INVESTMENT SECURITIES, STRATEGIES AND RISKS

The different types of investments that the funds typically may invest in, the investment techniques they may use and the risks normally associated with these investments are discussed below. Not all securities or techniques discussed below are eligible investments for each fund. Under normal circumstances, a fund will make investments that are intended to help achieve its investment objective.

BANKERS’ ACCEPTANCES or notes are credit instruments evidencing a bank’s obligation to pay a draft drawn on it by a customer. These instruments reflect the obligation both of the bank and of the drawer to pay the full amount of the instrument upon maturity. A fund will invest only in bankers’ acceptances of banks that have capital, surplus and undivided profits in excess of $100 million.

BOND SUBSTITUTION is a strategy whereby a fund may, from time to time, substitute one type of investment-grade bond for another. This means that, as an example, a fund may have a higher weighting in corporate bonds and a lower weighting in U.S. Treasury securities than its index in order to increase income. This particular substitution – a corporate bond substitution – may increase a fund’s credit risk, although this may be mitigated through increased diversification in the corporate sector of the bond market.

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BORROWING. A fund may borrow for temporary or emergency purposes; for example, a fund may borrow at times to meet redemption requests rather than sell portfolio securities to raise the necessary cash. A fund’s borrowings will be subject to interest costs. Borrowing can also involve leveraging when securities are purchased with the borrowed money. Leveraging creates interest expenses that can exceed the income from the assets purchased with the borrowed money. In addition, leveraging may magnify changes in the net asset value of a fund’s shares and in its portfolio yield. To avoid this, a fund will not purchase securities while borrowings are outstanding or will earmark or segregate assets to cover such borrowings in accordance with positions of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). If assets used to secure a borrowing decrease in value, a fund may be required to pledge additional collateral to avoid liquidation of those assets.

Each fund may establish lines-of-credit (“lines”) with certain banks by which it may borrow funds for temporary or emergency purposes. A borrowing is presumed to be for temporary or emergency purposes if it is repaid by a fund within 60 days and is not extended or renewed. Each fund may use the lines to meet large or unexpected redemptions that would otherwise force a fund to liquidate securities under circumstances which are unfavorable to the fund’s remaining shareholders. Each fund will pay a fee to the bank for using the lines.

BRADY BONDS. The funds may invest in Brady Bonds. Brady Bonds are debt securities issued under the framework of the Brady Plan, an initiative announced by the U.S. Treasury Secretary, Nicholas F. Brady in 1989, as a mechanism for debtor nations to restructure their outstanding external indebtedness (generally, commercial bank debt). Brady Bonds tend to be lower quality and more speculative than securities of developed country issuers.

Each fund may invest in Brady Bonds. Brady Bonds are securities created through the exchange of existing commercial bank loans to sovereign entities for new obligations in connection with debt restructurings under a debt restructuring plan introduced by former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Nicholas F. Brady (the “Brady Plan”). Brady Plan debt restructurings have been implemented in a number of countries, including: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Jordan, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Brady Bonds may be collateralized or uncollateralized, are issued in various currencies (primarily the U.S. dollar) and are actively traded in the over-the-counter secondary market. Brady Bonds are not considered to be U.S. Government securities. U.S. dollar-denominated, collateralized Brady Bonds, which may be fixed rate par bonds or floating rate discount bonds, are generally collateralized in full as to principal by U.S. Treasury zero coupon bonds having the same maturity as the Brady Bonds. Interest payments on these Brady Bonds generally are collateralized on a one-year or longer rolling-forward basis by cash or securities in an amount that, in the case of fixed rate bonds, is equal to at least one year of interest payments or, in the case of floating rate bonds, initially is equal to at least one year’s interest payments based on the applicable interest rate at that time and is adjusted at regular intervals thereafter. Certain Brady Bonds are entitled to “value recovery payments” in certain circumstances, which in effect constitute supplemental interest payments but generally are not collateralized. Brady Bonds are often viewed as having three or four valuation components: (i) the collateralized repayment of principal at final maturity; (ii) the collateralized interest payments; (iii) the uncollateralized interest payments; and (iv) any uncollateralized repayment of principal at maturity (these uncollateralized amounts constitute the “residual risk”). Most Mexican Brady Bonds issued to date have principal repayments at final maturity fully collateralized by U.S. Treasury zero coupon bonds (or comparable collateral denominated in other currencies) and interest coupon payments collateralized on an 18-month rolling-forward basis by funds held in escrow by an agent for the bondholders. A significant portion of the Venezuelan Brady Bonds and the Argentine Brady Bonds issued to date have principal repayments at final maturity collateralized by U.S. Treasury zero coupon bonds (or comparable collateral denominated in other currencies) and/or interest coupon payments collateralized on a 14-month (for Venezuela) or 12-month (for Argentina) rolling-forward basis by securities held by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as collateral agent.

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Brady Bonds involve various risk factors including residual risk and the history of defaults with respect to commercial bank loans by public and private entities of countries issuing Brady Bonds. There can be no assurance that Brady Bonds in which a fund may invest will not be subject to restructuring arrangements or to requests for new credit, which may cause the fund to suffer a loss of interest or principal on any of its holdings.

CAPITAL SECURITIES are certain subordinated bank securities. They are bank obligations that fall below senior unsecured debt and deposits in liquidation. A bank’s capital comprises share capital reserves and a series of hybrid instruments also known as capital securities. These securities are used to augment equity Tier 1 and are usually in the form of subordinated debt. A capital security has to adhere to supervisory guidelines concerning its characteristics such as amount, maturity, subordination and deferral language in order to count as capital. Regulators across the world tend to look toward the Bank for International Settlements (“BIS”) for guidance in setting the capital adequacy framework for banks. Regulators use these guidelines to place limits on the proportions and type of capital (including capital securities) allowed to make up the capital base. Capital adequacy requires not just a certain quantity of capital but certain types in relationship to the nature of a bank’s assets. Capital securities may be denominated in U.S. or local currency.

CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT or time deposits are issued against funds deposited in a banking institution for a specified period of time at a specified interest rate. A fund will invest only in certificates of deposit of banks that have capital, surplus and undivided profits, in the aggregate, in excess of $100 million.

COMMERCIAL PAPER consists of short term, promissory notes issued by banks, corporations and other institutions to finance short term credit needs. These securities generally are discounted but sometimes may be interest bearing. Commercial paper, which also may be unsecured, is subject to credit risk.

CONCENTRATION means that substantial amounts of assets are invested in a particular industry or group of industries. Concentration increases investment exposure to industry risk. For example, the automobile industry may have a greater exposure to a single factor, such as an increase in the price of oil, which may adversely affect the sale of automobiles and, as a result, the value of the industry’s securities. Each fund will not concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries.

CREDIT AND LIQUIDITY supports or enhancements may be employed by issuers or a fund to reduce the credit risk of their securities. Credit supports include letters of credit, insurance, total return and credit swap agreements and guarantees provided by foreign and domestic financial institutions. Liquidity supports include puts, demand features and lines of credit. Most of these arrangements move the credit risk of an investment from the issuer of the security to the support provider. The investment adviser may rely on its evaluation of the credit and liquidity support provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security enhanced by such a support. Changes in the credit quality of a support provider could cause losses to a fund, and affect its share price.

DEBT SECURITIES are obligations issued by domestic and foreign entities, including governments and corporations, in order to raise money. They are basically “IOUs,” but are commonly referred to as bonds or money market securities. These securities normally require the issuer to pay a fixed, variable or floating rate of interest on the amount of money borrowed (“principal”) until it is paid back upon maturity.

Debt securities experience price changes when interest rates change. For example, when interest rates fall, the prices of debt securities generally rise. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the prices of debt securities generally fall. Certain debt securities have call features that allow issuers to redeem their outstanding debts prior to final maturity. Depending on the call feature, an issuer may pre-pay its outstanding debts and issue new ones paying lower interest rates. This is especially true for bonds with sinking fund provisions, which commit the issuer to set aside a certain amount of money to cover timely repayment of principal and typically allow the issuer to annually repurchase certain of its outstanding bonds from the open market or at a pre-set call price.

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This is more likely to occur in a falling interest rate environment. In a rising interest rate environment, prepayment on outstanding debt securities is less likely to occur. This is known as extension risk and may cause the value of debt securities to depreciate as a result of the higher market interest rates. Typically, longer-maturity securities react to interest rate changes more severely than shorter-term securities (all things being equal), but generally offer greater rates of interest. If an issuer redeems its debt securities prior to final maturity, a fund may have to replace these securities with lower yielding securities, which could result in a lower return.

A change in a central bank’s monetary policy (e.g. the tapering of the Federal Reserve Board’s quantitative easing program) or improving economic conditions may lead to an increase in interest rates, which could significantly impact the value of debt securities in which a fund invests. Some debt securities, such as bonds with longer durations, are more sensitive to interest rate changes than others and may experience an immediate and considerable reduction in value if interest rates rise. Longer duration securities tend to be more volatile than shorter duration securities. As the values of debt securities in a fund’s portfolio adjust to a rise in interest rates, the fund’s share price may fall. In the event that a fund holds a large portion of its portfolio in longer duration securities when interest rates increase, the share price of the fund may fall significantly.

Debt securities also are subject to the risk that the issuers will not make timely interest and/or principal payments or fail to make them at all. This is called credit risk. Corporate debt securities (“bonds”) tend to have higher credit risk generally than U.S. government debt securities. Debt securities also may be subject to price volatility due to market perception of future interest rates, the creditworthiness of the issuer and general market liquidity (market risk). Investment-grade debt securities are considered medium- or/and high-quality securities, although some still possess varying degrees of speculative characteristics and risks. Debt securities rated below investment-grade are riskier, but may offer higher yields. These securities are sometimes referred to as high yield securities or “junk bonds.”

Corporate bonds are debt securities issued by corporations. Although a higher return is expected from corporate bonds, these securities, while subject to the same general risks as U.S. government securities, are subject to greater credit risk than U.S. government securities. Their prices may be affected by the perceived credit quality of their issuer.

Certain debt securities have provisions that allow the issuer to redeem or “call” a bond before its maturity at a price below or above its current market value. Issuers are most likely to call these securities during periods of falling interest rates. When this happens, a fund may have to replace these securities with lower yielding securities, which could result in a lower return.

DELAYED-DELIVERY TRANSACTIONS include purchasing and selling securities on a delayed-delivery or when-issued basis. These transactions involve a commitment to buy or sell specific securities at a predetermined price or yield, with payment and delivery taking place after the customary settlement period for that type of security. When purchasing securities on a delayed-delivery basis, a fund assumes the rights and risks of ownership, including the risk of price and yield fluctuations. Typically, no interest will accrue to the purchaser until the security is delivered. A fund will earmark or segregate appropriate liquid assets to cover its delayed-delivery purchase obligations. When a fund sells a security on a delayed-delivery basis, it does not participate in further gains or losses with respect to that security. If the other party to a delayed-delivery transaction fails to deliver or pay for the securities, a fund could suffer losses.

DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS include American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other “hybrid” forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), and are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. Depositary receipts may be sponsored or unsponsored. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer’s home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.

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Investments in the securities of foreign issuers may subject the funds to investment risks that differ in some respects from those related to investments in securities of U.S. issuers. Such risks include future adverse political and economic developments, withholding taxes on income or possible imposition of withholding taxes on income, possible seizure, nationalization or expropriation of foreign deposits, possible establishment of exchange controls or taxation at the source or greater fluctuation in value due to changes in exchange rates. Foreign issuers of securities often engage in business practices different from those of domestic issuers of similar securities, and there may be less information publicly available about foreign issuers. In addition, foreign issuers are, generally speaking, subject to less government supervision and regulation and different accounting treatment than are those in the United States.

Although the two types of depositary receipt facilities (unsponsored or sponsored) are similar, there are differences regarding a holder’s rights and obligations and the practices of market participants. A depository may establish an unsponsored facility without participation by (or acquiescence of) the underlying issuer; typically, however, the depository requests a letter of non-objection from the underlying issuer prior to establishing the facility. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all the costs of the facility. The depository usually charges fees upon the deposit and withdrawal of the underlying securities, the conversion of dividends into U.S. dollars or other currency, the disposition of non-cash distributions, and the performance of other services. The depository of an unsponsored facility frequently is under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the underlying issuer or to pass through voting rights to depositary receipt holders with respect to the underlying securities.

Sponsored depositary receipt facilities are created in generally the same manner as unsponsored facilities, except that sponsored depositary receipts are established jointly by a depository and the underlying issuer through a deposit agreement. The deposit agreement sets out the rights and responsibilities of the underlying issuer, the depository, and the depositary receipt holders. With sponsored facilities, the underlying issuer typically bears some of the costs of the depositary receipts (such as dividend payment fees of the depository), although most sponsored depositary receipts holders may bear costs such as deposit and withdrawal fees. Depositories of most sponsored depositary receipts agree to distribute notices of shareholder meetings, voting instructions, and other shareholder communications and information to the depositary receipt holders at the underlying issuer’s request.

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS are commonly defined to include securities or contracts whose values depend on (or “derive” from) the value of one or more other assets such as securities, currencies or commodities. These “other assets” are commonly referred to as “underlying assets.”

A derivative instrument generally consists of, is based upon, or exhibits characteristics similar to options or forward contracts. Options and forward contracts are considered to be the basic “building blocks” of derivatives. For example, forward-based derivatives include forward contracts, as well as exchange-traded futures. Option-based derivatives include privately negotiated, over-the-counter (OTC) options (including caps, floors, collars, and options on forward and swap contracts) and exchange-traded options on futures. Diverse types of derivatives may be created by combining options or forward contracts in different ways, and applying these structures to a wide range of underlying assets.

Risk management strategies include investment techniques designed to facilitate the sale of portfolio securities, manage the average duration of the portfolio or create or alter exposure to certain asset classes, such as equity, other debt or foreign securities.

In addition to the derivative instruments and strategies described in this SAI, the Investment Adviser (as defined herein) or Subadviser expects to discover additional derivative instruments and other hedging or risk management techniques. The investment adviser or Subadviser may utilize these new derivative instruments and techniques to the extent that they are consistent with a fund’s investment objective and permitted by a fund’s investment limitations, operating policies, and applicable regulatory authorities.

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The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) regulates the trading of commodity interests, including certain futures contracts, options, and swaps in which a fund may invest. A fund that invests in commodity interests is subject to certain CFTC regulatory requirements, including certain limits on its trades in futures contracts, options and swaps to qualify for certain exclusions or exemptions from registration requirements. The trust, on behalf of each fund, has filed a notice of eligibility for exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” (“CPO”) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended (“CEA”), with respect to each fund’s operation. Therefore, each fund and its investment adviser are not subject to regulation as a commodity pool or CPO under the CEA and the investment adviser is not subject to registration as a CPO. If a fund were no longer able to claim the exclusion, the fund’s investment adviser may be required to register as a CPO and the fund and its investment adviser would be subject to regulation as a commodity pool or CPO under the CEA. If a fund or its investment adviser is subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.

Credit Default Swaps may be entered into for investment purposes. As the seller in a credit default swap contract, a fund would be required to pay the par (or other agreed-upon) value of a referenced debt obligation to the counterparty in the event of a default by a third party, such as a U.S. or foreign corporate issuer, on the debt obligation. In return, the fund would receive from the counterparty a periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract provided that no event of default has occurred. If no default occurs, the fund would keep the stream of payments and would have no payment obligations. As the seller, the fund would be subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the swap.

A fund may also purchase credit default swap contracts in order to hedge against the risk of default of debt securities held in its portfolio, in which case the fund would function as the counterparty referenced in the preceding paragraph. This would involve the risk that the investment may expire worthless and would only generate income in the event of an actual default by the issuer of the underlying obligation (as opposed to a credit downgrade or other indication of financial instability). It would also involve credit risk – that the seller may fail to satisfy its payment obligations to the fund in the event of a default.

Options Contracts generally provide the right to buy or sell a security, commodity, futures contract or foreign currency in exchange for an agreed upon price. If the right is not exercised after a specified period, the option expires and the option buyer forfeits the money paid to the option seller.

A call option gives the buyer the right to buy a specified number of shares of a security at a fixed price on or before a specified date in the future. For this right, the call option buyer pays the call option seller, commonly called the call option writer, a fee called a premium. Call option buyers are usually anticipating that the price of the underlying security will rise above the price fixed with the call writer, thereby allowing them to profit. If the price of the underlying security does not rise, the call option buyer’s losses are limited to the premium paid to the call option writer. For call option writers, a rise in the price of the underlying security will be offset in part by the premium received from the call option buyer. If the call option writer does not own the underlying security, however, the losses that may ensue if the price rises could be potentially unlimited. If the call option writer owns the underlying security or commodity, this is called writing a covered call. All call options written by a fund will be covered, which means that the fund will own the securities subject to the option so long as the option is outstanding or the fund will earmark or segregate assets for any outstanding option contracts.

A put option is the opposite of a call option. It gives the buyer the right to sell a specified number of shares of a security at a fixed price on or before a specified date in the future. Put option buyers are usually anticipating a decline in the price of the underlying security, and wish to offset those losses when selling the security at a later date. All put options a fund writes will be covered, which means that the fund will earmark or segregate cash, U.S. government securities or other liquid securities with a value at least equal to the exercise price of the put option. The purpose of writing such options is to generate additional income for a fund. However, in return for the option premium, a fund accepts the risk that it may be required to purchase the underlying securities at a price in excess of the securities’ market value at the time of purchase.

A fund may purchase and write put and call options on any securities in which it may invest or any securities index or basket of securities based on securities in which it may invest. In addition, a fund may purchase and sell foreign currency options and foreign currency futures contracts and related options. A fund may purchase and write such options on

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securities that are listed on domestic or foreign securities exchanges or traded in the over-the-counter market. Like futures contracts, option contracts are rarely exercised. Option buyers usually sell the option before it expires. Option writers may terminate their obligations under a written call or put option by purchasing an option identical to the one it has written. Such purchases are referred to as “closing purchase transactions.” A fund may enter into closing sale transactions in order to realize gains or minimize losses on options it has purchased or written.

An exchange-traded currency option position may be closed out only on an options exchange that provides a secondary market for an option of the same series. Although a fund generally will purchase or write only those options for which there appears to be an active secondary market, there is no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular option or at any particular time. If a fund is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction with respect to options it has written, it will not be able to sell the underlying securities or dispose of assets earmarked or held in a segregated account until the options expire or are exercised. Similarly, if a fund is unable to effect a closing sale transaction with respect to options it has purchased, it would have to exercise the options in order to realize any profit and will incur transaction costs upon the purchase or sale of underlying securities.

Reasons for the absence of a liquid secondary market on an exchange include the following: (1) there may be insufficient trading interest in certain options; (2) an exchange may impose restrictions on opening transactions or closing transactions or both; (3) trading halts, suspensions or other restrictions may be imposed with respect to particular classes or series of options; (4) unusual or unforeseen circumstances may interrupt normal operations on an exchange; (5) the facilities of an exchange or the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”) may not at all times be adequate to handle current trading volume; or (6) one or more exchanges could, for economic or other reasons, decide or be compelled at some future date to discontinue the trading of options (or a particular class or series of options), although outstanding options on that exchange that had been issued by the OCC as a result of trades on that exchange would continue to be exercisable in accordance with their terms.

The ability to terminate over-the-counter options is more limited than with exchange-traded options and may involve the risk that broker-dealers participating in such transactions will not fulfill their obligations. Until such time as the staff of the SEC changes its position, a fund will treat purchased over-the-counter options and all assets used to cover written over-the-counter options as illiquid securities, except that with respect to options written with primary dealers in U.S. government securities pursuant to an agreement requiring a closing purchase transaction at a formula price, the amount of illiquid securities may be calculated with reference to a formula the staff of the SEC approves.

Additional risks are involved with options trading because of the low margin deposits required and the extremely high degree of leverage that may be involved in options trading. There may be imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the securities held by the fund and the prices of the options, possible lack of a liquid secondary market, and the resulting inability to close such positions prior to their maturity dates.

A fund may write or purchase an option only when the market value of that option, when aggregated with the market value of all other options transactions made on behalf of the fund, does not exceed 5% of its net assets.

An option contract may be implicitly entered into by purchasing certain securities with built in options. An example of such would be a reverse floating rate note where the buyer is also selling one or more caps on short dated interest rates.

Swap Agreements are privately negotiated over-the-counter derivative products in which two parties agree to exchange payment streams calculated in relation to a rate, index, instrument or certain securities (referred to as the “underlying”) and a predetermined amount (referred to as the “notional amount”). The underlying for a swap may be an interest rate (fixed or floating), a currency exchange rate, a commodity price index, a credit derivative contract (single name or multiname or index), a security, group of securities or a securities index, a combination of any of these, or various other rates, assets or indices. Swap agreements generally do not involve the delivery of the underlying or principal, and a party’s obligations generally are equal to only the net amount to be paid or received under the agreement based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the swap agreement.

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Swap agreements can be structured to increase or decrease a fund’s exposure to long or short term interest rates, corporate borrowing rates and other conditions, such as changing security prices and inflation rates. They also can be structured to increase or decrease a fund’s exposure to specific issuers or specific sectors of the bond market such as mortgage securities. For example, if a fund agreed to pay a longer-term fixed rate in exchange for a shorter-term floating rate while holding longer-term fixed rate bonds, the swap would tend to decrease the fund’s exposure to longer-term interest rates. Swap agreements tend to increase or decrease the overall volatility of the fund’s investments and its share price and yield. Changes in interest rates, or other factors determining the amount of payments due to and from a fund, can be the most significant factors in the performance of a swap agreement. If a swap agreement calls for payments from a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when they are due. In order to help minimize risks, a fund will earmark or segregate appropriate assets for any accrued but unpaid net amounts owed under the terms of a swap agreement entered into on a net basis. All other swap agreements will require a fund to earmark or segregate assets in the amount of the accrued amounts owed under the swap. A fund could sustain losses if a counterparty does not perform as agreed under the terms of the swap. A fund will enter into swap agreements with counterparties deemed creditworthy by the Investment Adviser.

In addition, a fund may invest in swaptions, which are privately-negotiated option-based derivative products. Swaptions give the holder the right to enter into a swap. The fund may use a swaption in addition to or in lieu of a swap involving a similar rate or index.

For purposes of applying a fund’s investment policies and restrictions (as stated in the prospectus and this SAI) swap agreements are generally valued by the fund at market value. In the case of a credit default swap sold by a fund (i.e., where the fund is selling credit default protection), however, the fund will generally value the swap at its notional amount. The manner in which certain securities or other instruments are valued by the fund for purposes of applying investment policies and restrictions may differ from the manner in which those investments are valued by other types of investors.

DIVERSIFICATION involves investing in a wide range of securities and thereby spreading and reducing the risks of investment. Each fund is a series of an open-end investment management company with limited redeemability. The Fixed Income Funds are each a non-diversified fund, which means that a relatively high percentage of assets of the fund may be invested in the obligations of a limited number of issuers. The value of shares of the fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory occurrence than the value of shares of a diversified investment company.

EMERGING OR DEVELOPING MARKETS exist in countries that are considered to be in the initial stages of industrialization. The risks of investing in these markets are similar to the risks of international investing in general, although the risks are greater in emerging and developing markets. Countries with emerging or developing securities markets tend to have economic structures that are less stable than countries with developed securities markets. This is because their economies may be based on only a few industries and their securities markets may trade a small number of securities. Prices on these exchanges tend to be volatile, and securities in these countries historically have offered greater potential for gain (as well as loss) than securities of companies located in developed countries.

A fund’s investments in emerging markets can be considered speculative, and therefore may offer higher potential for gains and losses than investments in developed markets of the world. With respect to an emerging country, there may be a greater potential for nationalization, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, political changes, government regulation, social instability or diplomatic developments (including war) which could affect adversely the economies of such countries or investments in such countries. The economies of developing countries generally are heavily dependent upon international trade and, accordingly, have been and may continue to be adversely affected by trade barriers, exchange or currency controls, managed adjustments in relative currency values and other protectionist measures imposed or negotiated by the countries with which they trade.

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In addition to the risks of investing in emerging market country debt securities, a fund’s investment in government or government-related securities of emerging market countries and restructured debt instruments in emerging markets are subject to special risks, including the inability or unwillingness to repay principal and interest, requests to reschedule or restructure outstanding debt, and requests to extend additional loan amounts. A fund may have limited recourse in the event of default on such debt instruments.

EQUITY LINKED SECURITIES. The funds may invest a portion of their assets in equity linked securities. Equity linked securities are privately issued derivative securities which have a return component based on the performance of a single security, a basket of securities, or an index. Equity linked securities are primarily used by the funds as an alternative means to more efficiently and effectively access the securities market of what is generally an emerging country. To the extent that the funds invest in equity linked securities whose return corresponds to the performance of a foreign securities index or one or more of foreign stocks, investing in equity linked securities will involve risks similar to the risks of investing in foreign securities. See “Foreign Securities” below.

The funds deposit an amount of cash with its custodian (or broker, if legally permitted) in an amount near or equal to the selling price of the underlying security in exchange for an equity linked security. Upon sale, the fund receives cash from the broker or custodian equal to the value of the underlying security. Aside from the market risk associated with the underlying security, there is the risk of default by the other party to the transaction. In the event of insolvency of the other party, the fund might be unable to obtain its expected benefit. In addition, while the fund will seek to enter into such transactions only with parties which are capable of entering into closing transactions with the fund, there can be no assurance that the fund will be able to close out such a transaction with the other party or obtain an offsetting position with any other party, at any time prior to the end of the term of the underlying agreement. This may impair the fund’s ability to enter into other transactions at a time when doing so might be advantageous.

Equity linked securities are often used for many of the same purposes as, and share many of the same risks with, derivative instruments such as options. See “Options Contracts” below. Equity linked securities may be considered illiquid and thus subject to a fund’s restrictions on investments in illiquid securities. In some instances, investments in equity linked securities may also be subject to a fund’s limitations on investing in investment companies; see “Securities of Other Investment Companies” below.

EQUITY SECURITIES represent ownership interests in a company, and are commonly called “stocks.” Equity securities historically have outperformed most other securities, although their prices can fluctuate based on changes in a company’s financial condition, market conditions and political, economic or even company-specific news. When a stock’s price declines, its market value is lowered even though the intrinsic value of the company may not have changed. Sometimes factors, such as economic conditions or political events, affect the value of stocks of companies of the same or similar industry or group of industries, and may affect the entire stock market.

Types of equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, rights and warrants, depository receipts (ADRs, EDRs, GDRs), interests in real estate investment trusts and interests in business development companies. (For more information on real estate investment trusts, “REITs”, see the section entitled “Real Estate Investment Trusts,” for more information on depositary receipts, see the section entitled “Depositary Receipts,” and for more information on business development companies, see the section entitled “Business Development Companies”).

Common stocks, which are probably the most recognized type of equity security, represent an equity or ownership interest in an issuer and usually entitle the owner to voting rights in the election of the corporation’s directors and any other matters submitted to the corporation’s shareholders for voting, as well as to receive dividends on such stock. The market value of common stock can fluctuate widely, as it reflects increases and decreases in an issuer’s earnings. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of bond owners, other debt holders and owners of preferred stock take precedence over the claims of common stock owners.

Preferred stocks represent an equity or ownership interest in an issuer but do not ordinarily carry voting rights, though they may carry limited voting rights. Preferred stocks normally have preference over the corporation’s assets and earnings, however. For example, preferred stocks have preference over common stock in the payment of dividends.

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Preferred stocks normally pay dividends at a specified rate. However, preferred stock may be purchased where the issuer has omitted, or is in danger of omitting, payment of its dividend. Such investments would be made primarily for their capital appreciation potential. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of bond owners take precedence over the claims of preferred and common stock owners. Certain classes of preferred stock are convertible into shares of common stock of the issuer. By holding convertible preferred stock, a fund can receive a steady stream of dividends and still have the option to convert the preferred stock to common stock. Preferred stock is subject to many of the same risks as common stock and debt securities.

Convertible securities are typically preferred stocks or bonds that are exchangeable for a specific number of another form of security (usually the issuer’s common stock) at a specified price or ratio. A convertible security generally entitles the holder to receive interest paid or accrued on bonds or the dividend paid on preferred stock until the convertible security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged. A company may issue a convertible security that is subject to redemption after a specified date, and usually under certain circumstances. A holder of a convertible security that is called for redemption would be required to tender it for redemption to the issuer, convert it to the underlying common stock or sell it to a third party. The convertible structure allows the holder of the convertible bond to participate in share price movements in the company’s common stock. The actual return on a convertible bond may exceed its stated yield if the company’s common stock appreciates in value and the option to convert to common stocks becomes more valuable.

Convertible securities typically pay a lower interest rate than nonconvertible bonds of the same quality and maturity because of the convertible feature. Convertible securities are also rated below investment grade (“high yield”) or are not rated, and are subject to credit risk.

Prior to conversion, convertible securities have characteristics and risks similar to nonconvertible debt and equity securities. In addition, convertible securities are often concentrated in economic sectors, which, like the stock market in general, may experience unpredictable declines in value, as well as periods of poor performance, which may last for several years. There may be a small trading market for a particular convertible security at any given time, which may adversely impact market price and a fund’s ability to liquidate a particular security or respond to an economic event, including deterioration of an issuer’s creditworthiness.

Convertible preferred stocks are nonvoting equity securities that pay a fixed dividend. These securities have a convertible feature similar to convertible bonds, but do not have a maturity date. Due to their fixed income features, convertible securities provide higher income potential than the issuer’s common stock, but typically are more sensitive to interest rate changes than the underlying common stock. In the event of a company’s liquidation, bondholders have claims on company assets senior to those of shareholders; preferred shareholders have claims senior to those of common shareholders.

Convertible securities typically trade at prices above their conversion value, which is the current market value of the common stock received upon conversion, because of their higher yield potential than the underlying common stock. The difference between the conversion value and the price of a convertible security will vary depending on the value of the underlying common stock and interest rates. When the underlying value of the common stocks declines, the price of the issuer’s convertible securities will tend not to fall as much because the convertible security’s income potential will act as a price support. While the value of a convertible security also tends to rise when the underlying common stock value rises, it will not rise as much because their conversion value is more narrow. The value of convertible securities also is affected by changes in interest rates. For example, when interest rates fall, the value of convertible securities may rise because of their fixed income component.

Warrants are types of securities usually issued with bonds and preferred stock that entitle the holder to purchase a proportionate amount of common stock at a specified price for a specific period of time. The prices of warrants do not necessarily move parallel to the prices of the underlying common stock. Warrants have no voting rights, receive no dividends and have no rights with respect to the assets of the issuer. If a warrant is not exercised within the specified time period, it will become worthless and the fund will lose the purchase price it paid for the warrant and the right to purchase the underlying security.

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Initial Public Offering. The funds may purchase shares issued as part of, or a short period after, a company’s initial public offering (“IPOs”), and may at times dispose of those shares shortly after their acquisition. A fund’s purchase of shares issued in IPOs exposes it to the risks associated with companies that have little operating history as public companies, as well as to the risks inherent in those sectors of the market where these new issuers operate. The market for IPO issuers has been volatile, and share prices of newly-public companies have fluctuated significantly over short periods of time.

Master Limited Partnerships (“MLPs”). MLPs are limited partnerships in which the common units are publicly traded. MLP common units are freely traded on a securities exchange or in the over-the-counter market and are generally registered with the SEC. MLPs often own several properties or businesses (or own interests) that are related to real estate development and oil and gas industries, but they also may finance motion pictures, research and development and other projects. MLPs generally have two classes of owners, the general partner and limited partners. The general partner is typically owned by a major energy company, an investment fund, the direct management of the MLP or is an entity owned by one or more of such parties. The general partner may be structured as a private or publicly traded corporation or other entity. The general partner typically controls the operations and management of the MLP through an up to 2% equity interest in the MLP plus, in many cases, ownership of common units and subordinated units. Limited partners own the remainder of the partnership, through ownership of common units, and have a limited role, if any, in the partnership’s operations and management.

MLPs are typically structured such that common units and general partner interests have first priority to receive quarterly cash distributions up to an established minimum amount (“minimum quarterly distributions”). Common and general partner interests also accrue arrearages in distributions to the extent the minimum quarterly distribution is not paid. Once common and general partner interests have been paid, subordinated units receive distributions of up to the minimum quarterly distribution; however, subordinated units do not accrue arrearages. Distributable cash in excess of the minimum quarterly distribution paid to both common and subordinated units is distributed to both common and subordinated units generally on a pro rata basis. The general partner is also eligible to receive incentive distributions if the general partner operates the business in a manner which results in distributions paid per common unit surpassing specified target levels. As the general partner increases cash distributions to the limited partners, the general partner receives an increasingly higher percentage of the incremental cash distributions. A common arrangement provides that the general partner can reach a tier where it receives 50% of every incremental dollar paid to common and subordinated unit holders. These incentive distributions are intended to encourage the general partner to streamline costs, increase capital expenditures and acquire assets in order to increase the partnership’s cash flow and raise the quarterly cash distribution in order to reach higher tiers. Such results are intended to benefit all security holders of the MLP, however, such incentive distribution payments give rise to potential conflicts of interest between the common unit holders and the general partner.

MLP common units represent a limited partnership interest in the MLP. Common units are listed and traded on U.S. securities exchanges or over-the-counter, with their value fluctuating predominantly based on prevailing market conditions and the success of the MLP. The funds may purchase common units in market transactions as well as directly from the MLP or other parties in private placements. Unlike owners of common stock of a corporation, owners of common units have limited voting rights and have no ability to annually elect directors. MLPs generally distribute all available cash flow (cash flow from operations less maintenance capital expenditures) in the form of quarterly distributions. Common units along with general partner units have first priority to receive quarterly cash distributions up to the minimum quarterly distribution and have arrearage rights. In the event of liquidation, common units have preference over subordinated units, but not debt or preferred units, to the remaining assets of the MLP.

MLP subordinated units are typically issued by MLPs to their original sponsors, such as their founders, corporate general partners of MLPs, entities that sell assets to the MLP, and investors. Subordinated units may be purchased directly from these persons as well as newly-issued subordinated units from MLPs themselves. Subordinated units have similar voting rights as common units and are generally not publicly traded. Once the minimum quarterly distribution on the common

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units, including any arrearages, has been paid, subordinated units receive cash distributions up to the minimum quarterly distribution prior to any incentive payments to the MLP’s general partner. Unlike common units, subordinated units do not have arrearage rights. In the event of liquidation, common units and general partner interests have priority over subordinated units. Subordinated units are typically converted into common units on a one-to-one basis after certain time periods and/or performance targets have been satisfied. The purchase or sale price of subordinated units is generally tied to the common unit price less a discount. The size of the discount varies depending on the likelihood of conversion, the length of time remaining to conversion, the size of the block purchased relative to trading volumes, and other factors, including smaller capitalization partnerships or companies potentially having limited product lines, markets or financial resources, lacking management depth or experience, and being more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic development than larger more established companies.

General partner interests of MLPs are typically retained by an MLP’s original sponsors, such as its founders, corporate partners, entities that sell assets to the MLP and investors. A holder of general partner interests can be liable under certain circumstances for amounts greater than the amount of the holder’s investment in the general partner interest. General partner interests often confer direct board participation rights and, in many cases, operating control, over the MLP. These interests themselves are not publicly traded, although they may be owned by publicly traded entities. General partner interests receive cash distributions, typically 2% of the MLP’s aggregate cash distributions, which are contractually defined in the partnership agreement. In addition, holders of general partner interests typically hold incentive distribution rights, which provide them with a larger share of the aggregate MLP cash distributions as the distributions to limited partner unit holders are increased to prescribed levels. General partner interests generally cannot be converted into common units. The general partner interest can be redeemed by the MLP if the MLP unitholders choose to remove the general partner, typically with a supermajority vote by limited partner unitholders.

Additional risks involved with investing in an MLP are risks associated with the specific industry or industries in which the partnership invests, such as the risks of investing in real estate, or oil and gas industries.

Certain MLPs are dependent on their parent companies or sponsors for a majority of their revenues. Any failure by an MLP’s parents or sponsors to satisfy their payments or obligations would impact the MLP’s revenues and cash flows and ability to make distributions.

Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”), such as Standard and Poor’s Depositary Receipts (“SPDRs”) Trust, are investment companies that typically are registered under the 1940 Act as open-end funds or unit investment trusts (“UITs”). ETFs are actively traded on national securities exchanges and are generally based on specific domestic and foreign market indices. Shares of an ETF may be bought and sold throughout the day at market prices, which may be higher or lower than the shares’ net asset value. An “index-based ETF” seeks to track the performance of an index holding in its portfolio either the contents of the index or a representative sample of the securities in the index. Because ETFs are based on an underlying basket of stocks or an index, they are subject to the same market fluctuations as these types of securities in volatile market swings. ETFs, like mutual funds, have expenses associated with their operation, including advisory fees. When a fund invests in an ETF, in addition to directly bearing expenses associated with its own operations, it will bear a pro rata portion of the ETF’s expenses. As with any exchange listed security, ETF shares purchased in the secondary market are subject to customary brokerage charges.

Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission to iShares and procedures approved by the funds’ Board of Trustees, each fund may invest in iShares beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the 1940 Act but not to exceed 25% of a fund’s total assets, provided that the fund has described exchange-traded fund investments in its prospectus and otherwise complies with the conditions of the exemptive order and other applicable investment limitations. Neither the iShares ^® Funds nor their investment adviser make any representations regarding the advisability of investing in a fund.

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Business Development Companies (“BDCs”) are closed-end investment companies that have elected to be BDCs under the 1940 Act and are typically taxed as RICs under the Code. BDCs operate as venture capital companies and typically invest in, lend capital to, and provide significant managerial assistance to developing private companies or thinly-traded public companies. Under the 1940 Act, BDCs are required to invest at least 70% of their total assets primarily in securities of privately-held U.S. companies or thinly-traded U.S. public companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and high quality debt investments that mature in one year or less. In addition, a BDC may only incur indebtedness in amounts such that the BDC’s coverage ratio of total assets to total senior securities equals at least 200% after such incurrence.

BDCs generally invest in debt securities that are not rated by a credit rating agency and are considered below investment grade quality (“junk bonds”). Little public information generally exists for the type of companies in which a BDC may invest and, therefore, there is a risk that investors may not be able to make a fully informed evaluation of the BDC and its portfolio of investments. In addition, investments made by BDCs are typically illiquid and are difficult to value for purposes of determining a BDC’s net asset value.

EVENT-LINKED BONDS. Each fund may invest up to 5% of its net assets in “event-linked bonds,” which are fixed income securities for which the return of principal and payment of interest is contingent on the non-occurrence of a specific “trigger” event, such as a hurricane, earthquake, or other physical or weather-related phenomenon. Some event-linked bonds are commonly referred to as “catastrophe bonds.” If a trigger event occurs, a fund may lose a portion or all of its principal invested in the bond. Event-linked bonds often provide for an extension of maturity to process and audit loss claims where a trigger event has, or possibly has, occurred. An extension of maturity may increase volatility. Event-linked bonds may also expose a fund to certain unanticipated risks including credit risk, adverse regulatory or jurisdictional interpretations, and adverse tax consequences. Event-linked bonds may also be subject to liquidity risk.

FIXED RATE CAPITAL SECURITIES (FRCSs) are hybrid securities that combine the features of both corporate bonds and preferred stock. FRCSs pay dividends monthly or quarterly. FRCSs are listed on major exchanges and, also, trade on the OTC markets. FRCSs are generally issued by large corporations and are rated by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization. FRCSs bear the creditworthiness of the corporate issuer and generally have a stated maturity (20 to 49 years). There are currently three types of FRCSs offered in the marketplace: direct subordinate FRCSs which are offered directly by a corporation and zero coupon partnership preferred and trust preferred FRCSs which are issued indirectly by a corporation through a conduit financing vehicle. FRCSs generally rank senior to common stock and preferred stock in a corporation’s capital structure, but have a lower security claim than the issuer’s corporate bonds. FRCSs generally offer higher yields than corporate bonds or agency securities, but they carry more risks than the higher lien debt. In addition to risks commonly associated with other fixed income securities, FRCSs are subject to certain additional risks. Many FRCSs include a “special event” redemption option, allowing the issuer to redeem the securities at the liquidation value if a tax law change disallows the deductibility of payments by the issuer’s parent company, or subjects the issue to taxation separate from the parent company. FRCSs permit the deferral of payments (without declaring default), if the issuer experiences financial difficulties. Payments may be suspended for some stipulated period, usually up to five years. If the issuer defers payments, the deferred income continues to accrue for tax purposes, even though the investor does not receive cash payments. Such deferrals can only occur if the parent company stops all other stock dividend payments on both common and preferred stock classes. The treatment of investment income from trust and debt securities for federal tax purposes is uncertain and may vary depending on whether the possibility of the issuer deferring payments is, or is not, considered a remote contingency.

FIXED TIME DEPOSITS are bank obligations payable at a stated maturity date and bearing interest at a fixed rate. Fixed time deposits may be withdrawn on demand by the investor, but may be subject to early withdrawal penalties, which vary depending upon market conditions and the remaining maturity of the obligation. There are no contractual restrictions on the right to transfer a beneficial interest in a fixed time deposit to a third party, although there is no market for such deposits. A fund will not invest in fixed time deposits, which (1) are not subject to prepayment or (2) provide for withdrawal penalties upon prepayment (other than overnight deposits) if, in the aggregate, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in such deposits, repurchase agreements maturing in more than seven days and other illiquid assets.

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FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS. The funds that may invest in foreign currency-denominated securities also may purchase and sell foreign currency options and foreign currency futures contracts and related options and may engage in foreign currency transactions either on a spot (cash) basis at the rate prevailing in the currency exchange market at the time or through forward currency contracts (“forwards”) with terms generally of less than one year. Funds may engage in these transactions in order to protect against uncertainty in the level of future foreign exchange rates in the purchase and sale of securities.

The funds may also use foreign currency options and foreign currency forward contracts to increase exposure to a foreign currency or to shift exposure to foreign currency fluctuations from one country to another (as in cross hedging, see below). Each fund will earmark or segregate assets for any open positions in forwards used for non-hedging purposes and mark to market daily as may be required under the federal securities laws.

A forward involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. These contracts may be bought or sold to protect a fund against a possible loss resulting from an adverse change in the relationship between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar or to increase exposure to a particular foreign currency. Many foreign securities markets do not settle trades within a time frame that would be considered customary in the U.S. stock market. Therefore, a fund may engage in forward foreign currency exchange contracts in order to secure exchange rates for fund securities purchased or sold, but awaiting settlement. These transactions do not seek to eliminate any fluctuations in the underlying prices of the securities involved. Instead, the transactions simply establish a rate of exchange that can be expected when the fund settles its securities transactions in the future. Forwards involve certain risks. For example, if the counterparties to the contracts are unable to meet the terms of the contracts or if the value of the foreign currency changes unfavorably, the fund could sustain a loss. The Global Fixed Income Fund may also use non-deliverable forward contracts, which are cash-settled contracts on a thinly traded or non-convertible foreign currency. The profit or loss at the time of settlement is calculated by taking the difference between the agreed upon exchange rate and the spot rate at the time of settlement for an agreed upon notional amount of funds.

Funds also may engage in forward foreign currency exchange contracts to protect the value of specific portfolio positions, which is called “position hedging.” When engaging in position hedging, a fund may enter into forward foreign currency exchange transactions to protect against a decline in the values of the foreign currencies in which portfolio securities are denominated (or against an increase in the value of currency for securities that the fund expects to purchase).

Buying and selling foreign currency exchange contracts involves costs and may result in losses. The ability of a fund to engage in these transactions may be limited by tax considerations. Although these techniques tend to minimize the risk of loss due to declines in the value of the hedged currency, they tend to limit any potential gain that might result from an increase in the value of such currency. Transactions in these contracts involve certain other risks. Unanticipated fluctuations in currency prices may result in a poorer overall performance for the funds than if they had not engaged in any such transactions. Moreover, there may be imperfect correlation between the fund’s holdings of securities denominated in a particular currency and forward contracts into which the fund enters. Such imperfect correlation may cause a fund to sustain losses, which will prevent it from achieving a complete hedge or expose it to risk of foreign exchange loss. A fund’s transactions in foreign currency exchange contracts may cause a portion of the fund’s distributions to constitute returns of capital for tax purposes.

Suitable hedging transactions may not be available in all circumstances and there can be no assurance that a fund will engage in such transactions at any given time or from time to time. Also, such transactions may not be successful and may eliminate any chance for a fund to benefit from favorable fluctuations in relevant foreign currencies.

Forwards will be used primarily to adjust the foreign exchange exposure of each fund with a view to protecting the outlook, and the funds might be expected to enter into such contracts under the following circumstances:

LOCK IN. When the Investment Adviser or Subadviser desires to lock in the U.S. dollar price on the purchase or sale of a security denominated in a foreign currency.

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CROSS HEDGE. If a particular currency is expected to decrease against another currency, a fund may sell the currency expected to decrease and purchase a currency which is expected to increase against the currency sold in an amount approximately equal to some or all of the fund’s portfolio holdings denominated in the currency sold.

DIRECT HEDGE. If the Investment Adviser or Subadviser wants to eliminate substantially all of the risk of owning a particular currency, and/or if the Investment Adviser or Subadviser thinks that a fund can benefit from price appreciation in a given country’s bonds but does not want to hold the currency, it may employ a direct hedge back into the U.S. dollar. In either case, a fund would enter into a forward contract to sell the currency in which a portfolio security is denominated and purchase U.S. dollars at an exchange rate established at the time it initiated the contract. The cost of the direct hedge transaction may offset most, if not all, of the yield advantage offered by the foreign security, but a fund would benefit from an increase in value of the bond.

PROXY HEDGE. The Investment Adviser or Subadviser might choose to use a proxy hedge, which may be less costly than a direct hedge. In this case, a fund, having purchased a security, will sell a currency whose value is believed to be closely linked to the currency in which the security is denominated. Interest rates prevailing in the country whose currency was sold would be expected to be closer to those in the U.S. and lower than those of securities denominated in the currency of the original holding. This type of hedging entails greater risk than a direct hedge because it is dependent on a stable relationship between the two currencies paired as proxies and the relationships can be very unstable at times.

COSTS OF HEDGING. When a fund purchases a foreign bond with a higher interest rate than is available on U.S. bonds of a similar maturity, the additional yield on the foreign bond could be substantially reduced or lost if the fund were to enter into a direct hedge by selling the foreign currency and purchasing the U.S. dollar. This is what is known as the “cost” of hedging. Proxy hedging attempts to reduce this cost through an indirect hedge back to the U.S. dollar. It is important to note that hedging costs are treated as capital transactions and are not, therefore, deducted from a fund’s dividend distribution and are not reflected in its yield. Instead such costs will, over time, be reflected in a fund’s net asset value per share.

TAX CONSEQUENCES OF HEDGING. Under applicable tax law, the funds may be required to limit their gains from hedging in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options. Although the funds are expected to comply with such limits, the extent to which these limits apply is subject to tax regulations as yet unissued. Hedging may also result in the application of the mark-to-market and straddle provisions of the Code. Those provisions could result in an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by the funds and could affect whether dividends paid by the funds are classified as capital gains or ordinary income.

FOREIGN SECURITIES involve additional risks, including foreign currency exchange rate risks, because they are issued by foreign entities, including foreign governments, banks and corporations or because they are traded principally overseas. Foreign securities in which the funds may invest include foreign entities that are not subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, practices and requirements comparable to those applicable to U.S. corporations. In addition, there may be less publicly available information about foreign entities. Foreign economic, political and legal developments, as well as fluctuating foreign currency exchange rates and withholding taxes, could have more dramatic effects on the value of foreign securities. For example, conditions within and around foreign countries, such as the possibility of expropriation or confiscatory taxation, political or social instability, diplomatic developments, change of government or war could affect the value of foreign investments. Moreover, individual foreign economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payments position.

Foreign securities typically have less volume and are generally less liquid and more volatile than securities of U.S. companies. Fixed commissions on foreign securities exchanges are generally higher than negotiated commissions on U.S. exchanges, although the funds will endeavor to achieve the most favorable overall results on portfolio transactions. There is generally less government supervision and regulation of foreign securities exchanges, brokers, dealers and listed

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companies than in the United States, thus increasing the risk of delayed settlements of portfolio transactions or loss of certificates for portfolio securities. There may be difficulties in obtaining or enforcing judgments against foreign issuers as well. Bankruptcy laws in some foreign countries are sometimes biased to the borrowers and against the creditors. These factors and others may increase the risks with respect to the liquidity of a fund, and its ability to meet a large number of shareholder redemption requests.

In addition, a fund’s investments in foreign securities may be subject to economic sanctions or other government restrictions. These restrictions may negatively impact the value or liquidity of a fund’s investments, and could impair a fund’s ability to meet its investment objective or invest in accordance with its investment strategy. For example, a fund may be prohibited from investing in securities issued by companies subject to such restrictions. In addition, these restrictions may require a fund to freeze its existing investments in certain foreign securities, which would prohibit the fund from buying, selling, receiving or delivering those securities or other financial instruments. As a result, such restrictions may limit a fund’s ability to meet a large number of shareholder redemption requests.

Foreign markets also have different clearance and settlement procedures and, in certain markets, there have been times when settlements have been unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions, making it difficult to conduct such transactions. Such delays in settlement could result in temporary periods when a portion of the assets of a fund is uninvested and no return is earned thereon. The inability to make intended security purchases due to settlement problems could cause a fund to miss attractive investment opportunities. Losses to a fund arising out of the inability to fulfill a contract to sell such securities also could result in potential liability for a fund.

Investments in the securities of foreign issuers may be made and held in foreign currencies. In addition, the funds may hold cash in foreign currencies. These investments may be affected favorably or unfavorably by changes in currency rates and in exchange control regulations, and may cause a fund to incur costs in connection with conversions between various currencies. The rate of exchange between the U.S. dollar and other currencies is determined by the forces of supply and demand in the foreign exchange market as well as by political and economic factors. Changes in the foreign currency exchange rates also may affect the value of dividends and interest earned, gains and losses realized on the sale of securities, and net investment income and gains, if any, to be distributed to shareholders by a fund.

Financial markets in the eurozone have experienced volatility over the past few years due, in part, to concerns about rising levels of government debt and the prevalence of increased budget deficits. Delays by politicians and regulators to address structural and policy issues in the eurozone have added to instability in the region. The implementation of austerity measures in Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal and Ireland at a time when the eurozone is experiencing higher unemployment and slowing economic activity has raised the possibility of a prolonged recession in the region. However, recent policy actions by leaders of the European Union (EU) and the European Central Bank have significantly reduced the possibility of default by a eurozone government and have reduced market volatility.

The severity and prolonged nature of the eurozone crisis caused certain individuals and institutions to question the continued viability of the euro as a unit of currency. It is possible individual EU member countries that have already adopted the euro may abandon that currency and revert to a national currency or otherwise exit the EU. It is also possible that the euro will cease to exist as a single unit of currency in its current form. The precise effects of any such outcome on regional or global financial markets are impossible to predict. However, the abandonment of the euro or the exit of any country out of the EU would likely have an extremely destabilizing effect on all EU member countries and their economies, which would likely impact the global economy.

As the funds may hold certain investments of issuers located in the eurozone, any material negative developments in the region could have a negative impact on the investments held by the funds or underlying funds, which could hurt their overall performance.

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FORWARD CONTRACTS are sales contracts between a buyer (holding the “long” position), and the seller (holding the “short” position) for an asset with delivery deferred to a future date. The buyer agrees to pay a fixed price at the agreed future date and the seller agrees to deliver the asset. The seller hopes that the market price on the delivery date is less than the agreed upon price, while the buyer hopes for the contrary. The change in value of a forward-based derivative generally is roughly proportional to the change in value of the underlying asset.

FUTURES CONTRACTS are instruments that represent an agreement between two parties that obligates one party to buy, and the other party to sell, specific instruments at an agreed-upon price on a stipulated future date. In the case of futures contracts relating to an index or otherwise not calling for physical delivery at the close of the transaction, the parties usually agree to deliver the final cash settlement price of the contract. A fund may purchase and sell futures contracts based on securities, securities indices and foreign currencies, interest rates, or any other futures contracts traded on U.S. exchanges or boards of trade that the CFTC licenses and regulates on foreign exchanges.

Each fund must maintain a small portion of its assets in cash to process shareholder transactions in and out of the fund and to pay its expenses. In order to reduce the effect this otherwise uninvested cash would have on its performance, a fund may purchase futures contracts. Such transactions allow the fund’s cash balance to produce a return similar to that of the underlying security or index on which the futures contract is based. Also, a fund may purchase or sell futures contracts on a specified foreign currency to “fix” the price in U.S. dollars of the foreign security it has acquired or sold or expects to acquire or sell. A fund may enter into futures contracts for other reasons as well. For example, to efficiently change the duration stance of the fund by buying and/or selling government bond futures.

When buying or selling futures contracts, a fund must place a deposit with its broker equal to a fraction of the contract amount. This amount is known as “initial margin” and must be in the form of liquid debt instruments, including cash, cash-equivalents and U.S. government securities. Subsequent payments to and from the broker, known as “variation margin” may be made daily, if necessary, as the value of the futures contracts fluctuate. This process is known as “marking-to-market.” The margin amount will be returned to the fund upon termination of the futures contracts assuming all contractual obligations are satisfied. Because margin requirements are normally only a fraction of the amount of the futures contracts in a given transaction, futures trading can involve a great deal of leverage. In order to avoid this, each fund will earmark or segregate assets for any outstanding futures contracts as may be required under the federal securities laws.

While a fund intends to purchase and sell futures contracts in order to simulate full investment, there are risks associated with these transactions. Adverse market movements could cause a fund to experience substantial losses when buying and selling futures contracts. Of course, barring significant market distortions, similar results would have been expected if a fund had instead transacted in the underlying securities directly. There also is the risk of losing any margin payments held by a broker in the event of its bankruptcy. Additionally, a fund incurs transaction costs (i.e., brokerage fees) when engaging in futures trading. To the extent a fund also invests in futures in order to simulate full investment, these same risks apply.

When interest rates are rising or securities prices are falling, a fund may seek, through the sale of futures contracts, to offset a decline in the value of their current portfolio securities. When rates are falling or prices are rising, a fund, through the purchase of futures contracts, may attempt to secure better rates or prices than might later be available in the market when they effect anticipated purchases. Similarly, a fund may sell futures contracts on a specified currency to protect against a decline in the value of that currency and their portfolio securities that are denominated in that currency. A fund may purchase futures contracts on a foreign currency to fix the price in U.S. dollars of a security denominated in that currency that a fund has acquired or expects to acquire.

Futures contracts normally require actual delivery or acquisition of an underlying security or cash value of an index on the expiration date of the contract. In most cases, however, the contractual obligation is fulfilled before the date of the contract by buying or selling, as the case may be, identical futures contracts. Such offsetting transactions terminate the original contracts and cancel the obligation to take or make delivery of the underlying securities or cash. There may not always be a liquid secondary market at the time a fund seeks to close out a futures position. If a fund is unable to close out its position and prices move adversely, the fund would have to continue to make daily cash payments to maintain its

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margin requirements. If a fund had insufficient cash to meet these requirements it may have to sell portfolio securities at a disadvantageous time or incur extra costs by borrowing the cash. Also, a fund may be required to make or take delivery and incur extra transaction costs buying or selling the underlying securities. A fund seeks to reduce the risks associated with futures transactions by buying and selling futures contracts that are traded on national exchanges or for which there appears to be a liquid secondary market.

With respect to futures contracts that are not legally required to “cash settle,” a fund may cover the open position by setting aside or earmarking liquid assets in an amount equal to the market value of the futures contracts. With respect to futures contracts that are required to “cash settle,” however, a fund is permitted to set aside or earmark liquid assets in an amount equal to the fund’s daily marked to market (net) obligation, if any, (in other words, the fund’s daily net liability, if any) rather than the market value of the futures contracts. By setting aside assets or earmarking equal to only its net obligation under cash-settled futures, a fund will have the ability to employ leverage to a greater extent than if the fund were required to set aside or earmark assets equal to the full market value of the futures contract.

HYBRID INSTRUMENTS are a type of potentially high-risk derivative that combines a traditional stock, bond, or commodity with an option or forward contract. Generally, the principal amount, amount payable upon maturity or redemption, or interest rate of a hybrid is tied (positively or negatively) to the price of some commodity, currency or securities index or another interest rate or some other economic factor (each a “benchmark”). The interest rate or (unlike most fixed income securities) the principal amount payable at maturity of a hybrid security may be increased or decreased, depending on changes in the value of the benchmark. An example of a hybrid could be a bond issued by an oil company that pays a small base level of interest with additional interest that accrues in correlation to the extent to which oil prices exceed a certain predetermined level. Such a hybrid instrument would be a combination of a bond and a call option on oil.

Hybrids can be used as an efficient means of pursuing a variety of investment goals, including currency hedging, duration management, and increased total return. Hybrids may not bear interest or pay dividends. The value of a hybrid or its interest rate may be a multiple of a benchmark and, as a result, may be leveraged and move (up or down) more steeply and rapidly than the benchmark. These benchmarks may be sensitive to economic and political events, such as commodity shortages and currency devaluations, which cannot be readily foreseen by the purchaser of a hybrid. Under certain conditions, the redemption value of a hybrid could be zero. Thus, an investment in a hybrid may entail significant market risks that are not associated with a similar investment in a traditional, U.S. dollar-denominated bond that has a fixed principal amount and pays a fixed rate or floating rate of interest. The purchase of hybrids also exposes a fund to the credit risk of the issuer of the hybrids. These risks may cause significant fluctuations in the net asset value of the fund. Each fund will not invest more than 5% of its total assets in hybrid instruments.

Certain hybrid instruments may provide exposure to the commodities markets. These are derivative securities with one or more commodity-linked components that have payment features similar to commodity futures contracts, commodity options, or similar instruments. Commodity-linked hybrid instruments may be either equity or debt securities, and are considered hybrid instruments because they have both security and commodity-like characteristics. A portion of the value of these instruments may be derived from the value of a commodity, futures contract, index or other economic variable. The funds will only invest in commodity-linked hybrid instruments that qualify under applicable rules of the CFTC for an exemption from the provisions of the CEA.

Certain issuers of structured products such as hybrid instruments may be deemed to be investment companies as defined in the 1940 Act. As a result, the funds’ investments in these products may be subject to limits applicable to investments in investment companies and may be subject to restrictions contained in the 1940 Act.

ILLIQUID SECURITIES generally are any securities that cannot be disposed of promptly and in the ordinary course of business at approximately the amount at which a fund has valued the instruments. The liquidity of a fund’s investments is monitored under the supervision and direction of the Board of Trustees. Investments currently not considered liquid include repurchase agreements not maturing within seven days and certain restricted securities. Any security may become illiquid at times of market dislocation.

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INTERNATIONAL BONDS are certain obligations or securities of foreign issuers, including Eurodollar Bonds, which are U.S. dollar-denominated bonds issued by foreign issuers payable in Eurodollars (U.S. dollars held in banks located outside the United States, primarily Europe), Yankee Bonds, which are U.S. dollar-denominated bonds issued in the U.S. by foreign banks and corporations, and EuroBonds, which are bonds denominated in U.S. dollars and usually issued by large underwriting groups composed of banks and issuing houses from many countries. Investments in securities issued by foreign issuers, including American Depositary Receipts and securities purchased on foreign securities exchanges, may subject a fund to additional investment risks, such as adverse political and economic developments, possible seizure, nationalization or expropriation of foreign investments, less stringent disclosure requirements, non-U.S. withholding taxes and the adoption of other foreign governmental restrictions.

Additional risks include less publicly available information, the risk that companies may not be subject to the accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and requirements of U.S. companies, the risk that foreign securities markets may have less volume and therefore may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than U.S. securities, and the risk that custodian and transaction costs may be higher. Foreign issuers of securities or obligations are often subject to accounting requirements and engage in business practices different from those respecting domestic issuers of similar securities or obligations. Foreign branches of U.S. banks and foreign banks may be subject to less stringent reserve requirements than those applicable to domestic branches of U.S. banks.

Sovereign debt investment can involve a high degree of risk. The governmental entity that controls the repayment of sovereign debt may not be able or willing to repay the principal and/or interest when due in accordance with the terms of the debt. A governmental entity’s willingness or ability to repay principal and interest due in a timely manner may be affected by, among other factors, its cash flow situation, the extent of its foreign reserves, the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of the debt service burden to the economy as a whole, the governmental entity’s policy toward the International Monetary Fund, and the political constraints to which a governmental entity may be subject. Governmental entities also may depend on expected disbursements from foreign governments, multilateral agencies and others to reduce principal and interest arrearages on their debt. The commitment on the part of these governments, agencies and others to make such disbursements may be conditioned on a governmental entity’s implementation of economic reforms and/or economic performance and the timely service of such debtor’s obligations. Failure to implement such reforms, achieve such levels of economic performance or repay principal or interest when due may result in the cancellation of such third parties’ commitments to lend funds to the governmental entity, which may further impair such debtor’s ability or willingness to service its debts in a timely manner. Consequently, governmental entities may default on their sovereign debt. Holders of sovereign debt (including the funds) may be requested to participate in the rescheduling of such debt and to extend further loans to governmental entities. There is no bankruptcy proceeding by which sovereign debt on which governmental entities have defaulted may be collected in whole or in part.

A fund’s investments in foreign currency denominated debt obligations and hedging activities will likely produce a difference between its book income and its taxable income. This difference may cause a portion of the fund’s income distributions to constitute returns of capital for tax purposes or require the fund to make distributions exceeding book income to qualify as a RIC for federal tax purposes.

LOAN INTERESTS , and other direct debt instruments or interests therein, may be acquired by a fund. A loan interest is typically originated, negotiated, and structured by a U.S. or foreign commercial bank, insurance company, finance company, or other financial institution (“Agent”) for a lending syndicate of financial institutions. The Agent typically administers and enforces the loan on behalf of the other lenders in the syndicate. In addition, an institution, typically but not always the Agent (“Collateral Bank”), holds collateral (if any) on behalf of the lenders. When a Collateral Bank holds collateral, such collateral typically consists of one or more of the following asset types: inventory, accounts receivable, property, plant and equipment, intangibles, common stock of subsidiaries or other investments. These loan interests may take the form of participation interests in, assignments of or novations of a loan during its second distribution, or direct interests during a primary distribution. Such loan interests may be acquired from U.S. or foreign banks, insurance

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companies, finance companies, or other financial institutions who have made loans or are members of a lending syndicate or from other holders of loan interests. A fund may also acquire loan interests under which the fund derives its rights directly from the borrower. Such loan interests are separately enforceable by a fund against the borrower and all payments of interest and principal are typically made directly to the fund from the borrower. In the event that a fund and other lenders become entitled to take possession of shared collateral, it is anticipated that such collateral would be held in the custody of the Collateral Bank for their mutual benefit. A fund may not act as an Agent, a Collateral Bank, a guarantor or sole negotiator or structurer with respect to a loan.

The Investment Adviser or Subadviser will analyze and evaluate the financial condition of the borrower in connection with the acquisition of any loan interest. Credit ratings are typically assigned to loan interests in the same manner as with other fixed income debt securities, and the Investment Adviser analyzes and evaluates these ratings, if any, in deciding whether to purchase a loan interest. The Investment Adviser also analyzes and evaluates the financial condition of the Agent and, in the case of loan interests in which the fund does not have privity with the borrower, those institutions from or through whom the fund derives its rights in a loan (“Intermediate Participants”).

In a typical loan, the Agent administers the terms of the loan agreement. In such cases, the Agent is normally responsible for the collection of principal and interest payments from the borrower and the apportionment of these payments to the credit of all the institutions which are parties to the loan agreement. A fund will generally rely upon the Agent or Intermediate Participant to receive and forward to the fund its portion of the principal and interest payments on the loan. Furthermore, unless under the terms of a participation agreement a fund has direct recourse against the borrower, the fund will rely on the Agent and the other members of the lending syndicate to use appropriate credit remedies against the borrower. The Agent is typically responsible for monitoring compliance with covenants contained in the loan agreement based upon reports prepared by the borrower. The seller of the loan interest usually does, but is often not obligated to, notify holders of loan interests of any failures of compliance. The Agent may monitor the value of the collateral and, if the value of the collateral declines, may accelerate the loan, may give the borrower an opportunity to provide additional collateral or may seek other protection for the benefit of the participants in the loan. The Agent is compensated by the borrower for providing these services under a loan agreement, and such compensation may include special fees paid upon structuring and funding the loan and other fees paid on a continuing basis. With respect to loan interests for which the Agent does not perform such administrative and enforcement functions, the fund will perform such tasks on its own behalf, although a Collateral Bank will typically hold any collateral on behalf of the fund and the other holders pursuant to the applicable loan agreement.

A financial institution’s appointment as Agent may usually be terminated in the event that it fails to observe the requisite standard of care or becomes insolvent, enters Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) receivership, or, if not FDIC insured, enters into bankruptcy proceedings. A successor agent generally would be appointed to replace the terminated Agent, and assets held by the Agent under the loan agreement should remain available to holders of loan interests. However, if assets held by the Agent for the benefit of a fund were determined to be subject to the claims of the Agent’s general creditors, the fund might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on a loan interest, or suffer a loss of principal and/or interest. In situations involving Intermediate Participants, similar risks may arise.

Purchasers of loan interests depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of principal and interest. If a fund does not receive a scheduled interest or principal payment on such indebtedness, the fund’s share price and yield could be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured offer a fund more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of non-payment of scheduled interest or principal. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower’s obligation, or that the collateral can be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks, and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of developing countries also will involve a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due.

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The loan interests market is in a developing phase with increased participation among several investor types. The dealer community has become increasingly involved in this secondary market. If, however, a particular loan interest is deemed to be illiquid, it would be valued using procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. In such a situation, there is no guarantee that the fund will be able to sell such loan interests, which could lead to a decline in the value of the loan interests and the value of the fund’s shares.

LOAN PARTICIPATIONS . A fund may purchase participations in commercial loans. Such indebtedness may be secured or unsecured. Loan participations typically represent direct participation in a loan to a corporate borrower, and generally are offered by banks or other financial institutions or lending syndicates. A fund may participate in such syndications, or can buy part of a loan, becoming a part lender. When purchasing loan participations, the fund assumes the credit risk associated with the corporate borrower and may assume the credit risk associated with an interposed bank or other financial intermediary. The participation interests in which the fund intends to invest may not be rated by any nationally recognized rating service.

A loan is often administered by an agent bank acting as agent for all holders. The agent bank administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. In addition, the agent bank is normally responsible for the collection of principal and interest payments from the corporate borrower and the apportionment of these payments to the credit of all institutions which are parties to the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, a fund has direct recourse against the corporate borrower, the fund may have to rely on the agent bank or other financial intermediary to apply appropriate credit remedies against a corporate borrower.

A financial institution’s employment as agent bank might be terminated in the event that it fails to observe a requisite standard of care or becomes insolvent. A successor agent bank would generally be appointed to replace the terminated agent bank, and assets held by the agent bank under the loan agreement should remain available to holders of such indebtedness. However, if assets held by the agent bank for the benefit of the fund were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent bank’s general creditors, the fund might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on a loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal and/or interest. In situations involving other interposed financial institutions (e.g., an insurance company or governmental agency) similar risks may arise.

Purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the corporate borrower for payment of principal and interest. If a fund does not receive scheduled interest or principal payments on such indebtedness, the fund’s share price and yield could be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured offer the fund more protection than an unsecured loan in the event of non-payment of scheduled interest or principal. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the corporate borrower’s obligation, or that the collateral can be liquidated.

A fund may invest in loan participations with credit quality comparable to that of issuers of its securities investments. Indebtedness of companies whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks, and may be highly speculative. Some companies may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Consequently, when investing in indebtedness of companies with poor credit, the fund bears a substantial risk of losing the entire amount invested.

A fund limits the amount of its total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry. For purposes of these limits, the fund generally will treat the corporate borrower as the “issuer” of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as a financial intermediary between the fund and the corporate borrower, if the participation does not shift to a fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the corporate borrower, SEC interpretations require the fund to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the corporate borrower as “issuers” for the purposes of determining whether the fund has invested more than 5% of its assets in a single issuer. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict the fund’s ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.

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Loans and other types of direct indebtedness may not be readily marketable and may be subject to restrictions on resale. In some cases, negotiations involved in disposing of indebtedness may require weeks to complete. Consequently, some indebtedness may be difficult or impossible to dispose of readily at what the Investment Adviser believes to be a fair price. In addition, valuation of illiquid indebtedness involves a greater degree of judgment in determining the fund’s net asset value than if that value were based on available market quotations, and could result in significant variations in the fund’s daily share price. At the same time, some loan interests are traded among certain financial institutions and accordingly may be deemed liquid. As the market for different types of indebtedness develops, the liquidity of these instruments is expected to improve. In addition, a fund currently intends to treat indebtedness for which there is no readily available market as illiquid for purposes of the fund’s limitation on illiquid investments. Investments in loan participations are considered to be debt obligations for purposes of the fund’s investment restriction relating to the lending of funds or assets by a fund.

Investments in loans through a direct assignment of the financial institution’s interests with respect to the loan may involve additional risks to the fund. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, a fund could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, the fund could be held liable as co-lender. It is unclear whether loans and other forms of direct indebtedness offer securities law protections against fraud and misrepresentation. In the absence of definitive regulatory guidance, a fund relies on the Investment Adviser’s research in an attempt to avoid situations where fraud or misrepresentation could adversely affect the fund.

MATURITY OF INVESTMENTS will generally be determined using a portfolio security’s final maturity date (date on which the final principal payment of a bond is scheduled to be paid); however, for securitized products, such as mortgage-backed securities and certain other asset-backed securities, maturity will be determined on an average life basis (weighted average time to receipt of all principal payments) by the investment adviser. Because pre-payment rates of individual mortgage pools vary widely, the average life of a particular pool cannot be predicted precisely. For securities with embedded demand features, such as puts or calls, either the demand date or the final maturity date will be used depending on interest rates, yields and other market conditions. The average portfolio maturity of a fund is dollar-weighted based upon the market value of a fund’s securities at the time of the calculation.

MONEY MARKET SECURITIES are high-quality, short term debt securities that may be issued by entities such as the U.S. government, corporations and financial institutions (like banks). Money market securities include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, banker’s acceptances, notes and time deposits. Certificates of deposit and time deposits are issued against funds deposited in a banking institution for a specified period of time at a specified interest rate. Banker’s acceptances are credit instruments evidencing a bank’s obligation to pay a draft drawn on it by a customer. These instruments reflect the obligation both of the bank and of the drawer to pay the full amount of the instrument upon maturity. Commercial paper consists of short term, unsecured promissory notes issued to finance short term credit needs.

Money market securities pay fixed, variable or floating rates of interest and are generally subject to credit and interest rate risks. The maturity date or price of and financial assets collateralizing a security may be structured in order to make it qualify as or act like a money market security. These securities may be subject to greater credit and interest rate risks than other money market securities because of their structure. Money market securities may be issued with puts or these can be sold separately, sometimes called demand features or guarantees, which are agreements that allow the buyer to sell a security at a specified price and time to the seller or “put provider.” When a fund buys a put, losses could occur as a result of the costs of the put or if it exercises its rights under the put and the put provider does not perform as agreed. Standby commitments are types of puts.

Each fund may keep a portion of its assets in cash for business operations. In order to reduce the effect this otherwise uninvested cash would have on its performance, a fund may invest in money market securities. Each fund may also invest in money market securities to the extent it is consistent with its investment objective.

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MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES (“MBS”) and other ASSET-BACKED SECURITIES (“ABS”) may be purchased by a fund. MBS represent participations in mortgage loans, and include pass-through securities, adjustable rate mortgages, collateralized mortgage obligations and stripped mortgage-backed securities. MBS may be issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA or Ginnie Mae), the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) or by private issuers, generally originators and investors in mortgage loans, including savings associations, mortgage banks, commercial banks, and special purpose entities (collectively, “private lenders”). MBS are based on different types of mortgages including those on commercial real estate and residential property. MBS issued by private lenders may be supported by pools of mortgage loans or other MBS that are guaranteed, directly or indirectly, by the U.S. government or one of its agencies or instrumentalities, or they may be issued without any governmental guarantee of the underlying mortgage assets but with some form of credit enhancement.

ABS have structural characteristics similar to MBS. ABS represent direct or indirect participation in assets such as automobile loans, credit card receivables, trade receivables, home equity loans (which sometimes are categorized as MBS) or other financial assets. Therefore, repayment depends largely on the cash flows generated by the assets backing the securities. The credit quality of most ABS depends primarily on the credit quality of the assets underlying such securities, how well the entity issuing the security is insulated from the credit risk of the originator or any other affiliated entities, and the amount and quality of any credit enhancement of the securities. Payments or distributions of principal and interest on ABS may be supported by credit enhancements including letters of credit, an insurance guarantee, reserve funds and overcollateralization. Based on the characteristics of mortgage-backed securities, the funds have identified mortgage-backed securities issued by private lenders and not guaranteed by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities or by a foreign government, its agencies or instrumentalities as a separate industry for purposes of a fund’s concentration policy.

Commercial mortgage-backed securities include securities that reflect an interest in, and are secured by, mortgage loans on commercial real property. The market for commercial mortgage-backed securities developed more recently and in terms of total outstanding principal amount of issues is relatively small compared to the market for residential single-family MBS. Many of the risks of investing in commercial MBS reflect the risks of investing in the real estate securing the underlying mortgage loans. These risks reflect the effects of local and other economic conditions on real estate markets, the ability of tenants to make loan payments, and the ability of a property to attract and retain tenants. Commercial MBS may be less liquid and exhibit greater price volatility than other types of mortgage- or asset-backed securities.

The funds may invest in collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”), which includes collateralized bond obligations (“CBOs”), collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”) and other similarly structured securities such as credit derivatives or even derivatives of credit derivatives. CBOs and CLOs are types of asset-backed securities. A CBO is a trust which is backed by a diversified pool of high risk, below investment grade fixed income securities. A CLO is a trust typically collateralized by a pool of loans, which may include, among others, domestic and foreign senior secured loans, senior unsecured loans, and subordinate corporate loans, including loans that may be rated below investment grade or equivalent unrated loans.

For both CBOs and CLOs, the cashflows from the trust are split into two or more portions, called tranches, varying in risk and yield. The riskiest portion is the “equity” tranche which bears the bulk of defaults from the bonds or loans in the trust and serves to protect the other, more senior tranches from default in all but the most severe circumstances. Since it is partially protected from defaults, a senior tranche from a CBO trust or CLO trust typically has higher ratings and lower yields than their underlying securities, and can be rated investment grade. Despite the protection from the equity tranche, CBO or CLO tranches can experience substantial losses due to actual defaults, increased sensitivity to defaults due to collateral default and disappearance of protecting tranches, market anticipation of defaults, as well as aversion to CBO or CLO securities as a class.

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The risks of an investment in a CDO depend largely on the type of the collateral securities and the class of the CDO in which a fund invests. Normally, CBOs, CLOs and other CDOs are privately offered and sold, and thus, are not registered under the securities laws. As a result, investments in CDOs may be characterized by the funds as illiquid securities, however an active dealer market may exist for CDOs allowing a CDO to qualify for Rule 144A transactions. In addition to the normal risks associated with fixed income securities discussed elsewhere in this SAI and the funds’ prospectuses (e.g., interest rate risk and default risk), CDOs carry additional risks including, but not limited to: (i) the possibility that distributions from collateral securities will not be adequate to make interest or other payments; (ii) the quality of the collateral may decline in value or default; (iii) the funds may invest in CDOs that are subordinate to other classes; (iv) the complex structure of the security may not be fully understood at the time of investment and may produce disputes with the issuer or unexpected investment results and (v) credit ratings by major credit rating agencies may be no indication of the credit worthiness of the security.

Collateralized Mortgage Obligation (“CMO”) is a hybrid between a mortgage-backed bond and a mortgage pass-through security. Similar to a bond, interest and prepaid principal is paid, in most cases, on a monthly basis. CMOs may be collateralized by whole mortgage loans, but are more typically collateralized by portfolios of mortgage pass-through securities guaranteed by Ginnie Mae, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and their income streams, as well as private issuers.

CMOs are structured into multiple classes, each bearing a different stated maturity. Actual maturity and average life will depend upon the prepayment experience of the collateral. CMOs provide for a modified form of call protection through a de facto breakdown of the underlying pool of mortgages according to how quickly the loans are repaid. Monthly payment of principal received from the pool of underlying mortgages, including prepayments, is first returned to investors holding the shortest maturity class. Investors holding the longer maturity classes receive principal only after the first class has been retired. An investor is partially guarded against a sooner than desired return of principal because of the sequential payments.

In a typical CMO transaction, a corporation (“issuer”) issues multiple series (e.g., A, B, C, Z) of CMO bonds (“Bonds”). Proceeds of the Bond offering are used to purchase mortgages or mortgage pass-through certificates (“Collateral”). The Collateral is pledged to a third party trustee as security for the Bonds. Principal and interest payments from the Collateral are used to pay principal on the Bonds in the order A, B, C, Z. The Series A, B, and C Bonds all bear current interest. Interest on the Series Z Bond is accrued and added to principal and a like amount is paid as principal on the Series A, B, or C Bond currently being paid off. When the Series A, B, and C Bonds are paid in full, interest and principal on the Series Z Bond begins to be paid currently. With some CMOs, the issuer serves as a conduit to allow loan originators (primarily builders or savings and loan associations) to borrow against their loan portfolios.

The rate of principal payment on MBS and ABS generally depends on the rate of principal payments received on the underlying assets which in turn may be affected by a variety of economic and other factors. As a result, the price and yield on any MBS or ABS is difficult to predict with precision and price and yield to maturity may be more or less than the anticipated yield to maturity. If a fund purchases these securities at a premium, a prepayment rate that is faster than expected will reduce yield to maturity, while a prepayment rate that is slower than expected will have the opposite effect of increasing the yield to maturity. Conversely, if a fund purchases these securities at a discount, a prepayment rate that is faster than expected will increase yield to maturity, while a prepayment rate that is slower than expected will reduce yield to maturity. Amounts available for reinvestment by a fund are likely to be greater during a period of declining interest rates and, as a result, are likely to be reinvested at lower interest rates than during a period of rising interest rates.

While many MBS and ABS are issued with only one class of security, many are issued in more than one class, each with different payment terms. Multiple class MBS and ABS are issued as a method of providing credit support, typically through creation of one or more classes whose right to payments on the security is made subordinate to the right to such payments of the remaining class or classes. In addition, multiple classes may permit the issuance of securities with payment terms, interest rates, or other characteristics differing both from those of each other and from those of the underlying assets. Examples include stripped securities, which are MBS and ABS entitling the holder to disproportionate interest or principal compared with the assets backing the security, and securities with classes having characteristics different from the assets backing the securities, such as a security with floating interest rates with assets backing the

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securities having fixed interest rates. The market value of such securities and CMO’s generally is more or less sensitive to changes in prepayment and interest rates than is the case with traditional MBS and ABS, and in some cases such market value may be extremely volatile.

CMO Residuals are mortgage securities issued by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. Government or by private originators of, or investors in, mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations, homebuilders, mortgage banks, commercial banks, investment banks and special purpose entities of the foregoing.

The cash flow generated by the mortgage assets underlying a series of CMOs is applied first to make required payments of principal and interest on the CMOs and second to pay the related administrative expenses of the issuer. The residual in a CMO structure generally represents the interest in any excess cash flow remaining after making the foregoing payments. Each payment of such excess cash flow to a holder of the related CMO residual represents income and/or a return of capital. The amount of residual cash flow resulting from a CMO will depend on, among other things, the characteristics of the mortgage assets, the coupon rate of each class of CMO, prevailing interest rates, the amount of administrative expenses and the prepayment experience on the mortgage assets. In particular, the yield to maturity on CMO residuals is extremely sensitive to prepayments on the related underlying mortgage assets, in the same manner as an interest-only (“IO”) class of stripped mortgage-backed securities. See “Stripped Mortgage-Backed Securities.” In addition, if a series of a CMO includes a class that bears interest at an adjustable rate, the yield to maturity on the related CMO residual will also be extremely sensitive to changes in the level of the index upon which interest rate adjustments are based. As described below with respect to stripped mortgage-backed securities, in certain circumstances a fund may fail to recoup fully its initial investment in a CMO residual.

CMO residuals are generally purchased and sold by institutional investors through several investment banking firms acting as brokers or dealers. The CMO residual market has only very recently developed and CMO residuals currently may not have the liquidity of other more established securities trading in other markets. Transactions in CMO residuals are generally completed only after careful review of the characteristics of the securities in question. In addition, CMO residuals may, or pursuant to an exemption therefrom, may not have been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). CMO residuals, whether or not registered under the 1933 Act, may be subject to certain restrictions on transferability, and may be deemed “illiquid” and subject to a fund’s limitations on investment in illiquid securities.

Stripped Mortgage-Backed Securities are derivative multi-class mortgage securities. SMBS may be issued by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. Government, or by private originators of, or investors in, mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations, mortgage banks, commercial banks, investment banks and special purpose entities of the foregoing.

SMBS are usually structured with two classes that receive different proportions of the interest and principal distributions on a pool of mortgage assets. A common type of SMBS will have one class receiving some of the interest and most of the principal from the mortgage assets, while the other class will receive most of the interest and the remainder of the principal. In the most extreme case, one class will receive all of the interest (the “IO” class), while the other class will receive all of the principal (the principal-only or “PO” class). The yield to maturity on an IO class is extremely sensitive to the rate of principal payments (including prepayments) on the related underlying mortgage assets, and a rapid rate of principal payments may have a material adverse effect on a fund’s yield to maturity from these securities. If the underlying mortgage assets experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, a fund may fail to recoup some or all of its initial investment in these securities even if the security is in one of the highest rating categories.

Under certain circumstances these securities may be deemed “illiquid” and subject to a fund’s limitations on investment in illiquid securities.

NON-PUBLICLY TRADED SECURITIES AND PRIVATE PLACEMENTS. A fund may invest in securities that are neither listed on a stock exchange nor traded over-the-counter, including privately placed securities. Such unlisted securities may involve a higher degree of business and financial risk that can result in substantial losses. As a result of the

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absence of a public trading market for these securities, they may be less liquid than publicly traded securities. Although these securities may be resold in privately negotiated transactions, the prices realized from these sales could be less than those originally paid by the fund or less than what may be considered the fair value of such securities. Furthermore, companies whose securities are not publicly traded may not be subject to the disclosure and other investor protection requirements which might be applicable if their securities were publicly traded. If such securities are required to be registered under the securities laws of one or more jurisdictions before being sold, a fund may be required to bear the expenses of registration.

NON-TRADITIONAL EQUITY SECURITIES. The funds may invest in convertible preferred stocks that offer enhanced yield features, such as Preferred Equity Redemption Cumulative Stock (“PERCS”), which provide an investor, such as the funds, with the opportunity to earn higher dividend income than is available on a company’s common stock. A PERCS is a preferred stock which generally features a mandatory conversion date, as well as a capital appreciation limit which is usually expressed in terms of a stated price. Upon the conversion date, most PERCS convert into common stock of the issuer (PERCS are generally not convertible into cash at maturity). Under a typical arrangement, if after a predetermined number of years the issuer’s common stock is trading at a price below that set by the capital appreciation limit, each PERCS would convert to one share of common stock. If, however, the issuer’s common stock is trading at a price above that set by the capital appreciation limit, the holder of the PERCS would receive less than one full share of common stock. The amount of that fractional share of common stock received by the PERCS holder is determined by dividing the price set by the capital appreciation limit of the PERCS by the market price of the issuer’s common stock. PERCS can be called at any time prior to maturity, and hence do not provide call protection. However, if called early, the issuer may pay a call premium over the market price to the investor. This call premium declines at a preset rate daily, up to the maturity date of the PERCS.

The funds may also invest in other enhanced convertible securities. These include but are not limited to ACES (Automatically Convertible Equity Securities), PEPS (Participating Equity Preferred Stock), PRIDES (Preferred Redeemable Increased Dividend Equity Securities), SAILS (Stock Appreciation Income Linked Securities), TECONS (Term Convertible Notes), QICS (Quarterly Income Cumulative Securities), and DECS (Dividend Enhanced Convertible Securities). ACES, PEPS, PRIDES, SAILS, TECONS, QICS, and DECS all have the following features: they are company-issued convertible preferred stock; unlike PERCS, they do not have capital appreciation limits; they seek to provide the investor with high current income, with some prospect of future capital appreciation; they are typically issued with three- to four-year maturities; they typically have some built-in call protection for the first two to three years; investors have the right to convert them into shares of common stock at a preset conversion ratio or hold them until maturity; and upon maturity, they will automatically convert to either cash or a specified number of shares of common stock.

PAY-IN-KIND (‘PIK’) are instruments that give the issuer an option (during an initial period) either to make coupon payments in cash or in the form of additional bonds.

PROMISSORY NOTES are written agreements committing the maker or issuer to pay the payee a specified amount either on demand or at a fixed date in the future, with or without interest. These are sometimes called negotiable notes or instruments and are subject to credit risk. Bank notes are notes used to represent obligations issued by banks in large denominations.

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITs) are pooled investment vehicles, which invest primarily in income producing real estate or real estate related loans or interests and, in some cases, manage real estate. REITs are sometimes referred to as equity REITs, mortgage REITs or hybrid REITs. An equity REIT invests primarily in properties and generates income from rental and lease properties and, in some cases, from the management of real estate. Equity REITs also offer the potential for growth as a result of property appreciation and from the sale of appreciated property. Mortgage REITs invest primarily in real estate mortgages, which may secure construction, development or long term loans, and derive income for the collection of interest payments. Hybrid REITs may combine the features of equity REITs and mortgage REITs. REITs are generally organized as corporations or business trusts, but are not taxed as a corporation if

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they meet certain requirements of Subchapter M of the Code. To qualify, a REIT must, among other things, invest substantially all of its assets in interests in real estate (including other REITs), cash and government securities, distribute at least 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders and receive at least 75% of that income from rents, mortgages and sales of property.

Like any investment in real estate, a REIT’s performance depends on many factors, such as its ability to find tenants for its properties, to renew leases, and to finance property purchases and renovations. In general, REITs may be affected by changes in underlying real estate values, which may have an exaggerated effect to the extent a REIT concentrates its investment in certain regions or property types. For example, rental income could decline because of extended vacancies, increased competition from nearby properties, tenants’ failure to pay rent, or incompetent management. Property values could decrease because of overbuilding, environmental liabilities, uninsured damages caused by natural disasters, a general decline in the neighborhood, losses due to casualty or condemnation, increases in property taxes, or changes in zoning laws. Ultimately, a REIT’s performance depends on the types of properties it owns and how well the REIT manages its properties.

In general, during periods of rising interest rates, REITs may lose some of their appeal for investors who may be able to obtain higher yields from other income-producing investments, such as long term bonds. Higher interest rates also mean that financing for property purchases and improvements is more costly and difficult to obtain. During periods of declining interest rates, certain mortgage REITs may hold mortgages that mortgagors elect to prepay, which can reduce the yield on securities issued by mortgage REITs. Mortgage REITs may be affected by the ability of borrowers to repay debts to the REIT when due and equity REITs may be affected by the ability of tenants to pay rent.

Like small-cap stocks in general, certain REITs have relatively small market capitalizations and their securities can be more volatile than—and at times will perform differently from—large-cap stocks. In addition, because small-cap stocks are typically less liquid than large-cap stocks, REIT stocks may sometimes experience greater share-price fluctuations than the stocks of larger companies. Further, REITs are dependent upon specialized management skills, have limited diversification, and are therefore subject to risks inherent in operating and financing a limited number of projects. By investing in REITs indirectly through a fund, a shareholder will bear indirectly a proportionate share of the REIT’s expenses in addition to their proportionate share of a fund’s expenses. Finally, REITs could possibly fail to qualify for pass-through tax treatment under the Code or to maintain their exemptions from registration under the 1940 Act and CFTC regulations.

REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS are instruments under which a buyer acquires ownership of certain securities (usually U.S. government securities) from a seller who agrees to repurchase the securities at a mutually agreed-upon time and price, thereby determining the yield during the buyer’s holding period. Any repurchase agreements a fund enters into will involve the fund as the buyer and banks or broker-dealers as sellers. The period of repurchase agreements is usually short—from overnight to one week, although the securities collateralizing a repurchase agreement may have longer maturity dates. Default by the seller might cause a fund to experience a loss or delay in the liquidation of the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. A fund also may incur disposition costs in liquidating the collateral. In the event of a bankruptcy or other default of a repurchase agreement’s seller, the fund might incur expenses in enforcing its rights, and could experience losses, including a decline in the value of the underlying securities and loss of income. A fund will make payment under a repurchase agreement only upon physical delivery or evidence of book entry transfer of the collateral to the account of its custodian bank.

RESTRICTED SECURITIES are securities that are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling restricted securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the 1933 Act, or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the

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security. Certain restricted securities, such as 4(2) commercial paper and Rule 144A securities under the 1933 Act, may be considered to be liquid if they meet the criteria for liquidity established by the Board. To the extent the fund invests in restricted securities that are deemed liquid, the general level of illiquidity in the fund’s portfolio may be increased if such securities become illiquid.

REVERSE REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS AND MORTGAGE DOLLAR ROLLS may be used by a fund. A fund may engage in reverse repurchase agreements to facilitate portfolio liquidity, a practice common in the mutual fund industry, or for arbitrage transactions as discussed below. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund would sell a security and enter into an agreement to repurchase the security at a specified future date and price. A fund generally retains the right to interest and principal payments on the security. If a fund uses the cash it obtains to invest in other securities, this may be considered a form of leverage and may expose the fund to a greater risk. Leverage tends to magnify the effect of any decrease or increase in the value on a fund’s portfolio’s securities. Because a fund receives cash upon entering into a reverse repurchase agreement, it may be considered a borrowing. When required by guidelines of the SEC, a fund will set aside permissible liquid assets earmarked or in a segregated account to secure its obligations to repurchase the security.

A fund also may enter into mortgage dollar rolls, in which a fund would sell MBS for delivery in the current month and simultaneously contract to purchase substantially similar securities on a specified future date. While a fund would forego principal and interest paid on the MBS during the roll period, a fund would be compensated by the difference between the current sales price and the lower price for the future purchase as well as by any interest earned on the proceeds of the initial sale. A fund also could be compensated through the receipt of fee income equivalent to a lower forward price. At the time a fund would enter into a mortgage dollar roll, it would set aside permissible liquid assets earmarked or in a segregated account to secure its obligation for the forward commitment to buy MBS. Mortgage dollar roll transactions may be considered a borrowing by a fund.

The mortgage dollar rolls and reverse repurchase agreements entered into by a fund may be used as arbitrage transactions in which a fund will maintain an offsetting position in short duration investment-grade debt obligations. Since a fund will receive interest on the securities or repurchase agreements in which it invests the transaction proceeds, such transactions may involve leverage. However, since such securities or repurchase agreements will be high quality and short duration, the Investment Adviser believes that such arbitrage transactions present lower risks to a fund than those associated with other types of leverage. There can be no assurance that a fund’s use of the cash it receives from a mortgage dollar roll will provide a positive return.

SECURITIES LENDING of portfolio securities is a common practice in the securities industry. A fund may engage in security lending arrangements. For example, a fund may receive cash collateral, and it may invest it in short term, interest-bearing obligations, but will do so only to the extent that it will not lose the tax treatment available to RICs. Lending portfolio securities involves risks that the borrower may fail to return the securities or provide additional collateral. Also, voting rights with respect to the loaned securities may pass with the lending of the securities. Securities lending involves the risk of loss of rights in the collateral, or delay in recovery of the collateral, if the borrower fails to return the security loaned or becomes insolvent. A fund will also bear the risk of any decline in value of securities acquired with cash collateral.

A fund may loan portfolio securities to qualified broker-dealers or other institutional investors provided: (1) the loan is secured continuously by collateral consisting of U.S. government securities, letters of credit, cash or cash equivalents or other appropriate instruments maintained on a daily marked-to-market basis in an amount at least equal to the current market value of the securities loaned; (2) the fund may at any time call the loan and obtain the return of the securities loaned; (3) the fund will receive any interest or dividends paid on the loaned securities; and (4) the aggregate market value of securities loaned will not at any time exceed one-third of the total assets of the fund, including collateral received from the loan (at market value computed at the time of the loan).

Although voting rights with respect to loaned securities pass to the borrower, the lender retains the right to recall a security (or terminate a loan) for the purpose of exercising the security’s voting rights. Efforts to recall such securities

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promptly may be unsuccessful, especially for foreign securities or thinly traded securities such as small-cap stocks. In addition, because recalling a security may involve expenses to a fund, it is expected that a fund will do so only where the items being voted upon are, in the judgment of the Investment Adviser, either material to the economic value of the security or threaten to materially impact the issuer’s corporate governance policies or structure.

To the extent any fund participates in securities lending under the current securities lending agreements with the unaffiliated lending agents, costs and expenses, including agent fees, associated with securities lending activities under the securities lending program paid to the lending agent are approximately 15% of the gross lending revenues. All remaining revenue is retained by a fund, as applicable. No portion of the lending revenue is paid to or retained by Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (“CSIM”) or any affiliate of CSIM.

SECURITIES OF OTHER INVESTMENT COMPANIES may be purchased and sold by a fund and include those issued by foreign investment companies. Investment companies generally offer investors the advantages of diversification and professional investment management, by combining shareholders’ money and investing it in securities such as stocks, bonds and money market instruments. Investment companies include: (1) open-end funds (commonly called mutual funds) that issue and redeem their shares on a continuous basis; (2) BDCs that generally invest in, and provide services to, privately-held companies or thinly-traded public companies (see the sub-section entitled “Business Development Companies” for more information); (3) closed-end funds that offer a fixed number of shares, and are usually listed on an exchange; and (4) unit investment trusts that generally offer a fixed number of redeemable shares. Certain open-end funds, closed-end funds and unit investment trusts are traded on exchanges. (See the section entitled “Exchange Traded Funds” for more information.)Investment Companies also make various investments and use certain techniques in order to enhance their performance. These may include entering into delayed-delivery and when-issued securities transactions or swap agreements; buying and selling futures contracts, illiquid and restricted securities and repurchase agreements and borrowing or lending money and/or portfolio securities. The risks of investing in a particular investment company generally reflect the risks of the securities in which it invests and the investment techniques it employs. Also, investment companies charge fees and incur operating expenses.

To the extent a fund invests, or has invested, in shares of other investment companies, including BDCs, during its prior fiscal year, the fund, pursuant to SEC rules, must disclose any material fees and expenses indirectly incurred by the fund as a result of such investments. These indirect fees and expenses, to the extent incurred, will appear in the fee table of the fund’s prospectus as a separate line item captioned “Acquired fund fees and expenses.”

Federal law restricts the ability of one registered investment company to invest in another. As a result, the extent to which a fund may invest in another investment company may be limited.

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Funds in which a fund also may invest include unregistered or privately-placed funds, such as hedge funds and offshore funds. Hedge funds and offshore funds are not registered with the SEC, and therefore are largely exempt from the regulatory requirements that apply to registered investment companies (mutual funds). As a result, these types of funds have greater ability to make investments or use investment techniques, such as leveraging, that can increase investment return but also may substantially increase the risk of losses. Investments in these funds also may be more difficult to sell, which could cause losses to a fund. For example, hedge funds typically require investors to keep their investment in a hedge fund for some period of time, such as 1 year or more. This means investors would not be able to sell their shares of a hedge fund until such time had passed, and the investment may be deemed to be illiquid. In addition, because hedge funds may not value their portfolio holdings on a frequent basis, investments in those hedge funds may be difficult to price.

The Laudus Mondrian International Equity, Laudus Mondrian Emerging Markets and Laudus Mondrian International Government Fixed Income Funds are prohibited from acquiring any securities of registered open-end investment companies or registered unit investment trusts in reliance on Section 12(d)(1)(G) or Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act.

SHORT SALES may be used by a fund as part of its overall portfolio management strategies or to offset (hedge) a potential decline in the value of a security. A fund may engage in short sales that are either “against the box” or “uncovered.” A short sale is “against the box” if at all times during which the short position is open, a fund owns at least an equal amount of the securities or securities convertible into, or has the right to acquire, at no added cost, the securities of the same issue as the securities that are sold short. A short sale against the box is a taxable transaction to a fund with respect to the securities that are sold short. “Uncovered” short sales are transactions under which a fund sells a security it does not own. To complete such transaction, a fund may borrow the security through a broker to make delivery to the buyer and, in doing so, the fund becomes obligated to replace the security borrowed by purchasing the security at the market price at the time of the replacement. A fund also may have to pay a fee to borrow particular securities, which would increase the cost of the security. In addition, a fund is often obligated to pay any accrued interest and dividends on the securities until they are replaced. The proceeds of the short sale position will be retained by the broker until a fund replaces the borrowed securities.

A fund will incur a loss if the price of the security sold short increases between the time of the short sale and the time the fund replaces the borrowed security and, conversely, the fund will realize a gain if the price declines. Any gain will be decreased, and any loss increased, by the transaction costs described above. A short sale creates the risk of an unlimited loss, as the price of the underlying securities could theoretically increase without limit, thus increasing the cost of buying those securities to cover the short position. If a fund sells securities short “against the box,” it may protect unrealized gains, but will lose the opportunity to profit on such securities if the price rises. The successful use of short selling as a hedging strategy may be adversely affected by imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the security sold short and the securities being hedged.

A fund’s obligation to replace the securities borrowed in connection with a short sale will be secured by collateral deposited with the broker that consists of cash or other liquid securities. In addition, a fund will earmark cash or liquid assets or place in a segregated account an amount of cash or other liquid assets equal to the difference, if any, between (1) the market value of the securities sold short, marked-to-market daily, and (2) any cash or other liquid securities deposited as collateral with the broker in connection with the short sale.

SPREAD TRANSACTIONS may be used for hedging or managing risk. A fund may purchase covered spread options from securities dealers. Such covered spread options are not presently exchange-listed or exchange-traded. The purchase of a spread option gives a fund the right to put, or sell, a security that it owns at a fixed dollar spread or fixed yield spread in relation to another security that a fund does not own, but which is used as a benchmark. The risk to a fund in purchasing covered spread options is the cost of the premium paid for the spread option and any transaction costs. In addition, there is no assurance that closing transactions will be available. The purchase of spread options will be used to protect a fund against adverse changes in prevailing credit quality spreads, i.e., the yield spread between high quality and lower quality securities. Such protection is only provided during the life of the spread option.

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STRIPPED SECURITIES are securities whose income and principal components are detached and sold separately. While risks associated with stripped securities are similar to other fixed income securities, stripped securities are typically subject to greater changes in value. U.S. Treasury securities that have been stripped by the Federal Reserve Bank are obligations of the U.S. Treasury.

TEMPORARY DEFENSIVE STRATEGIES. During unusual economic or market conditions or for temporary defensive or liquidity purposes, each fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in cash, money market instruments, repurchase agreements and other short-term obligations that would not ordinarily be consistent with the funds’ objectives. A fund will do so only if the Investment Adviser or Subadviser believes that the risk of loss outweighs the opportunity for capital gains or higher income. When a fund engages in such activities, it may not achieve its investment objective.

U.S. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES are issued by the U.S. Treasury or issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities. Not all U.S. government securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Some U.S. government securities, such as those issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae), and the Federal Home Loan Banks, are supported by a line of credit the issuing entity has with the U.S. Treasury. Others are supported solely by the credit of the issuing agency or instrumentality such as obligations issued by the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation. There can be no assurance that the U.S. government will provide financial support to U.S. government securities of its agencies and instrumentalities if it is not obligated to do so under law. U.S. government securities, including U.S. Treasury securities, are among the safest securities, however, not unlike other debt securities, they are still sensitive to interest rate changes, which will cause their yields and prices to fluctuate.

On September 7, 2008, the U.S. Treasury announced a federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, placing the two federal instrumentalities in conservatorship. Under the takeover, the U.S. Treasury agreed to acquire $1 billion of senior preferred stock of each instrumentality and obtained warrants for the purchase of common stock of each instrumentality. Under these Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements (SPAs), the U.S. Treasury has pledged to provide up to $100 billion per instrumentality as needed, including the contribution of cash capital to the instrumentalities in the event their liabilities exceed their assets. On May 6, 2009, the U.S. Treasury increased its maximum commitment to each instrumentality under the SPAs to $200 billion per instrumentality. On December 24, 2009, the U.S. Treasury further amended the SPAs to allow the cap on Treasury’s funding commitment to increase as necessary to accommodate any cumulative reduction in Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s net worth through the end of 2012. On August 17, 2012, the U.S. Treasury announced that it was again amending the SPAs to terminate the requirement that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each pay a 10% dividend annually on all amounts received under the funding commitment. Instead, they will transfer to the U.S. Treasury on a quarterly basis all profits earned during a quarter that exceed a capital reserve amount of $3 billion. It is anticipated that the new amendment would put Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a better position to service their debt. At the start of 2013, the unlimited support the U.S. Treasury extended to the two companies expired – Fannie Mae’s bailout is capped at $125 billion and Freddie Mac has a limit of $149 billion.

The actions of the U.S. Treasury are intended to ensure that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac maintain a positive net worth and meet their financial obligations preventing mandatory triggering of receivership. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Treasury initiatives will be successful. In addition, the future for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac remains uncertain. Congress has recently considered proposals to reduce the U.S. government’s role in the mortgage market and to wind down or restructure the operations of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Should the federal government adopt any such proposal, the value of a fund’s investments in securities issued by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac would be impacted.

On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”) lowered the long-term sovereign credit rating assigned to the United States to AA+ with a negative outlook. On August 8, 2011, S&P downgraded the long-term senior debt rating of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to AA+ with a negative outlook. The long-term impacts of any future downgrades are unknown. However, any future downgrades could have a material adverse impact on global financial markets and worldwide economic conditions, and could negatively impact a fund.

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Although the risk of default with U.S. government securities is considered unlikely, any default on the part of a portfolio investment could cause a fund’s share price or yield to fall.

In accordance with recommendations made by the Treasury Market Practices Group, to the extent the funds enter into transactions involving U.S. Treasury securities, agency debt instruments issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loans Banks, and agency-pass-through MBS issued or guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae, the funds may pay “fails charges” to or be owed “fails charges” from a counterparty, in connection with certain failures to deliver securities to settle trades.

ZERO-COUPON SECURITIES are debt obligations that do not entitle the holder to any periodic payments of interest before maturity or a specific date when the securities begin paying current interest. Therefore, they are issued and traded at a discount from their face amounts or par value. The market prices of zero-coupon securities are generally more volatile than the market prices of securities that pay interest periodically and are likely to respond to changes in interest rates to a greater degree than do non-zero-coupon securities having similar maturities and credit quality. Current federal income tax law requires that a holder of a taxable zero-coupon security report as income each year the portion of the original issue discount of such security that accrues that year, even though the holder receives no cash payments of interest during the year. Each fund has qualified as a RIC under the Code. Accordingly, during periods when a fund receives no interest payments on its zero-coupon securities, it will be required, in order to maintain its desired tax treatment, to distribute cash approximating the income attributable to such securities.

Such distribution may require the sale of portfolio securities to meet the distribution requirements and such sales may be subject to the risk factor discussed above.

INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS

The following investment limitations are fundamental and may be changed only by vote of a majority of each fund’s outstanding voting securities.

The Laudus Mondrian Funds may not:

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The following descriptions of the 1940 Act may assist investors in understanding the above policies and restrictions.

Diversification. Under the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and interpretations thereunder, a “diversified company,” as to 75% of its total assets, may not purchase securities of any issuer (other than obligations of, or guaranteed by, the U.S. government or its agencies, or instrumentalities or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, more than 5% of its total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer, or more than 10% of the issuer’s voting securities would be held by a fund.

Borrowing. The 1940 Act restricts an investment company from borrowing (including pledging, mortgaging or hypothecating assets) in excess of 33 1/3% of its total assets (not including temporary borrowings not in excess of 5% of its total assets). Transactions that are fully collateralized in a manner that does not involve the prohibited issuance of a “senior security” within the meaning of Section 18(f) of the 1940 Act, shall not be regarded as borrowings for the purposes of a fund’s investment restriction.

Concentration. The SEC has defined concentration as investing 25% or more of an investment company’s total assets in an industry or group of industries, with certain exceptions.

Lending. Under the 1940 Act, an investment company may only make loans if expressly permitted by its investment policies.

Real Estate. The 1940 Act does not directly restrict an investment company’s ability to invest in real estate, but does require that every investment company have a fundamental investment policy governing such investments. Each fund has adopted a fundamental policy that would permit direct investment in real estate. However, each fund has a non-fundamental investment limitation that prohibits it from investing directly in real estate. This non-fundamental policy may be changed only by vote of a fund’s Board of Trustees.

Senior Securities. Senior securities may include any obligation or instrument issued by an investment company evidencing indebtedness. The 1940 Act generally prohibits each fund from issuing senior securities, although it provides allowances for certain borrowings and certain other investments, such as short sales, reverse repurchase agreements, firm commitment agreements and standby commitments, when such investments are “covered” or with appropriate earmarking or segregation of assets to cover such obligations.

Underwriting. Under the 1940 Act, underwriting securities involves an investment company purchasing securities directly from an issuer for the purpose of selling (distributing) them or participating in any such activity either directly or indirectly.

The following are non-fundamental investment policies and restrictions, and may be changed by the board of trustees.

Each fund may not:

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Policies and investment limitations that state a maximum percentage of assets that may be invested in a security or other asset, or that set forth a quality standard shall be measured immediately after and as a result of the fund’s acquisition of such security or asset, unless otherwise noted. Except with respect to limitations on borrowing and futures and option contracts, any subsequent change in total assets or net assets, as applicable, or other circumstances does not require a fund to sell an investment if it could not then make the same investment. With respect to the limitation on illiquid securities, in the event that a subsequent change in net assets or other circumstances cause a fund to exceed its limitation, the fund will take steps to bring the aggregate amount of illiquid instruments back within the limitations as soon as reasonably practicable.

The phrase “shareholder approval” as used in the prospectus and herein, and the phrase “vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities,” as used herein, means the affirmative vote of the lesser of (1) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of a class, a fund or the Trust, as the case may be, or (2) 67% or more of the shares of a class, a fund or the Trust, as the case may be, present at a meeting if more than 50% of the outstanding shares are represented at the meeting in person or by proxy.

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

A change in securities held by a fund is known as “portfolio turnover” and almost always involves the payment by a fund of brokerage commissions or dealer markup and other transaction costs on the sale of securities as well as on the reinvestment of the proceeds in other securities. Portfolio turnover is not a limiting factor with respect to investment decisions.

As disclosed in the Prospectus, high portfolio turnover involves correspondingly greater brokerage commissions and other transaction costs, which will be borne directly by the funds, and could involve realization of capital gains that would be taxable when distributed to shareholders of a fund. To the extent that portfolio turnover results in the realization of net short-term capital gains, such gains are ordinarily taxed to shareholders at ordinary income tax rates.

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The portfolio turnover rates for each fund for the past two fiscal years ended March 31, were: