a parallel shift in yield curve). The Fund may also invest in private placements, restricted securities and other unregistered securities. Securities issued under Rule 144A or other private placements are eligible investments. The Fund may invest in sub-prime mortgage-related securities.
All securities will be rated investment grade (or the unrated equivalent) at the time of purchase. While the Fund may not purchase below investment grade securities, it may hold up to 5% in below investment grade securities. In addition, all securities will be U.S. dollar-denominated, although they may be issued by a foreign corporation or a U.S. affiliate of a foreign corporation or a foreign government or its agencies and instrumentalities. The adviser may invest a significant portion or all of its assets in mortgage-related and mortgage-backed securities in the adviser's discretion. As part of its principal investment strategy, the Fund may invest in debt securities structured as private placements, restricted securities and other unregistered securities.
In addition to direct investments in securities, derivatives, which are instruments that have value based on another instrument, exchange rate or index, may be used as substitutes for securities in which the Fund can invest. The Fund has flexibility to invest in derivatives to manage duration, sector and yield curve exposure, credit and spread volatility and to respond to volatile market conditions. The Fund may use futures contracts, options, and swaps.
The Fund's Assets may be invested in foreign securities, which will be denominated in USD. Foreign securities include securities issued by foreign governments or their agencies and instrumentalities and companies that are incorporated outside the United States.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund will limit issuer concentrations to 5% of the Fund's Assets per issuer at the time of purchase. This limit does not apply to investments in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies and instrumentalities.
Securitized sectors (agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS), asset-backed securities (ABS), commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS)) will be a minimum of the sector's representation within the Benchmark plus 20%. Credit sector exposure will be limited to the sector's representation within the Benchmark minus 10%.
For liquidity, as a result of cash flows due to contributions and withdrawals, and for temporary defensive purposes in order to respond to unusual market conditions, the Fund may invest all or any portion of its assets in cash and cash equivalents.
As part of its principal investment strategy and for temporary defensive purposes, any portion of the Fund's total assets may be invested in cash and cash equivalents, including affiliated money market funds.
Investment Process: The Portfolio Management (PM) team buys and sells securities and investments for the Fund based on its view of individual securities and market sectors. Taking a long-term approach, the PM team looks for individual fixed income investments that it believes will perform well over market cycles. The team is value oriented and makes decisions to purchase and sell individual securities and instruments after
performing a risk/reward analysis that includes an evaluation of interest rate risk, credit risk, duration, liquidity, legal provisions and the structure of the transaction.
As part of its investment process, the adviser seeks to assess the impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors on many issuers in the universe in which the Fund may invest. The adviser's assessment is based on an analysis of key opportunities and risks across industries to seek to identify financially material issues with respect to the Fund's investments in issuers and ascertain key issues that merit engagement with issuers. These assessments may not be conclusive and securities or countries 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 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 net asset value (NAV), market price, 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, financial system 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.
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 rise, 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 floating rate loans and other securities may decline if their interest rates do not rise as