has not complied with applicable tax
requirements, interest from the security could become taxable and the security could decline significantly in value.
Investing in U.S. Territories, Commonwealths and Possessions Risk. The Fund also invests in obligations of the governments of U.S. territories, commonwealths and possessions
such as Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands to the extent
such obligations are exempt from regular federal individual income taxes. Accordingly, the Fund may be adversely affected by local political, economic, social and environmental conditions and developments, including natural disasters, within
these U.S. territories, commonwealths and possessions affecting the issuers of such obligations.
Certain of the municipalities in which the Fund invests, including Puerto Rico, currently
experience significant financial difficulties, which may include default, insolvency or bankruptcy. As a result, securities issued by certain of these municipalities are currently considered below-investment-grade securities. A credit rating downgrade
relating to, default by, or insolvency or bankruptcy of, one or several municipal security issuers of a state, territory, commonwealth or possession in which the Fund invests could affect the payment of principal and interest, the
market values and marketability of many or all municipal obligations of such state, territory, commonwealth or possession.
Unrated Securities Risk. The Sub-Adviser may internally assign ratings to securities that are not rated by any nationally recognized
statistical rating organization, after assessing their credit quality and other factors, in
categories similar to those of nationally recognized statistical rating organizations. There can be no assurance, nor is it intended, that the Sub-Adviser’s credit analysis process is consistent or comparable with the credit analysis process used
by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization. Unrated securities are considered “investment-grade” or “below-investment-grade” if judged by the Sub-Adviser to be comparable to rated investment-grade
or below-investment-grade securities. The Sub-Adviser’s rating does not constitute a guarantee of the credit quality. In addition, some unrated securities may not have an active trading market or may trade less actively than rated
securities, which means that unrated securities may be difficult to sell promptly at an acceptable price.
Medium- and Lower-Grade Municipal Securities Risk. Medium-
and lower-grade municipal securities generally involve more volatility and greater risks,
including credit, market, liquidity and management risks, than higher-grade securities. Furthermore, many issuers of medium- and lower-grade securities choose not to have a rating assigned to their obligations. As such, the Fund’s portfolio may
consist of a higher portion of unrated securities than an investment company investing solely in higher-grade securities. Unrated securities may not be as attractive to as many buyers as are rated securities, which may
have the effect of limiting the Fund’s ability to sell such securities at the desired price.
High Yield Securities (Junk Bond)
Risk. Compared to higher quality debt securities, high yield debt securities (commonly referred to as “junk bonds”) involve
a greater risk of default or price changes due to changes in the credit quality of the issuer because they are generally unsecured and may be subordinated to other creditors’ claims. They are considered speculative with
respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal. High yield debt securities often are issued by smaller, less creditworthy companies or by highly leveraged (indebted) firms, which generally are less able than more
financially stable firms to make scheduled payments of interest and principal. The values of junk bonds often fluctuate more in response to company, political, regulatory or economic developments than higher quality bonds, and
their values can decline significantly over short periods of time or during periods of economic
difficulty when the bonds could be difficult to value or sell at a fair price.
Municipal Issuer Focus Risk. The municipal issuers in
which the Fund invests may be located in the same geographic area or may pay their interest
obligations from revenue of similar projects, such as hospitals, airports, utility systems and housing finance agencies. This may make the
Fund’s investments more susceptible
to similar social, economic, political or regulatory occurrences, making the Fund more susceptible to experience a drop in its share price than if the Fund had been more diversified across issuers that did not have similar
characteristics.
Changing Fixed-Income Market Conditions
Risk. Fluctuations in the federal funds and equivalent foreign interest rates or other changes to monetary policy or regulatory
actions may expose fixed-income markets to heightened volatility, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree, and to reduced liquidity for certain fixed-income investments, particularly those with longer maturities. Such
changes and resulting increased volatility may adversely impact the Fund, including its operations, universe of potential investment options, and return potential. It is difficult to predict the impact of interest rate changes on
various markets. In addition, decreases in fixed-income dealer market-making capacity may also potentially lead to heightened volatility and reduced liquidity in the fixed-income markets. As a result, the value of the Fund's
investments and share price may decline. Changes in central bank policies and other governmental actions and political events within the U.S. and abroad may also, among other things, affect investor and consumer
expectations and confidence in the financial markets. This could result in higher than normal redemptions by APs (as defined herein), which could potentially increase the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate and transaction
costs.
Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk refers to the risk that bond prices generally fall as interest rates rise; conversely,
bond prices generally rise as interest rates fall. Specific bonds differ in their sensitivity to changes in interest rates depending on their individual characteristics, including duration. “Duration
risk” is related to interest rate risk; it refers to the risks associated with the sensitivity of a bond’s price to a one percent change in interest rates. Bonds with longer durations (i.e., a greater length of time until they reach maturity) face
greater duration risk, meaning that they tend to exhibit greater volatility and are more sensitive to changes in interest rates than bonds with shorter durations.
Credit Risk. The issuer of instruments in which the Fund invests may be unable to meet interest and/or principal payments.
An issuer’s securities may decrease in value if its financial strength weakens, which may reduce its credit rating and possibly its ability to meet its contractual obligations. Even in the case of
collateralized debt obligations, there is no assurance that the sale of collateral would raise enough cash to satisfy an issuer’s payment obligations or that the collateral can or will be liquidated.
Income Risk. The Fund’s income may decline when
interest rates fall because the Fund may hold a significant portion of short duration securities
and/or securities that have floating or variable interest rates. To the extent that the Fund
invests in lower yielding bonds, and as the bonds in its portfolio mature, the Fund needs to purchase additional bonds, thereby reducing the Fund’s income.
Call Risk. If interest rates fall, it is possible that
issuers of callable securities with high interest coupons will “call” (or prepay) their bonds before their maturity date. If an issuer exercises such a call during a period of declining interest rates,
the Fund may have to replace such called security with a lower yielding security. If that were to happen, the Fund’s net investment income could fall.
Reinvestment Risk. Reinvestment risk is the risk that the
Fund will not be able to reinvest income or principal at the same return it is currently earning.
Reinvestment risk is greater during periods of declining interest rates, as prepayments often occur faster. It is related to call risk, since issuers of callable securities with high interest coupons may call their bonds before their maturity date.
This may require the Fund to reinvest the proceeds at an earlier date, and it may be able to do so only at lower yields, thereby reducing its return.
Rule 144A Securities and Other Exempt Securities Risk. The market for Rule 144A and other securities exempt from certain registration requirements typically is less
active than the market for publicly-traded securities. Rule 144A and other exempt securities, which are also known as privately issued securities, carry the risk that their liquidity may become