Fitch, or, if unrated, determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality. The Fund may also invest in investment grade fixed income instruments. The average portfolio duration of the Fund normally will vary within two years (plus or minus) of the duration of the ICE BofA BB-B U.S. High Yield Constrained Index, which as of June 30, 2024 was 3.53 years. Duration measures the price sensitivity of a bond to changes in interest rates, calculated by the dollar weighted average time to maturity of a bond utilizing the present value of all future cash flows. For example, the share price of a fund with a duration of three years would be expected to fall approximately 3% if interest rates rose by one percentage point.
The Fund may invest up to 20% of its total assets in securities denominated in foreign currencies and may invest without limit in U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers. The Fund may invest up to 15% of its total assets in securities and instruments that are economically tied to emerging market countries. The Advisor attempts to identify areas of the bond market that are undervalued relative to the rest of the market.
In selecting securities for the Fund, the Advisor develops an outlook for credit markets, interest rates, currency exchange rates and the economy, analyzes individual credit and call risks, and uses other security selection techniques. The proportion of the Fund's assets committed to investment in securities with particular characteristics (such as quality, sector, interest rate or maturity) varies based on the Advisor's outlook for the U.S. economy and the economies of other countries in the world, the financial markets and other factors. As part of the Advisor's investment process, the investment team evaluates the general and industry-specific Environmental, Social, and Governance ("ESG") factors that the Advisor believes to be the most financially material to a company's short-, medium-, and long-term enterprise value. The Advisor believes this evaluation contributes to its overall analysis of a company's value creation for shareholders and future financial performance.
Principal Investment Risks. As with any mutual fund, the value of the Fund's investments, and therefore the value of its shares, may go down and you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Many factors can affect those values. The factors that are most likely to have a material effect on the Fund's portfolio as a whole are called "principal risks." The principal risks of investing in the Fund are described in this section.
Market Risk. Market risk is the risk that the market price of securities owned by the Fund may go down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, due to factors affecting securities markets generally or particular industries represented in the securities markets. These factors include general economic political or financial market conditions, such as the general outlook for corporate earnings, rates of economic growth and employment, and monetary policy, interest rates, inflation, and currency rates. Adverse market events or investor sentiment may also lead to increased shareholder redemptions, which could cause the Fund to experience a loss or difficulty in selling investments to meet such redemptions. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, financial crises, recessions, or other events may also lead to increased shareholder redemptions, which could cause the Fund to experience a loss or difficulty in selling investments to meet such redemptions.
Fixed Income Securities Risk. Fixed income securities, such as bonds, involve credit risk. Credit risk is the risk that the borrower will not make
timely payments of principal and interest. The degree of credit risk depends on the issuer's financial condition and on the terms of the securities. Fixed income securities are also subject to interest rate risk, income risk, and call risk.
High Yield Risk. The Fund's investments in high yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly known as "junk bonds") may subject the Fund to greater levels of credit, call and liquidity risk than funds that do not invest in such securities. High yield securities are considered primarily speculative with respect to the issuer's continuing ability to make principal and interest payments. While offering a greater potential opportunity for capital appreciation and higher yields, high yield securities typically entail greater potential price volatility and may be less liquid than higher-rated securities of similar maturity. An economic downturn or period of rising interest rates could adversely affect the market for these securities and reduce the Fund's ability to sell these securities (liquidity risk). If the issuer of a security is in default with respect to interest or principal payments, the Fund may lose its entire investment.
Active Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed investment portfolio. The Advisor invests in securities that may not necessarily be included in the Fund's benchmark. To the extent that the Advisor invests the Fund's assets in securities that are not in the Fund's benchmark index, there is a greater risk that the Fund's performance will deviate from that of the benchmark. The Advisor does not seek to replicate the performance of any index.
Security Selection Risk. The Advisor may misjudge the risk and/or return potential of a security. This misjudgment can result in a loss or a significant performance deviation relative to its benchmark.
Income Risk. The Fund is subject to income risk, which is the risk that the Fund's income will decline during periods of falling interest rates. If the income is reduced, distributions by the Fund to shareholders may be less.
Issuer Risk. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.
Foreign (Non-U.S.) Investment Risk. The Fund may invest in foreign (non-U.S.) securities and may experience more rapid and extreme changes in value than a fund that invests exclusively in securities of U.S. companies. The securities markets of many foreign countries are relatively small, with a limited number of companies representing a small number of industries. Additionally, issuers of foreign securities are usually not subject to the same degree of regulation as U.S. issuers and investments in securities of foreign issuers may be subject to foreign withholding and other taxes. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a specific geographic region or country, the Fund will have more exposure to the investment risks associated with that region or country, although the Advisor does not intend to focus on a specific geographic region or country. Foreign securities can be less liquid and more difficult to value than other securities.
Adverse political, economic or social developments, as well as U.S. and foreign government actions such as the imposition of tariffs, economic and trade sanctions or embargoes, could undermine the value of the Fund's investments, prevent the Fund from realizing the full value of its investments or prevent the Fund from selling securities it holds.