances, less than 80% of its net assets in investments rated below investment-grade.
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8.5pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;">What are the Main Risks of Investing in the Fund?</span>
All mutual funds take investment risks. Therefore, it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund. The primary factors that may reduce the Fund’s returns include:■  Risk Associated with Noninvestment-Grade Securities. Securities rated below investment-grade may be subject to greater interest rate, credit and liquidity risks than investment-grade securities. These securities are considered speculative with respect to the issuer’s ability to pay interest and repay principal.■  Issuer Credit Risk . It is possible that interest or principal on securities will not be paid when due. Noninvestment-grade securities generally have a higher default risk than investment-grade securities. Such non-payment or default may reduce the value of the Fund’s portfolio holdings, its share price and its performance.■  Counterparty Credit Risk. Credit risk includes the possibility that a party to a transaction involving the Fund will fail to meet its obligations. This could cause the Fund to lose money or to lose the benefit of the transaction or prevent the Fund from selling or buying other securities to implement its investment strategy.■  Risk Related to the Economy. The value of the Fund’s portfolio may decline in tandem with a drop in the overall value of the markets in which the Fund invests and/or other markets. Economic, political and financial conditions, industry or economic trends and developments or public health risks, such as epidemics or pandemics, may, from time to time, and for varying periods of time, cause the Fund to experience volatility, illiquidity, shareholder redemptions, or other potentially adverse effects. Among other investments, lower-grade bonds and loans may be particularly sensitive to changes in the economy.■  Liquidity Risk. Liquidity of individual corporate bonds varies considerably. Low-grade corporate bonds have less liquidity than investment-grade securities, which means that it may be more difficult to sell or buy a security at a favorable price or time.■  Interest Rate Risk. Prices of fixed-income securities generally fall when interest rates rise. The longer the duration of a fixed-income security, the more susceptible it is to interest-rate risk. Recent and potential future changes in monetary policy made by central banks and/or their governments are likely to affect the level of interest rates.■  Risk of Foreign Investing. Because the Fund invests in securities issued by foreign companies and national governments, the Fund’s Share price may be more affected by foreign economic and political conditions, taxation policies and accounting and auditing standards than could otherwise be the case.■  Currency Risk. Exchange rates for currencies fluctuate daily. The value of the Fund’s foreign investments and the value of the shares may be affected favorably or unfavorably by changes in currency exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar.■  European Union and Eurozone Related Risk. A number of countries in the European Union (EU), including certain countries within the EU that have adopted the euro (Eurozone), have experienced, and may continue to experience, severe economic and financial difficulties. Additional countries within the EU may also fall subject to such difficulties. These events could negatively affect the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments in euro-denominated securities and derivatives contracts, securities of issuers located in the EU or with significant exposure to EU issuers or countries.■  Leverage Risk. Leverage risk is created when an investment exposes the Fund to a level of risk that exceeds the amount invested.■  Risk of Investing in Emerging Market Countries. Securities issued or traded in emerging markets generally entail greater risks than securities issued or traded in developed markets.■  Risk of Investing in Derivative Contracts and Hybrid Instruments. Derivative contracts and hybrid instruments involve risks different from, or possibly greater than, risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. Specific risk issues related to the use of such contracts and instruments include valuation and tax issues, increased potential for losses and/or costs to the Fund, and a potential reduction in gains to the Fund. Each of these issues is described in greater detail in this prospectus.■  Risk of Loss after Redemption. The Fund may also invest in trade finance loan instruments primarily by investing in other investment companies (which are not available for general investment by the public) that own those instruments, is advised by an affiliate of the Adviser and is structured as an extended payment fund.■  Technology Risk. The Adviser uses various technologies in managing the Fund, consistent with its investment objective and strategy described in this Prospectus. For example, proprietary and third party data and systems are utilized to support decision making for the Fund. Data imprecision, software or other technology malfunctions, programming inaccuracies and similar circumstances may impair the performance of these systems, which may negatively affect Fund performance.The Shares offered by this Prospectus are not deposits or obligations of any bank, are not endorsed or guaranteed by any bank and are not insured or guaranteed by the U.S. government, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board or any other government agency.
<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;text-transform:uppercase;">Performance: Bar Chart and Table</span><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8.5pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;">Risk/Return Bar Chart</span>
The bar chart and performance table below reflects historical performance data for the Fund and are intended to help you analyze the Fund’s investment risks in light of its historical returns. The bar chart shows the variability of the Fund’s IS class total returns on a calendar year-by-year basis. The Average Annual Total Return Table shows returns averagedover the stated periods, and includes comparative performance information. The Fund’s performance will fluctuate, and past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of future results.Updated performance information for the Fund is available under the “Products” section at FederatedInvestors.com or by calling 1-800-341-7400.
Federated Institutional High Yield Bond Fund – IS Class

The Fund's IS class total return for the nine-month period from January 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020, was 0.44%.

Within the periods shown in the bar chart, the Fund's IS class highest quarterly return was 7.73% (quarter ended March 31, 2019). Its lowest quarterly return was (4.97)% (quarter ended September 30, 2011).

<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8.5pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;">Average Annual Total Return Table</span>
The Fund’s R6 class commenced operations on June 29, 2016. For the periods prior to the commencement of operations of the Fund’s R6 class, the performance information shown below is for the Fund’s IS class. The performance of the IS class has not been adjusted to reflect the expenses applicable to the R6 class since the R6 class has a lower expense ratio than the expense ratio of the IS class. The performance of the IS class has been adjusted to remove any voluntary waiver of Fund expenses related to the IS class that may have occurred during the periods prior to the commencement of operations of the R6 class, which would have caused the IS class expenses to be lower than the gross expenses of the R6 class. The Fund’s R6 class would have annual returns substantially similar to those of the IS class because the shares are invested in the same portfolio of securities and the annual returns would differ only to the extent that the classes do not have the same expenses. In addition to Return Before Taxes, Return After Taxes is shown for the Fund’s IS class to illustrate the effect of federal taxes on Fund returns. After-tax returns are shown only for the IS class, and after-tax returns for the R6 class will differ from those shown for the IS class.Actual after-tax returns depend on each investor’s personal tax situation, and are likely to differ from those shown.After-tax returns are calculated using a standard set of assumptions. The stated returns assume the highest historical federal income and capital gains tax rates. These after-tax returns do notreflect the effect of any applicable state and local taxes.After-tax returns are not relevant to investors holding Shares through a 401(k) plan, an Individual Retirement Account or other tax-advantaged investment plan.(For the Period Ended December 31, 2019)