ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES

The Fund’s investment objective and principal investment strategies are described in the prospectus. The Fund is a “diversified” series as that term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”). The following information supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, the prospectus. For a description of certain permitted investments discussed below, see “Description of Permitted Investments” in this SAI.

Portfolio Turnover. Average annual portfolio turnover rate is the ratio of the lesser of sales or purchases to the monthly average value of the portfolio securities owned during the year, excluding from both the numerator and the denominator all securities with maturities at the time of acquisition of one year or less. A higher portfolio turnover rate involves greater transaction expenses to the Fund and may result in the realization of net capital gains, which would be taxable to shareholders when distributed. The Fund is new so no portfolio turnover rate is available at this time.

DESCRIPTION OF PERMITTED INVESTMENTS

The following discussion of investment techniques and instruments supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, the investment information in the Fund’s prospectus. It discusses some of the investments the Fund may make and some of the techniques it may use. In seeking to meet its investment objective, the Fund may invest in any type of security whose characteristics are consistent with its investment programs. To the extent particular investment techniques or instruments are not described in the Principal Investment Strategies disclosure of the Fund’s prospectus, such investment techniques and instruments are not a part of the principal strategies and the corresponding risks are not principal risks of the Fund. The Fund will implement its investment strategies in part by investing in mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) (“Underlying Funds”). In that regard, certain of the descriptions of the investments or techniques set forth below reflect investments and techniques that are occurring indirectly through investments in Underlying Funds. The Fund and the Underlying Funds are referred to herein collectively as the “Fund.”

Securities of Other Investment Companies. Investments in registered investment companies, including Underlying Funds, involve certain additional expenses and certain tax results, which would not be present in a direct investment in such funds. Due to legal limitations, the Fund will be prevented from: 1) purchasing more than 3% of an investment company’s outstanding shares; 2) investing more than 5% of the Fund’s assets in any single such investment company, and 3) investing more than 10% of the Fund’s assets in investment companies overall; unless: (i) the Underlying Fund and/or the Fund has received an order for exemptive relief from such limitations from the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”); and (ii) the Underlying Fund and the Fund take appropriate steps to comply with any conditions in such order. In the alternative, the Fund may rely on Rule 12d1-3 under the 1940 Act, which allows unaffiliated mutual funds to exceed the 5% limitation and the 10% limitation, provided the aggregate sales loads any investor pays (i.e., the combined distribution expenses of both the acquiring fund and the acquired fund) does not exceed the limits on sales loads established by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) for funds of funds. On October 7, 2020, the SEC adopted Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act which became effective January 19, 2021. Subject to certain conditions, Rule 12d1-4 provides an exemption to permit acquiring funds relying on the Rule to invest in other investment companies, including ETFs, in excess of the limits of section 12(d)(1), including those described above. The Fund may invest in open-end mutual funds and ETFs, within the limitations described above. Each investment company is subject to specific risks, depending on the nature of the fund. ETFs and mutual funds may employ leverage, which magnifies the changes in the underlying stock or other index upon which they are based.

ETFs. ETFs are a type of registered investment company. Many ETFs are passively managed and track their related index and have the flexibility of trading like a security. The risk of not correlating to their related index is an additional risk borne by the investors of such ETFs. They are managed by professionals and typically provide the investor with diversification, cost and tax efficiency, and liquidity, are useful for hedging, have the ability to go long and short, and some provide quarterly dividends. Additionally, some ETFs are unit investment trusts (“UITs”). ETFs are traded on exchanges and trade similarly to publicly-traded companies. ETFs also have risks and costs that are similar to publicly-traded companies. Because ETFs trade on an exchange, they may not trade at NAV. Sometimes, the prices of ETFs may vary significantly from the NAVs of the ETF’s underlying securities. Additionally, if the Fund elects to redeem its ETF shares rather than selling them on the secondary market, the Fund may receive the underlying securities which it must then sell in order to obtain cash. Additionally, when the Fund invests in ETFs, shareholders of the Fund bear their proportionate share of the underlying ETF’s fees and expenses.

Investments in ETFs involve certain inherent risks generally associated with investments in a broadly-based portfolio of stocks, including risks that: (1) the general level of stock prices may decline, thereby adversely affecting the value of each unit of the ETF or other instrument; (2) an ETF may not fully replicate the performance of its benchmark index because of the temporary unavailability of certain index securities in the secondary market or discrepancies between the ETF and the index with respect to the weightings of securities or number of stocks held; (3) an ETF may also be adversely affected by the performance of the specific index, market sector or group of industries on which it is based; and (4) an ETF may not track an index as well as a traditional index mutual fund because ETFs are valued by the market and, therefore, there may be a difference between the market value and the ETF’s NAV. Additionally, investments in fixed income ETFs involve certain inherent risks generally associated with investments in fixed income securities, including the risk of fluctuation in market value based on interest rates rising or declining and risks of a decrease in liquidity, such that no assurances can be made that an active trading market for underlying ETFs will be maintained.

ETFs typically have two markets. The primary market is where institutions swap “creation units” in block-multiples of shares for in-kind securities and cash in the form of dividends. The secondary market is where individual investors can trade as little as a single share during trading hours on the exchange. This is different from open-ended mutual funds that are traded after hours once the NAV is calculated. ETFs share many similar risks with open-end and closed-end funds.

Exchange-Traded Notes (“ETNs”). ETNs are senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt securities whose returns are linked to the performance of a particular market benchmark or strategy, minus applicable fees. ETNs are traded on an exchange (e.g., the NYSE) during normal trading hours; however, investors also can hold ETNs until they mature. At maturity, the issuer pays to the investor a cash amount equal to the principal amount, subject to the day’s market benchmark or strategy factor. ETNs do not make periodic coupon payments or provide principal protection. ETNs are subject to credit risk, including the credit risk of the issuer, and the value of the ETN may drop due to a downgrade in the issuer’s credit rating, despite the underlying market benchmark or strategy remaining unchanged. The value of an ETN also may be influenced by time to maturity, level of supply and demand for the ETN, volatility and lack of liquidity in underlying assets, changes in the applicable interest rates, changes in the issuer’s credit rating, and economic, legal, political, or geographic events that affect the referenced underlying asset. When an Underlying Fund invests in ETNs, it will bear its proportionate share of any fees and expenses borne by the ETN. A decision to sell ETN holdings may be limited by the availability of a secondary market. In addition, although an ETN may be listed on an exchange, the issuer may not be required to maintain the listing, and there can be no assurance that a secondary market will exist for an ETN.

Debt Securities. The Fund may invest in a variety of debt securities to seek its objectives. In general, debt securities may be subject to the risks described below. Foreign debt securities are also subject to the risks of foreign securities described in this SAI.

Fixed-Income Market Risks. The fixed-income securities market can be susceptible to unusual volatility and illiquidity. Volatility and illiquidity may be more pronounced in the case of lower-rated and unrated securities. Liquidity can decline unpredictably in response to overall economic conditions or credit tightening. Increases in volatility and decreases in liquidity may be caused by a rise in interest rates (or the expectation of a rise in interest rates), which are near historic lows in the U.S. and in other countries. During times of reduced market liquidity, the Fund may not be able to readily sell bonds at the prices at which they are carried on the Fund’s books. If the Fund needed to sell large blocks of bonds to meet shareholder redemption requests or to raise cash, those sales could further reduce the bonds’ prices. An unexpected increase in Fund redemption requests (including requests from shareholders who may own a significant percentage of the Fund’s shares), which may be triggered by market turmoil or an increase in interest rates, as well as other adverse market and economic developments, could cause the Fund to sell its holdings at a loss or at undesirable prices and adversely affect the Fund’s share price and increase the Fund’s liquidity risk, Fund expenses and/or taxable capital gain distributions to shareholders, if applicable. Similarly, the prices of the Fund’s holdings could be adversely affected if an investment account managed similarly to such Fund was to experience significant redemptions and that account were required to sell its holdings at an inopportune time. The liquidity of an issuer’s securities may decrease as a result of a decline in an issuer’s credit rating, the occurrence of an event that causes counterparties to avoid transacting with the issuer, or an increase in the issuer’s cash outflows, as well as other adverse market and economic developments. A lack of liquidity or other adverse credit market conditions may hamper the Fund’s ability to sell the debt securities in which it invests or to find and purchase suitable debt instruments.

Economic and other market developments can adversely affect fixed-income securities markets in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. At times, participants in debt securities markets may develop concerns about the ability of certain issuers of debt securities to make timely principal and interest payments, or they may develop concerns about the ability of financial institutions that make markets in certain debt securities to facilitate an orderly market. Those concerns may impact the market price or value of those debt securities and may cause increased volatility in those debt securities or debt securities markets. Under some circumstances, those concerns may cause reduced liquidity in certain debt securities markets, reducing the willingness of some lenders to extend credit, and making it more difficult for borrowers to obtain financing on attractive terms (or at all).

Following the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve sought to stabilize the economy by keeping the federal funds rate near zero percent. The Federal Reserve has also purchased large quantities of securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, pursuant to its monetary stimulus program known as “quantitative easing.” There remains the risk that interest rates may rise and cause fixed-income investors to move out of fixed-income securities, which may also increase redemptions in fixed-income mutual funds.

In addition, although the fixed-income securities markets have grown significantly in the last few decades, regulations and business practices have led some financial intermediaries to curtail their capacity to engage in trading (i.e., “market making”) activities for certain debt securities. As a result, dealer inventories of fixed-income securities, which provide an indication of the ability of financial intermediaries to make markets in fixed-income securities, are near historic lows relative to market size. Because market makers help stabilize the market through their financial intermediary services, further reductions in dealer inventories could have the potential to decrease liquidity and increase volatility in the fixed-income securities markets.

Risks of Below-Investment-Grade Securities. Below-investment-grade securities (also referred to as “junk bonds”) are those rated below investment grade by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”), S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”), and Fitch, Inc. (“Fitch”) or other nationally recognized statistical rating organization or unrated securities the Fund’s investment adviser believes are of comparable quality. While below-investment-grade securities generally may have a higher yield than securities rated in the investment-grade categories, they are subject to increased risks. Below-investment-grade securities are considered to be speculative with respect to the ability of the issuer to timely repay principal and pay interest or dividends in accordance with the terms of the obligation and may have more credit risk than investment-grade securities, especially during times of weakening economic conditions or rising interest rates. The risks of below-investment-grade securities include:

These additional risks mean that the Fund may not receive the anticipated level of income from these securities, and the Fund’s NAV may be affected by declines in the value of below-investment-grade securities. Credit rating downgrades of a single issuer or related similar issuers whose securities the Fund holds in significant amounts could substantially and unexpectedly increase the Fund’s exposure to below-investment-grade securities and the risks associated with them, especially liquidity and default risk.

While securities rated “Baa” by Moody’s, “BBB” by S&P or Fitch, or the similar category by the Fund’s investment adviser if an unrated security, are investment grade, they may be subject to special risks and have some speculative characteristics.

Credit Ratings of Debt Securities. Ratings by ratings organizations such as represent the respective rating agency’s opinions of the credit quality of the debt securities they undertake to rate. However, their ratings are general opinions and are not guarantees of quality or indicative of market value risk. Debt securities that have the same maturity, coupon and rating may have different yields, while other debt securities that have the same maturity and coupon but different ratings may have the same yield. Ratings and market value may change from time to time, positively or negatively, to reflect new developments regarding the issuer.

Unrated Securities. Because the Fund may purchase securities that are not rated by any nationally recognized statistical rating organization, the Fund’s investment adviser may internally assign ratings to those securities, after assessing their credit quality and other factors, in categories similar to those of nationally recognized statistical rating organizations. Unrated securities are considered “investment-grade” or “below-investment-grade” if judged by the Fund’s investment adviser to be comparable to rated investment-grade or below-investment-grade securities. There can be no assurance, nor is it intended, that the Fund’s investment adviser’s credit analysis process is consistent or comparable with the credit analysis process used by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization. The Fund’s investment adviser’s rating does not constitute a guarantee of the credit quality. In addition, some unrated securities may not have an active trading market, which means that the Fund might have difficulty selling them promptly at an acceptable price. In evaluating the credit quality of a particular security, whether rated or unrated, the Fund’s investment adviser will normally take into consideration a number of factors including, but not limited to, the financial resources of the issuer, the underlying source of funds for debt service on a security, the issuer’s sensitivity to economic conditions and trends, any operating history of the facility financed by the obligation, the degree of community support for the financed facility, the capabilities of the issuer’s management, and regulatory factors affecting the issuer or the particular facility.

Duration of the Fund’s Portfolio. The Fund can invest in debt securities of any maturity or duration. Duration is a measure of the expected life of a security on a current-value basis expressed in years, using calculations that consider the security’s yield, coupon interest payments, final maturity and call features. While a debt security’s maturity can be used to measure the sensitivity of the security’s price to changes in interest rates, the term to maturity of a security does not take into account the pattern (or expected pattern) of the security’s payments of interest or principal prior to maturity. Duration, on the other hand, measures the length of the time interval from the present to the time when the interest and principal payments are scheduled to be received (or, in the case of a mortgage-related security, when the interest and principal payments are expected to be received). Duration calculations weigh the present value of each such payment by the time in years until such payment is expected to be received. If the interest payments on a debt security occur prior to the repayment of principal, the duration of the security is less than its stated maturity. For zero-coupon securities, duration and term to maturity are equal.

Absent other factors, the lower the stated or coupon rate of interest on a debt security or the longer the maturity or the lower the yield-to-maturity of the debt security, the longer the duration of the security. Conversely, the higher the stated or coupon rate of interest, the shorter the maturity or the higher the yield-to-maturity of a debt security, the shorter the duration of the security.

Futures, options and options on futures in general have durations that are closely related to the duration of the securities that underlie them. Holding long futures positions or call option positions (backed by liquid assets) will tend to lengthen the portfolio’s duration.

In some cases, the standard effective duration calculation does not properly reflect the interest rate exposure of a security. For example, floating and variable rate securities often have final maturities of ten or more years. However, their exposure to interest rate changes corresponds to the frequency of the times at which their interest coupon rate is reset. In the case of mortgage pass-through securities, the stated final maturity of the security is typically 30 years, but current rates of prepayments are more important to determine the security’s interest rate exposure. In these and other similar situations, the Adviser will use other analytical techniques that consider the economic life of the security as well as relevant macroeconomic factors (such as historical prepayment rates) in determining the Fund’s effective duration.

U.S. Government Securities. Securities issued by the U.S. Treasury are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and are subject to relatively little credit risk. Obligations of U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities (including certain mortgage-backed securities) may be guaranteed or supported by the “full faith and credit” of the United States or may be backed by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury or by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase the agencies’ or instrumentalities’ obligations. Others are supported only by the credit of the agency or instrumentality. “Full faith and credit” means that the taxing power of the U.S. government is pledged to the payment of interest and repayment of principal on a security. If a security is not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, the owner of the security must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing the obligation for repayment.

U.S. Treasury Obligations. These securities are directly issued by the U.S. Treasury. They include Treasury bills (which have maturities of one year or less when issued), Treasury notes (which have maturities of more than one year and up to ten years when issued), Treasury bonds (which have maturities of more than ten years when issued), and Treasury Inflation-Protection Securities (TIPS). Other U.S. Treasury obligations include U.S. Treasury securities that have been “stripped” by a Federal Reserve Bank and zero-coupon U.S. Treasury securities. Treasury securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States as to timely payments of interest and repayments of principal. While U.S. Treasury securities have relatively little credit risk, they are subject to price fluctuations from changes in interest rates.

Treasury Inflation-Protection Securities (TIPS). TIPS are U.S. Treasury securities designed to protect against inflation. The interest rate paid on TIPS is fixed. The principal value rises or falls semi-annually based on published changes to the Consumer Price Index. If inflation occurs, the principal amount will be adjusted upwards, resulting in increased interest payments. If deflation occurs, the principal amount will be adjusted downwards, resulting in lower interest payments. The principal amount payable at maturity will be the greater of the adjusted principal amount and the original principal amount. While U.S. Treasury securities have relatively little credit risk, they are subject to price fluctuations from changes in interest rates prior to their maturity.

Mortgage-Related U.S. Government Securities. A variety of mortgage-related securities are issued by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities. Like other mortgage-related securities, they may be issued in different series with different interest rates and maturities. The collateral for these securities may be either in the form of mortgage pass-through certificates issued or guaranteed by a U.S. government agency or instrumentality or mortgage loans insured by a U.S. government agency.

Some mortgage-related securities issued by U.S. government agencies, such as Government National Mortgage Association pass-through mortgage obligations (“Ginnie Maes”), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Others are supported only by the credit of the entity that issued them (for example obligations issued by the Federal Home Loan Banks, “Fannie Mae” bonds issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association and “Freddie Mac” obligations issued by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation).

Mortgage-Related Debt Securities. Mortgage-related securities are a form of fixed-income investment collateralized by pools of commercial or residential mortgages. Pools of mortgage loans are assembled as securities for sale to investors by government agencies or entities or by private issuers. These securities include collateralized mortgage obligations, mortgage pass-through securities, stripped mortgage pass-through securities, interests in real estate mortgage investment conduits (“REMICs”) and other real estate-related securities.

Mortgage-related securities that are issued or guaranteed by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government may have relatively little credit risk (depending on the nature of the issuer) but are subject to interest rate risks and prepayment risks.

As with other debt securities, the prices of mortgage-related securities tend to move inversely to changes in interest rates. Some mortgage-related securities have interest rates that move in the opposite direction from changes in general interest rates, based on changes in a specific interest rate index. The changes in those interest rates may also occur at a multiple of the changes in the index. Although the value of a mortgage-related security may decline when interest rates rise, the opposite is not always the case. In addition, the values of mortgage-related debt securities may be affected by changes in the market’s perception of the creditworthiness of the entity issuing the securities or guaranteeing them and by changes in government regulations and tax policies.

Stripped securities can also be created for mortgage-related pass-through certificates or CMOs. Securities may be partially stripped so that each class receives some interest and some principal or they may be completely stripped. In that case all of the interest is distributed to holders of one type of security, known as an “interest-only” security, or “I/O,” and all of the principal is distributed to holders of another type of security, known as a “principal-only” security or “P/O.” The yields to maturity of mortgage-related I/Os and P/Os are very sensitive to principal repayments (including prepayments) on the underlying mortgages. If the underlying mortgages experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, the Fund might not fully recoup its investment in an I/O based on those assets. If underlying mortgages experience less than anticipated prepayments of principal, the yield on a P/O based on them could decline substantially.

Mortgage Prepayment and Extension Risks. In periods of declining interest rates, mortgages are more likely to be prepaid and a mortgage-related security’s maturity may be shortened by unscheduled prepayments on the underlying mortgages. If principal is returned earlier than expected, that money may have to be reinvested in other investments having a lower yield than the prepaid security. Because of these risks, mortgage-related securities may be less effective as a means of “locking in” attractive long-term interest rates and they may have less potential for appreciation during periods of declining interest rates than conventional bonds.

Prepayment risks can lead to substantial fluctuations in the value of a mortgage-related security. If a mortgage-related security has been purchased at a premium, all or part of the premium may be lost if there is a decline in the market value of the security as a result of interest rate changes or prepayments on the underlying mortgages. In the case of stripped mortgage-related securities, if they experience greater rates of prepayment than were anticipated, the Fund may fail to recover its initial investment on the security.

During periods of rapidly rising interest rates, prepayments of mortgage-related securities may occur at slower than expected rates. Slower prepayments may effectively lengthen a mortgage-related security’s expected maturity. Generally, that would cause the value of the security to fluctuate more widely in response to changes in interest rates. If the prepayments on mortgage-related securities were to decrease broadly, the Fund’s effective duration and therefore its sensitivity to interest rates, would increase.

Privately-Issued Commercial Mortgage-Related Securities. Commercial mortgage-related securities issued by private entities are generally multi-class debt or pass-through certificates secured by mortgage loans on commercial properties. They are subject to the credit risks of the issuer and of the underlying loans. These securities typically are structured to provide protection to investors in senior classes by having holders of subordinated classes take the first loss if there are defaults on the underlying loans. They may also be protected to some extent by guarantees, reserve funds or additional collateralization mechanisms.

Asset-Backed Securities. Asset-backed securities are fractional interests in pools of loans, receivables or other assets, typically accounts receivable or consumer loans. They are issued by trusts or special-purpose vehicles and are backed by the loans, receivables or other assets that make up the pool. The income from the pool is passed through to the investor in the asset-backed security. These securities are subject to the risk of default by the issuer as well as by the borrowers of the underlying loans in the pool and may also be subject to prepayment and extension risks. The pools may offer a credit enhancement, such as a bank letter of credit, to try to reduce the risks that the underlying debtors will not pay their obligations when due. However, the enhancement, if any, might not be for the full par value of the security. If the enhancement is exhausted and any required payments of interest or repayments of principal are not made, a holder could suffer losses on its investment or delays in receiving payment.

The value of an asset-backed security is affected by changes in the market’s perception of the assets backing the security, the creditworthiness of the servicing agent for the loan pool, the originator of the loans, or the financial institution providing any credit enhancement, and is also affected if any credit enhancement has been exhausted. The risks of investing in asset-backed securities are ultimately related to payment of the underlying loans by the individual borrowers. A purchaser of an asset-backed security would generally have no recourse to the entity that originated the loans in the event of default by a borrower. The underlying loans may be subject to prepayments, which may shorten the weighted average life of asset-backed securities and may lower their return, in the same manner as in the case of mortgage-related securities.

Zero-Coupon Bonds and Stripped Securities. Zero-coupon securities do not make periodic interest payments and are sold at a deep discount from their face value at maturity. “Stripped” securities are debt securities whose interest coupons have been separated from the security and are sold separately. With respect to zero-coupon bonds and the “principal-only” components of stripped securities, the buyer recognizes a rate of return determined by the gradual appreciation of the security, which is redeemed at face value on a specified maturity date. This discount depends on the time remaining until maturity, as well as prevailing interest rates, the liquidity of the security and the credit quality of the issuer. The discount typically decreases as the maturity date approaches.

Stripped securities can also be created for mortgage-related pass-through certificates or CMOs. Securities may be partially stripped so that each class receives some interest and some principal or they may be completely stripped. In that case all of the interest is distributed to holders of one type of security, known as an “interest-only” security, or “I/O,” and all of the principal is distributed to holders of another type of security, known as a “principal-only” security or “P/O.” The yields to maturity of mortgage-related I/Os and P/Os are very sensitive to principal repayments (including prepayments) on the underlying mortgages. If the underlying mortgages experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, the Fund might not fully recoup its investment in an I/O based on those assets. If underlying mortgages experience less than anticipated prepayments of principal, the yield on a P/O based on them could decline substantially.

Zero-coupon and stripped securities are generally more volatile than other debt securities. Because zero coupon bonds and the “principal only” components of stripped securities have a fixed rate of return, their value may fall more dramatically than the value of interest-bearing securities when interest rates rise and rise more rapidly when prevailing interest rates fall. The “interest-only” component of stripped securities are also especially sensitive to changes in prevailing interest rates. Zero-coupon bonds and principal only securities may be subject to Federal, state or local income tax on “imputed” interest even though no interest payments are being made.

Floating Rate and Variable Rate Obligations. Some debt securities have variable or floating interest rates. The interest rates on floating rate obligations change based on changes to a stated prevailing base market interest rate, such as a bank’s prime rate, the 91-day U.S. Treasury Bill rate, the rate of return on commercial paper or bank certificates of deposit, the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) or some other standard. The interest rate on a floating rate obligation is adjusted automatically at specified times to give effect to changes in the base rate. The interest rate on a variable rate obligation is adjusted at stated periodic intervals to reflect current market interest rates. Generally, the changes in the interest rate on floating and variable rate obligations reduce the fluctuation in their market value, so the potential for capital appreciation or depreciation is less than that for comparable fixed-rate obligations.

Floating rate and variable rate obligations may have features that permit the holder to recover the principal amount of the security at specified intervals, generally not exceeding one year, upon notice to the issuer. Variable rate obligations may have a demand feature that allows the holder to tender the obligation to the issuer or a third party at certain times, generally for par value plus accrued interest, according to the terms of the obligations. The issuer of a demand obligation normally has a corresponding right in its discretion, after a given period, to prepay the outstanding principal amount of the security plus accrued interest. The issuer usually must provide a specified number of days’ notice to the holder. Variable rate demand obligations may include master demand notes, which are obligations that permit the fund to invest fluctuating amounts in them.

The credit quality of a floating rate or variable rate obligation may be enhanced by being backed by a letter of credit or guarantee issued by a financial institution, corporation, the U.S. government or other entity.

When-Issued and Delayed-Delivery Transactions. “When-issued” and “delayed-delivery” are terms that refer to securities whose documentation is available, and for which a market exists, but which are not available for immediate delivery to a purchaser. When-issued and delayed-delivery securities are purchased at a price that is fixed at the time of the transaction with payment and delivery of the security made at a later date. During the period between purchase and settlement, the buyer makes no payment to the issuer (or seller) of the security and no interest accrues to the buyer from the investment. Purchases on that basis are made when it is anticipated that the price at the time of the transaction is lower than the price will be at the time of delivery.

The securities are subject to change in value from market fluctuations during the period until settlement and the value of the security on the delivery date may be more or less than the purchase price. If the value of the security declines below the purchase price, the transaction may lose money. The buyer relies on the other party to complete the when-issued or delayed-delivery transactions. The buyer will bear the risk that a security purchased on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis may not be issued or may not be delivered as agreed. A failure to do so may cause the loss of an opportunity to obtain the security at an advantageous price or yield.

When-issued and delayed-delivery transactions can be used as a defensive technique to hedge against anticipated changes in interest rates and prices. For instance, if rising interest rates or falling prices are anticipated, a portfolio security may be sold on a delayed-delivery basis to attempt to limit exposure to those occurrences. In periods of falling interest rates and rising prices, a purchase of securities on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis may be used to obtain the benefit of currently higher cash yields.

The Fund may engage in when-issued and delayed-delivery transactions for the purpose of acquiring or selling securities consistent with its investment objective and policies or for delivery pursuant to options contracts it has entered into, and not for the purpose of investment leverage. Although the Fund will enter into delayed-delivery or when-issued purchase transactions to acquire securities, it can dispose of a commitment prior to settlement. If it chooses to dispose of the right to acquire a when-issued security prior to its acquisition or to dispose of its right to receive delivery, it may incur a gain or loss.

At the time of the commitment to purchase or sell a security on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis, the Fund records the transaction on its books and reflects the value of the security purchased in determining its NAV. It also identifies liquid assets on its books at least equal to the amount of the purchase commitment until it pays for the investment. In a sale transaction, it records the proceeds to be received.

Equity Securities. Equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible preferred stocks, convertible debentures, American Depositary Receipts, rights and warrants. Convertible preferred stock is preferred stock that can be converted into common stock pursuant to its terms. Convertible debentures are debt instruments that can be converted into common stock pursuant to their terms. Warrants are options to purchase equity securities at a specified price valid for a specific time period. Rights are similar to warrants, but normally have shorter durations.

Common Stocks. Common stocks represent units of ownership in a company. Common stocks usually carry voting rights and earn dividends. Unlike preferred stocks, which are described below, dividends on common stocks are not fixed but are declared at the discretion of the company’s board of directors.

Risks of Investing in Stocks. Stocks fluctuate in price, and their short-term volatility at times may be great. To the extent that the Fund invests in equity securities, the value of the Fund’s portfolio will be affected by changes in the stock markets. Market risk can affect the Fund’s NAV per share, which will fluctuate as the values of the Fund’s portfolio securities change. The prices of individual stocks do not all move in the same direction uniformly or at the same time. Different stock markets may behave differently from each other.

Other factors can negatively affect a particular stock’s price, such as poor earnings reports by the issuer, loss of major customers, major litigation against the issuer, or changes in government regulations affecting the issuer or its industry. The Fund can invest in securities of large companies and mid-cap companies, but may also buy stocks of small companies, which may have more volatile stock prices than large companies.

Large Capitalization Stocks. Investments in large capitalization securities as a group could fall out of favor with the market, causing the Fund to underperform investments that focus on small- or medium-capitalization securities. Larger, more established companies may be slow to respond to challenges and may grow more slowly than smaller companies.

Small and Mid Capitalization Stocks. The value of small and mid capitalization company stocks or ETFs that invest in stocks of small or mid capitalization companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than those of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general.

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs). A SPAC is a publicly traded company that raises investment capital for the purpose of acquiring or merging with an existing company. Investments in SPACs and similar entities are subject to a variety of risks beyond those associated with other equity securities. Because SPACs and similar entities do not have any operating history or ongoing business other than seeking acquisitions, the value of their securities is particularly dependent on the ability of the SPAC’s management to identify a merger target and complete an acquisition. Until an acquisition or merger is completed, a SPAC generally invests its assets, less a portion retained to cover expenses, in U.S. government securities, money market securities and cash and does not typically pay dividends in respect of its common stock. As a result, it is possible that an investment in a SPAC may lose value.

Preferred Stock. Preferred stock is a class of capital stock that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has preference over common stock in the payment of dividends and the liquidation of assets. Preferred stock does not ordinarily carry voting rights. Most preferred stock is cumulative; if dividends are passed (not paid for any reason), they accumulate and must be paid before common dividends. A passed dividend on non-cumulative preferred stock is generally extinguished. Participating preferred stock entitles its holders to share in profits above and beyond the declared dividend, along with common shareholders, as distinguished from non-participating preferred, which is limited to the stipulated dividend. Adjustable rate preferred stock pays a dividend that is adjustable, usually quarterly, based on changes in the Treasury bill rate or other money market rates.

Rights and Warrants. Rights and warrants may be purchased directly or may be acquired as part of other securities. Warrants are options to purchase equity securities at a specific price during a specific period of time. The price of a warrant does not necessarily move parallel to the price of the underlying security and is generally more volatile than the price of the underlying security. Rights are similar to warrants, but normally have a shorter duration and are distributed directly by the issuer to its shareholders. The market for rights or warrants may be very limited and it may be difficult to sell them promptly at an acceptable price. Rights and warrants have no voting rights, receive no dividends and have no rights with respect to the assets of the issuer.

Convertible Securities. Convertible securities are debt securities or preferred stocks that are convertible into the issuer’s common stock or other equity securities. While many convertible securities are considered to be mainly debt securities, certain convertible securities are regarded more as “equity equivalents” because of their conversion feature. The market value of a convertible security reflects both its “investment value,” which is its expected income potential, and its “conversion value,” which is its anticipated market value if it were converted. If its investment value exceeds its conversion value, the security will generally behave more like a debt security, and the security’s price will likely increase when interest rates fall and decrease when interest rates rise. If its conversion value exceeds its investment value, the security will generally behave more like an equity security. In that case, its price will tend to fluctuate with the price of the underlying common stock or other security.

Convertible debt securities, like other debt securities, are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that when interest rates rise, the values of already-issued convertible debt securities generally fall. When interest rates fall, however, the values of already-issued convertible debt securities generally rise. Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a security might not make principal or interest payments on the security when they are due. If the issuer fails to pay interest, the Fund’s income might be reduced, and if the issuer fails to pay interest or repay principal, the value of the security might fall. The credit ratings of convertible securities generally have less impact on their price than the credit ratings of other debt securities. Convertible securities rank senior to common stock in a corporation’s capital structure and therefore are subject to less risk than common stock in case of an issuer’s bankruptcy or liquidation. For convertible securities that are considered to be “equity equivalents,” their credit quality generally has less impact on the security’s value than in the case of non-convertible debt securities. To determine whether convertible securities should be regarded as “equity equivalents,” a number of factors may be considered, including:

Convertible securities generally sell at a premium over the value of the common stock into which they could be converted. If the Fund buys a convertible security at a premium, and the underlying common stock does not appreciate as expected, the Fund might not realize a gain on the security or may experience a loss. The conversion feature of convertible securities generally causes the market value of convertible securities to increase when the value of the underlying common stock increases, and to fall when the stock price falls. However, convertible securities generally do not have the same potential for capital appreciation as the underlying stock and may not experience the same decline when the price of the underlying common stock declines. Convertible securities usually only decline to a level called their “investment value,” which is approximately the value of a similar non-convertible debt security.

Foreign Securities. Foreign securities include equity and debt securities of issuers organized under the laws of countries other than the United States and debt securities issued or guaranteed by foreign governmental or by supra-national entities, such as the World Bank, or by their agencies or instrumentalities. They may also include securities of issuers (including those that are located in the U.S. or organized under U.S. law) that derive a significant portion of their revenue or profits from foreign businesses, investments or sales, or that have a significant portion of their assets abroad. Securities denominated in foreign currencies issued by U.S. companies may also be considered to be “foreign securities.” Foreign securities may be traded on foreign securities exchanges or in foreign over-the-counter markets.

Investing in foreign securities offers potential benefits that are not available from investing only in the securities of U.S. issuers. Those benefits include the opportunity to invest in a wider range of issuers, in countries with economic policies or business cycles that differ from those in the United States and in markets that often do not move parallel to U.S. markets. Because of these features, foreign investments may reduce portfolio volatility.

The percentage of assets allocated to foreign securities may vary over time depending on a number of factors, including the relative yields of foreign and U.S. securities, the economies of foreign countries, the condition of foreign financial markets, the interest rate climate in particular foreign countries, and the relationship of foreign currencies to the U.S. dollar. The Adviser may analyze fundamental economic criteria, including for example: relative inflation levels and trends, growth rate forecasts, natural resources, reliance on particular industries, balance of payments status, interest rates, market conditions, currency values, international trading patterns, trade barriers, diplomatic developments, social and political factors, and economic policies.

Securities of foreign issuers that are represented by American Depository Receipts, or similar depository arrangements, or that are listed on a U.S. securities exchange or traded in the U.S. over-the-counter markets are not considered “foreign securities” for purposes of the Fund’s investment allocations, because they are not subject to many of the special considerations and risks that apply to foreign securities held and traded abroad.

Sovereign Debt. Sovereign debt securities include fixed income securities issued or guaranteed by governments, their agencies and instrumentalities, and securities issued by supranational entities such as the World Bank or the European Union. Investment in sovereign debt can involve a high degree of risk, including the risk that 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 such 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 towards international lenders or agencies and the political constraints to which a governmental entity may be subject. Although some sovereign debt is collateralized by U.S. government securities, repayment of principal and interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. government. Governmental entities may also be dependent on expected disbursements from foreign governments, multilateral agencies and other entities 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 the implementation of economic reforms and/or economic performance and the timely service of such debtor’s obligations. Failure to implement such reforms, achieve specified 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 timely service its debts. Consequently, governmental entities may default on their sovereign debt.

Holders of sovereign debt may be requested to participate in the rescheduling or restructuring of such debt and to extend further loans to governmental entities. Restructuring arrangements have included, among other things, reducing and rescheduling interest and principal payments by negotiation, new or amended credit agreements or converting outstanding principal and unpaid interest to Brady Bonds, and obtaining new credit for finance interest payments. There can be no assurance that foreign sovereign debt securities will not be subject to similar restructuring arrangements or to requests for new credit which may have adverse consequences for holders of such debt. Furthermore, certain participants in the secondary market for such debt may be directly involved in negotiating the terms of these arrangements and may therefore have access to information not available to other market participants. In the event of a default by a governmental entity, there may be limited or no effective legal remedies for collecting on such debt. A restructuring or default of sovereign debt may also cause additional impacts to the financial markets, such as downgrades to credit ratings, a flight to quality debt instruments, disruptions in common trading markets or unions, reduced liquidity, increased volatility, and heightened financial sector, foreign securities and currency risk, among others.

Debt securities issued by certain “supra-national” entities include entities designated or supported by governments to promote economic reconstruction or development, international banking organizations and related government agencies. Examples are the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (commonly called the “World Bank”), the Asian Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. A supra-national entity’s lending activities may be limited to a percentage of its total capital, reserves and net income. The governmental members of those supra-national entities are “stockholders” that typically make capital contributions and may be committed to make additional capital contributions if the entity is unable to repay its borrowings. There can be no assurance that the constituent governments will continue to be able or willing to honor their capitalization commitments.

U.S. dollar-denominated “Brady Bonds” are foreign debt obligations may be fixed-rate par bonds or floating-rate discount bonds. They are generally collateralized in full as to repayment of principal at maturity by U.S. Treasury zero-coupon obligations that have the same maturity as the Brady Bonds. Brady Bonds can be 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. Those uncollateralized amounts constitute what is called the “residual risk.”

If there is a default on collateralized Brady Bonds resulting in acceleration of the payment obligations of the issuer, the zero-coupon U.S. Treasury securities held as collateral for the payment of principal will not be distributed to investors, nor will those obligations be sold to distribute the proceeds. The collateral will be held by the collateral agent to the scheduled maturity of the defaulted Brady Bonds. The defaulted bonds will continue to remain outstanding, and the face amount of the collateral will equal the principal payments which would have then been due on the Brady Bonds in the normal course. Because of the residual risk of Brady Bonds and the history of defaults with respect to commercial bank loans by public and private entities of countries issuing Brady Bonds, Brady Bonds are considered speculative investments.

Risks of Foreign Investing. Investments in foreign securities present risks and considerations not usually associated with investments in U.S. securities. Those may include:

Foreign investments are often denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, which means that changes in the currency exchange rate will affect the value of those investments. Generally, when the U.S. dollar increases in value against a foreign currency, an investment denominated in that currency is worth less in U.S. dollars and when the U.S. dollar decreases in value against a foreign currency, an investment denominated in that currency is worth more in U.S. dollars. The Fund must compute its NAV and their income in U.S. dollars and a change in the dollar value of a foreign currency will generally result in a change in the Fund’s NAV or its investment income that is available for distribution to shareholders. Because a portion of the Fund’s investment income may be received in foreign currencies, the Fund will be required to compute its income in U.S. dollars for distribution to shareholders, and therefore the Fund will absorb the cost of currency fluctuations. Foreign currency losses that occur after the Fund has distributed income may result in the Fund having made a distribution that was larger than its investment income during a particular fiscal period. In that case, the additional amount distributed would be classified as a return of capital to shareholders. In the past, government policies have discouraged investments in certain foreign countries through economic sanctions, trade restrictions, taxation or other government actions. It is possible that such policies could be implemented in the future.

Risks of Developing and Emerging Markets. Emerging and developing markets may offer special opportunities for investing but, in addition to being subject to all the risks of foreign investing, also have greater risks than more mature foreign markets. Emerging and developing market countries may be subject to greater political, social and economic instability; have high inflation rates; experience unfavorable diplomatic developments; have less liquid securities markets with greater price volatility; have additional delays in the settlement of securities transactions; impose exchange controls; be subject to trade barriers; impose differential taxes on foreign investors; have a higher possibility of confiscatory taxes or the expropriation of assets; impose restrictions on direct investments or investments in issuers in particular industries; and lack developed legal or regulatory systems. Investments in securities of issuers in developing or emerging market countries may be considered speculative. Additional information about certain risks associated with emerging and developing markets is provided below.

Passive Foreign Investment Companies. Under U.S. tax laws, passive foreign investment companies (“PFICs”) are those foreign corporations which generate primarily “passive” income. Passive income is defined as any income that is considered foreign personal holding company income under the Internal Revenue Code. For federal tax purposes, a foreign corporation is deemed to be a PFIC if 75% or more of its gross income during a taxable year is passive income or if 50% or more of its assets during a taxable year are assets that produce, or are held to produce, passive income.

Foreign mutual funds are generally deemed to be PFICs, since nearly all of the income of a mutual fund is passive income. Investments in foreign mutual funds may be used to gain exposure to the securities of companies in countries that limit or prohibit direct foreign investment; however investments in foreign mutual funds are subject to limits under the 1940 Act.

Other types of foreign corporations may also be considered PFICs if their percentage of passive income or passive assets exceeds the limits described above. Unless an election is made with respect to an investment in a PFIC, which election may not always be possible, income from the disposition of a PFIC investment and from certain PFIC distributions may be subject to adverse tax treatment. The application of the PFIC rules may affect, among other things, the character of gains, the amount of gain or loss and the timing of the recognition of income with respect to PFIC shares, and may subject a regulated investment company itself to tax on certain income from PFIC shares. Federal tax laws impose severe tax penalties for failure to properly report investment income from PFICs. Foreign corporations that are PFICs for federal tax purposes may not always be recognized as such or may not provide investors all information required to report, or make an election with respect to, such investment.

A foreign issuer will not be treated as a PFIC with respect to a shareholder if such issuer is a controlled foreign corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes (“CFC”) and the shareholder holds (directly, indirectly, or constructively) 10% or more of the voting interests in or total value of such issuer. In such a case, the shareholder generally would be required to include in gross income each year, as ordinary income, its share of certain amounts of a CFC’s income, whether or not the CFC distributes such shareholder’s share of such amounts to it. Under proposed regulations, such income will be considered “qualifying income” for purposes of a shareholder’s qualification as a regulated investment company only to the extent such income is timely distributed to that shareholder.

Additional risks of investing in other investment companies are described under “Securities of Other Investment Companies.”

Derivatives and Hedging. The Fund can invest in a variety of derivative instruments for liquidity, to seek income or investment return, or for hedging purposes. Some of the derivative instruments and hedging strategies that the Fund may use are:

Regulation of Derivatives. In the view of the SEC, certain derivative instruments requiring future payments or deliveries, including futures contracts, currency forwards, swap agreements and options contracts involve the creation of a “senior security” as such term is defined in the 1940 Act. To avoid raising senior security concerns under current regulatory requirements, the Fund segregates or “earmarks” liquid assets or establishes offsetting positions to cover their open positions in these derivative instruments. If the Fund is contractually required to “physically settle” a position (i.e., settle through the delivery of the asset underlying the position), it will cover its open position by earmarking liquid assets equal to or greater than the contract’s full, notional amount. If the Fund is permitted to “cash settle” a position, it may earmark liquid assets in an amount at least equal to the Fund’s marked-to-market (net) obligation in respect of the position (i.e., the amount the Fund would owe, if any, if the position were to settle or terminate on that day), which may change from day to day, rather than the full notional amount of the position. By setting aside assets equal to only its net obligation in respect of cash-settled positions, the Fund has the ability to use derivatives to a greater extent than if the Fund sets aside assets equal to the full notional value of those positions.

In October 2020, the SEC adopted a final rule related to the use of derivatives, short sales, reverse repurchase agreements and certain other transactions by registered investment companies. In connection with the final rule, the SEC and its staff will rescind and withdraw applicable guidance and relief regarding asset segregation and coverage transactions reflected in the Fund’s asset segregation and cover practices discussed herein. The final rule makes funds that trade derivatives and other transactions that create future payment or delivery obligations (except reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions) subject to a value-at-risk (“VaR”) leverage limit and imposes certain other derivatives risk management program and reporting requirements. Certain requirements will not apply to “limited derivatives users” whose use of derivatives is below a specified threshold. Compliance with these new requirements will be required after a transition period, expected to end in August 2022. Following the compliance date, these requirements may limit the ability of the Fund to use derivatives, short sales, and reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions as part of its investment strategies. These requirements may increase the cost of the Fund’s investments and cost of doing business, which could adversely affect the Fund’s performance. The futures, options and swaps markets are subject to comprehensive statutes, regulations, and margin requirements. In addition, the SEC, CFTC and the exchanges are authorized to take extraordinary actions in the event of a market emergency, including, for example, the implementation or reduction of speculative position limits, the implementation of higher margin requirements, the establishment of daily price limits and the suspension of trading. Changes in regulation relating to a mutual fund’s use of derivatives and related instruments, including the final rule referenced above, could potentially limit or impact the Fund’s ability to invest in derivatives, limit the Fund’s ability to employ certain strategies that use derivatives and adversely affect the value or performance of derivatives and the Fund.

Futures. Futures contracts are used to buy or sell an asset or a non-asset reference for future delivery at a fixed price. The Fund can buy and sell futures contracts that relate to (1) broadly-based bond or other security indices (these are referred to as “financial futures”), (2) commodities (these are referred to as “commodity futures”), (3) debt securities (these are referred to as “interest rate futures”), (4) foreign currencies and (5) an individual stock (“single stock futures”).

The Fund may use futures for hedging and non-hedging purposes to the extent consistent with its investment objective, internal risk management guidelines adopted by its investment adviser (as they may be amended from time to time), and as otherwise set forth in the Fund’s registration statement.

Financial Futures. Financial futures are based on the value of the basket of securities that comprise an index. These contracts obligate the buyer or seller to pay cash to settle the futures transaction, based on the fluctuation of the index’s value in response to the change in the relative values of the underlying securities that are included in the index over the term of the contract. No delivery of the underlying securities is made to settle the futures contract. Either party may also settle the transaction by entering into an offsetting contract.

Commodity Futures. Commodity futures may be based upon commodities within five main commodity groups: (1) energy, which includes crude oil, natural gas, gasoline and heating oil; (2) livestock, which includes cattle and hogs; (3) agriculture, which includes wheat, corn, soybeans, cotton, coffee, sugar and cocoa; (4) industrial metals, which includes aluminum, copper, lead, nickel, tin and zinc; and (5) precious metals, which includes gold, platinum and silver.

The Fund can purchase and sell commodity futures contracts, options on futures contracts and options and futures on commodity indices with respect to these five main commodity groups and the individual commodities within each group, as well as other types of commodities.

Interest Rate Futures. An interest rate future obligates the seller to deliver cash or a specified type of debt security to settle the futures transaction. Either party could also enter into an offsetting contract to close out the position.

Single Stock Futures. A single stock future obligates the seller to deliver (and the purchaser to take) cash or a specified equity security of an issuer to settle the futures transaction. Either party may also enter into an offsetting contract to close out the position. Single stock futures trade on a very limited number of exchanges, and contracts are typically not transferable between the exchanges.

Put and Call Options on Futures. A call on a futures contract may be sold by the Fund without owning the futures contract or securities deliverable under the contract. The call is covered by the Fund by identifying an equivalent dollar amount of liquid assets at the time the call is sold. If the value of the segregated assets drops below 100% of the current market value of the future, the Fund will identify additional liquid assets on its books. Therefore, the receipt of an exercise notice by the Fund as to a future would not require the delivery of the futures contract under any circumstances. It would, however, put the Fund in a short futures position, which is permitted under applicable hedging policies.

A put option on a future may be purchased by the Fund to attempt to protect against a decline (below the exercise price) in the value of the underlying investment during the put period. If, because the market price of the underlying investment remains above or equal to the exercise price, the put is not exercised or resold, it becomes worthless on the expiration date. In that case the purchaser will have lost the amount it paid as a premium and not realized any benefit from the right to sell the underlying investment. If the purchaser resells the put prior to its expiration, it may or may not realize a profit on that resale.

A put option may also be purchased by the Fund on a future it does not own. That would permit the Fund to resell the put or to buy the underlying investment and sell it at the exercise price. If the market price of the underlying investment is above the exercise price and, as a result, the put is not exercised, the put will become worthless on its expiration date.

Options. An option is an agreement that, for a premium payment or fee, gives the option holder (the purchaser) the right but not the obligation to buy (a “call option”) or sell (a “put option”) the underlying asset (or settle for cash an amount based on an underlying asset, rate, or index) at a specified price (the “exercise price”) during a period of time or on a specified date. Investments in options are considered speculative. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, or in interest or currency exchange rates, including the implied volatility, which in turn are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political and economic events.

The Fund may sell uncovered call and put options (i.e., where the Fund does not own or is not short, as applicable, the instrument underlying the call or put option) and covered call and put options (i.e., where the Fund holds or is short, as applicable, an equivalent position in the instrument underlying the call or put option).

When the Fund purchases an option, it may lose the total premium paid for it if the price of the underlying security or other assets decreased, remained the same or failed to increase to a level at or beyond the exercise price (in the case of a call option) or increased, remained the same or failed to decrease to a level at or below the exercise price (in the case of a put option). If a call or put option purchased by the Fund were permitted to expire without being sold or exercised, its premium would represent a loss to the Fund. By writing put options, the Fund takes on the risk of declines in the value of the underlying instrument, including the possibility of a loss up to the entire exercise price of each option it sells but without the corresponding opportunity to benefit from potential increases in the value of the underlying instrument.

When the Fund writes a put option, it assumes the risk that it must purchase the underlying instrument at an exercise price that may be higher than the market price of the instrument. If there is a broad market decline and the Fund is not able to close out its written put options, it may result in substantial losses to the Fund.

By writing a call option, the Fund may be obligated to deliver instruments underlying an option at less than the market price. In the case of an uncovered call option, there is a risk of unlimited loss. When an uncovered call is exercised, the Fund must purchase the underlying instrument to meet its call obligations and the necessary instruments may be unavailable for purchase. The Fund will receive a premium from writing options, but the premium received may not be sufficient to offset any losses sustained from exercised options.

By writing call and put options on underlying instruments, the returns of the options writing strategy will be determined by the performance of the underlying instrument. If the underlying instrument appreciates or depreciates sufficiently over the period to offset the net premium received by the Fund, the Fund may incur losses. Increases in implied volatility of options may cause the value of an option to increase, even if the value of the underlying instrument does not change, which could result in a reduction in the Fund’s NAV. In unusual market circumstances where implied volatility sharply increases or decreases causing options spreads to be significantly correlated to the underlying instrument, the Fund’s option writing strategy may not perform as anticipated. Prior to the exercise or expiration of the option, the Fund is exposed to implied volatility risk, meaning the value, as based on implied volatility, of an option may increase due to market and economic conditions or views based on the sector or industry in which issuers of the underlying instrument participate, including issuer-specific factors.

Buying and Selling Options on Foreign Currencies. Put and call options on foreign currencies include puts and calls that trade on a securities or commodities exchange or in the over-the-counter markets or that are quoted by major recognized dealers in such options. The Fund can buy and sell exchange-traded and over the counter put options and call options on foreign currencies. The Fund could use these calls and puts to try to protect against declines in the dollar value of foreign securities and increases in the dollar cost of foreign securities the Fund wants to acquire.

If the Fund’s investment adviser anticipates a rise in the dollar value of a foreign currency in which securities to be acquired are denominated, the increased cost of those securities may be partially offset by purchasing calls or writing puts on that foreign currency. If the Fund’s investment adviser anticipates a decline in the dollar value of a foreign currency, the decline in the dollar value of portfolio securities denominated in that currency might be partially offset by writing calls or purchasing puts on that foreign currency. However, the currency rates could fluctuate in a direction adverse to the Fund’s position. The Fund will then have incurred option premium payments and transaction costs without a corresponding benefit.

A call the Fund writes on a foreign currency is “covered” if the Fund owns the underlying foreign currency covered by the call or has an absolute and immediate right to acquire that foreign currency without additional cash consideration (or it can do so for additional cash consideration held in a segregated account by its custodian bank) upon conversion or exchange of other foreign currency held in its portfolio.

The Fund could write a call on a foreign currency to provide a hedge against a decline in the U.S. dollar value of a security which the Fund owns or has the right to acquire and which is denominated in the currency underlying the option. That decline might be one that occurs due to an expected adverse change in the exchange rate. This is known as a “cross-hedging” strategy. In those circumstances, the Fund covers the option by maintaining cash, U.S. government securities or other liquid, high grade debt securities in an amount equal to the exercise price of the option, in a segregated account with the Fund’s custodian bank.

Foreign Currency Forward Contracts. Foreign currency forward contracts are used to buy or sell foreign currency for future delivery at a fixed price. They are used to “lock in” the U.S. dollar price of a security denominated in a foreign currency that the Fund has bought or sold, or to protect against possible losses from changes in the relative value of the U.S. dollar against a foreign currency. Although forward contracts may reduce the risk of loss from a decline in the value of the hedged currency, at the same time they limit any potential gain if the value of the hedged currency increases. Forward contracts are traded in the inter-bank market conducted directly among currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers.

Forward Contract Strategies. Under a forward contract, the Fund agrees 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. The transaction price is set at the time the contract is entered into. The costs of engaging in forward contracts varies depending on factors such as the currencies involved, the length of the contract period and the market conditions then prevailing.

A forward contract might be used to provide for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in the purchase or sale of a security denominated in a foreign currency, or for dividend or interest payments that may be received in a foreign currency. This is called a “transaction hedge.” The transaction hedge will protect against a loss from an adverse change in the currency exchange rates during the period between the date on which a security is purchased or sold or on which a payment is declared, and the date on which the payments are made or received. The use of forward contracts does not eliminate the risk of fluctuations in the prices of the underlying securities, but it does fix a rate of exchange in advance.

If it is anticipated that a foreign currency might suffer a substantial decline against the U.S. dollar, forward contracts to sell the foreign currency could be used to lock in the U.S. dollar value of portfolio positions. This is called a “position hedge.” To try to protect against a substantial decline of the U.S. dollar against a foreign currency, a forward contract to buy that foreign currency for a fixed dollar amount could be used. Alternatively, the Fund could enter into a forward contract to sell a different foreign currency the Fund believes will fall whenever there is a decline in the U.S. dollar value of the currency in which portfolio securities are denominated.

In some cases, at or before the maturity of a forward contract, the Fund might sell a portfolio security and use the sale proceeds to make delivery of the currency. If the market value of the security is less than the amount of foreign currency the Fund is obligated to deliver, the Fund might have to purchase additional foreign currency on the “spot” (that is, cash) market to settle the security trade. If the market value of the security exceeds the amount of foreign currency the Fund is obligated to deliver, the Fund might have to sell some of the foreign currency on the spot market. There would be additional transaction costs for the spot market transactions in those cases.

Alternatively, the contractual obligation to deliver the currency may be offset by purchasing a second contract to obtain, on the same maturity date, the same amount of the currency as the currency obligation. Similarly, a forward contract purchase obligation may be closed out by entering into a second contract to sell the same amount of the same currency on the maturity date of the first contract. The gain or loss would be realized as a result of entering into such an offsetting forward contract under either circumstance. The gain or loss will depend on the extent to which the exchange rate or rates between the currencies involved moved between the execution dates of the first contract and the offsetting contract.

Forward Contract Risks. The projection of short-term currency market movements is extremely difficult, and the successful execution of a short-term hedging strategy is highly uncertain. The precise matching of the amounts under forward contracts and the value of the securities involved generally will not be possible because the future value of securities denominated in foreign currencies will change as a consequence of market movements between the date a forward contract is entered into and the date it is sold. Forward contracts involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted, causing losses on those contracts and additional transaction costs. The use of forward contracts might reduce performance if there are unanticipated changes in currency prices.

Forward Contract Costs. Because forward contracts are usually entered into on a principal basis, no brokerage fees or commissions are involved. Foreign exchange dealers do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they buy and sell various currencies. Thus, a dealer might offer to sell a foreign currency at one rate, while offering a lower rate for purchasing that currency. In addition, the credit and performance risk of the relevant counterparty to the forward contract (e.g., a central clearing house counterparty or a bilateral agreement counterparty) must also be evaluated.

Risks of Hedging with Options and Futures. The use of hedging instruments requires special skills and knowledge of investment techniques that are different than what is required for normal portfolio management. If the Fund uses a hedging instrument at the wrong time or if market conditions are judged incorrectly, hedging strategies may reduce the Fund’s return. The Fund could also experience losses if the prices of its futures and options positions were not correlated with its other investments. The Fund’s option activities may affect its costs.

The Fund’s option activities could affect its portfolio turnover rate and brokerage commissions. The exercise of calls written by the Fund might cause the Fund to sell related portfolio securities, thus increasing its turnover rate. The exercise by the Fund of puts on securities will cause the sale of underlying investments, increasing portfolio turnover. Although the decision whether to exercise a put it holds is within the Fund’s control, holding a put might cause the Fund to sell the related investments for reasons that would not exist in the absence of the put.

The Fund could pay a brokerage commission each time it buys a call or put, sells a call or put, or buys or sells an underlying investment in connection with the exercise of a call or put. Those commissions could be higher on a relative basis than the commissions for direct purchases or sales of the underlying investments. Premiums paid for options are small in relation to the market value of the underlying investments. Consequently, put and call options offer large amounts of leverage. The leverage offered by trading in options could result in the Fund’s NAV being more sensitive to changes in the value of the underlying investment.

If a covered call written by the Fund is exercised on an investment that has increased in value above the call price, the Fund will be required to sell the investment at the call price. Consequently, the Fund will not realize any additional appreciation on the investment once its value increases above the call price. An exchange traded option position may be closed out only on a market that provides secondary trading for options of the same series, and there is no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular option. The Fund might experience losses if it could not close out a position because of an illiquid market for the future or option.

There is a risk in using short hedging by selling futures or purchasing puts on broadly-based indices or futures to attempt to protect against declines in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. The risk is that the prices of the futures or the applicable index will correlate imperfectly with the behavior of the cash prices of the Fund’s securities. For example, it is possible that while the Fund has used hedging instruments in a short hedge, the market may advance and the value of the securities held in the Fund’s portfolio might decline. If that occurred, the Fund would lose money on the hedging instruments and also experience a decline in the value of its portfolio securities. However, while this could occur for a very brief period or to a very small degree, over time the value of a diversified portfolio of securities will tend to move in the same direction as the indices upon which the hedging instruments are based.

The risk of imperfect correlation increases as the composition of the Fund’s portfolio diverges from the securities included in the applicable index. To compensate for the imperfect correlation of movements in the price of the portfolio securities being hedged and movements in the price of the hedging instruments, the Fund might use hedging instruments in a greater dollar amount than the dollar amount of portfolio securities being hedged. It might do so if the historical volatility of the prices of the portfolio securities being hedged is more than the historical volatility of the applicable index.

The ordinary spreads between prices in the cash and futures markets are subject to distortions, due to differences in the nature of those markets. First, all participants in the futures market are subject to margin deposit and maintenance requirements. Rather than meeting additional margin deposit requirements, investors may close futures contracts through offsetting transactions which could distort the normal relationship between the cash and futures markets. Second, the liquidity of the futures market depends on participants entering into offsetting transactions rather than making or taking delivery. To the extent participants decide to make or take delivery, liquidity in the futures market could be reduced, thus producing distortion. Third, from the point of view of speculators, the deposit requirements in the futures market are less onerous than margin requirements in the securities markets. Therefore, increased participation by speculators in the futures market may cause temporary price distortions.

The Fund can use hedging instruments to establish a position in the securities markets as a temporary substitute for the purchase of individual securities (long hedging) by buying futures and/or calls on such futures, broadly-based indices or on securities. It is possible that when the Fund does so the market might decline. If the Fund then concludes not to invest in securities because of concerns that the market might decline further or for other reasons, the Fund will realize a loss on the hedging instruments that is not offset by a reduction in the price of the securities purchased.

Swaps. A “swap” is a contract under which one party agrees to exchange an asset (for example, bushels of wheat) for another asset (cash) at a specified date or dates in the future. A one-period swap contract operates in a manner similar to a forward or futures contract because there is an agreement to swap an asset for cash at only one forward date. Swap transactions may also have more than one period and therefore more than one exchange of assets. If the term of a swap is for more than one period, the purchaser may make payments at an adjustable or “floating” rate. With a floating rate fee, the payments are based on a rate such as the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), and are adjusted each period. If the LIBOR or other reference rate increased over the term of the swap, the fee would increase at each swap reset date.

Swap transactions with certain counterparties may be entered into pursuant to master netting agreements. A master netting agreement provides that all swaps done between the parties shall be regarded as parts of an integral agreement. On any date, the amounts payable to or from each party in respect to one or more swap transactions in the same currency will be combined and the parties will receive or be obligated to pay the net amount. A master netting agreement may also provide that if a party defaults on one swap, the other party can terminate all of the swaps with that counterparty. If there is a default resulting in a loss to one party, the measure of that party’s damages is calculated by reference to the average cost of a replacement swap for each terminated swap (i.e., the mark-to-market value at the time of termination of each swap). The gains and losses on all swaps are netted, and the result is the counterparty’s gain or loss on termination. The termination of all swaps and the netting of gains and losses on termination are generally referred to as “aggregation.”

Interest Rate Swaps. In an interest rate swap, the Fund and another party exchange their rights to receive interest payments on a security or payments based on a reference rate. For example, they might swap the right to receive floating rate payments based on a reference rate such as “LIBOR” for the right to receive fixed rate payments.

Interest rate swaps entail both interest rate risk and credit risk. There is a risk that based on movements of interest rates, the payments made by the Fund under a swap agreement will be greater than the payments it receives. Credit risk is the risk that the counterparty might default. If the counterparty defaults, the Fund may lose the net amount of contractual interest payments that it has not yet received.

Swaptions. A swaption is a contract that gives the holder the right, but not the obligation, to enter into an interest rate swap at a preset rate within a specified period of time. In return, the purchaser pays a “premium” to the seller of the contract. The seller of the contract receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap.

Total Return Swaps. In a total return swap transaction, one party agrees to pay the other party an amount equal to the total return on a defined underlying asset, a customized basket of assets, or a non-asset reference during a specified period of time. The Fund may enter into total return swaps to gain exposure to an overall market or an asset. In a total return swap, the Fund will receive the price appreciation (or depreciation) of an index, a portion of an index, an asset or a customized basket of assets in exchange for paying (or receiving) an agreed-upon fee. Total return swaps can have the potential for unlimited losses. Total return swaps entail the risk that the counterparty might default on the contract. If the counterparty defaults, the Fund may lose any contractual payments that the Fund is entitled to. Total return swaps could result in losses if the underlying asset or reference does not perform as anticipated.

Credit Default Swaps. A credit default swap enables an investor to buy or sell protection against a credit event with respect to an issuer. Credit default swaps may be on a single issuer or on a basket of issuers. The purchaser of protection pays a fee during the life of the swap. Generally, if the Fund buys credit protection using a credit default swap, it will make fixed payments to the counterparty. If there is a credit event with respect to an issuer (bankruptcy, failure to timely pay interest or principal on its obligations, a restructuring or other specified occurrence) with respect to a credit default swap on which the Fund has purchased credit protection, the Fund will deliver the issuer’s defaulted bonds and the swap counterparty will pay the par amount of the bonds. Alternatively, the credit default swap may be cash settled where the swap counterparty will pay the Fund the difference between the par value and the market value of the defaulted bonds. If the swap is on a basket of issuers, the notional amount of the swap is reduced by the amount represented by that issuer, and the fixed payments are then made on the reduced notional amount.

Selling credit protection in a credit default swap increases the exposure to the specific issuer. If the Fund sells credit protection using a credit default swap, generally the Fund will receive fixed payments from the counterparty, and if a credit event occurs with respect to the issuer, the swap counterparty will deliver the issuer’s defaulted bonds and the Fund will pay the counterparty the par amount. Alternatively, the credit default swap may be cash settled where the Fund will pay the swap counterparty the difference between the par value and market value of the defaulted bonds. If the swap is on a basket of issuers, the notional amount of the swap is reduced by the amount represented by the issuer, and the fixed payments are then made on the reduced notional amount.

Credit default swaps are subject to credit risk of the underlying issuer and to counterparty credit risk. If the counterparty fails to meet its obligations, the Fund may lose money. Credit default swaps are also subject to the risk that the Fund will not properly assess the risk of the underlying issuer. If the Fund is selling credit protection, there is a risk that a credit event will occur and that the Fund will have to pay the counterparty. If the Fund is buying credit protection, there is a risk that no credit event will occur and the Fund will receive no benefit for the premium paid.

A credit default swap index product (sometimes referred to as a CDX index) is an equally-weighted credit default swap index. The individual credits underlying these credit default swap indices may be rated investment grade or non-investment grade. These instruments are designed to track representative segments of the credit default swap market such as North American investment grade, high volatility investment grade, below investment grade, as well as emerging markets, and provide investors with exposure to specific “baskets” of issuers of bonds or loans. A CDX index tranche provides access to customized risk, exposing each investor to losses at different levels of subordination. The lowest part of the capital structure is called the “equity tranche” as it has exposure to the first losses experienced in the basket. The mezzanine and senior tranches are higher in the capital structure but can also be exposed to loss in value. Investments are subject to liquidity risks as well as other risks associated with investments in credit default swaps.

“Structured” Notes. “Structured” notes are specially-designed derivative debt instruments. The terms of the instrument may be “structured” by the purchaser and the issuer of the note. Payments of principal or interest on these notes may be linked to the value of an index (such as a currency or securities index), one or more securities, or a commodity or to the financial performance of one or more obligors. The value of these notes will normally rise or fall in response to the changes in the performance of the underlying security, index, commodity or obligor.

Structured notes are subject to interest rate risk and are also subject to credit risk with respect both to the issuer and, if applicable, to the underlying security or obligor. If the underlying investment or index does not perform as anticipated, the Fund might receive less interest than the stated coupon payment or receive less principal upon maturity of the structured note. The price of structured notes may be very volatile and they may have a limited trading market, making it difficult for the Fund to value them or sell them at an acceptable price. In some cases, the Fund may enter into agreements with an issuer of structured notes to purchase a minimum amount of these notes over time.

In some cases, the Fund may invest in structured notes that pay an amount based on a multiple of the relative change in value of the underlying investment or index. This type of note increases the potential for income but at a greater risk of loss than a typical debt security of the same maturity and credit quality.

Asset Coverage for Certain Investments and Trading Practices. The Fund will segregate with its custodian or otherwise designate on its books and records liquid assets in an amount the Fund believes to be adequate to ensure that it has sufficient liquid assets to meet its obligations under its derivatives contracts, or the Fund may enter into an offsetting position to “cover” its obligations with respect to such transactions. Depending upon the contractual terms of the derivatives instrument, the customary settlement practice associated with the derivative instrument and the instrument’s liquidity, among other things, the amounts that are segregated or designated may be based on the notional (or contract) amount of the derivative or on the daily mark-to-market obligation under the derivatives contract. These amounts may be reduced by amounts on deposit with the applicable broker or counterparty to the derivatives transaction. With respect to less liquid derivative instruments (or in other situations in which the Fund’s investment adviser believes it necessary), the Fund may segregate amounts in addition to the amounts described above. By segregating or designating liquid assets equal to only the mark-to-market obligation under a derivatives contract, the Fund will have the ability to utilize these instruments to a greater extent than if the Fund segregated or designated liquid assets equal to the full market value of the underlying asset or the notional (or contract) amount of the instrument.

In certain circumstances, the Fund may enter into an offsetting position rather than segregating or designating liquid assets (e.g., the Fund may “cover” a written put option with a purchased put option with the same or higher exercise price). It is possible that the Fund’s liquid assets may be insufficient to support such obligations under its derivatives positions. Segregating or designating a large percentage of the Fund’s liquid assets could impede ability of the Fund’s investment adviser to manage the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund may modify its asset segregation policies from time to time.

Forward Rolls. In a “forward roll” transaction (also referred to as a “mortgage dollar roll”), an investor sells a mortgage-related security to a buyer and simultaneously agrees to repurchase a similar security (the same type of security, having the same coupon and maturity) at a later date at a set price. The securities that are repurchased will have the same interest rate as the securities that are sold, but typically will be collateralized by different pools of mortgages (with different prepayment histories) than the securities that have been sold. Proceeds from the sale are invested in short-term instruments, such as repurchase agreements. The income from those investments, plus the fees from the forward roll transaction, are expected to generate income in excess of the yield on the securities that have been sold. During the period between the sale and the repurchase, the seller is not entitled to receive interest and principal payments on the securities that have been sold. It is also possible that the market value of the securities may decline below the repurchase price of the securities or that the counterparty might default in its obligations.

To-Be-Announced (“TBA”) Securities and Dollar Rolls. The Fund or an Underlying Fund may choose to purchase or sell certain mortgage-backed securities on a delayed delivery or forward commitment basis through the to-be-announced (“TBA”) market. With TBA transactions, the Fund enters into a commitment to either purchase or sell mortgage-backed securities with specified characteristics for a fixed price, with payment and delivery at a scheduled future date beyond the customary settlement period for mortgage-backed securities. These transactions are considered TBA because the buyer commits to buy a pool of mortgages that have yet to be specifically identified, but within certain parameters for term, program, and coupon. Although TBA securities must meet industry-accepted “good delivery” standards, there can be no assurance that a security purchased on a forward commitment basis will ultimately be issued or delivered by the counterparty. During the settlement period, the Fund will bear the risk of any decline in the value of the security to be delivered. For either purchase or sale transactions, the Fund may choose to extend the settlement through a “dollar roll” transaction in which it sells its current TBA security to a dealer while simultaneously agreeing to buy a TBA security with similar characteristics with a later settlement date. Because these transactions do not require the purchase and sale of identical securities, the characteristics of the security delivered to the Fund may be less favorable than the security delivered to the dealer.

Because they create future payment obligations, TBA and dollar roll transactions are currently subject to the same asset coverage requirements as derivatives and are included under the SEC’s new rule on investment company derivatives risk management. In addition, recently finalized rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority include mandatory margin requirements that will require the Fund or an Underlying Fund to post collateral in connection with its TBA transactions. The required collateralization of TBA trades increases operational complexity and could increase the cost of TBA transactions to the Fund.

Variable Amount Master Demand Notes. Master demand notes are direct arrangements of obligations, between a lender and a corporate borrower, that permit the investment of fluctuating amounts of money at varying rates of interest. They permit daily changes in the amounts borrowed. The lender has the right to increase or decrease the amount it lends under the note at any time, up to the full amount provided by the note agreement. The borrower may prepay up to the full amount of the note without penalty. These notes may or may not be backed by bank letters of credit. These notes are direct lending arrangements between the lender and borrower and there is no secondary market for them. The principal plus accrued interest is redeemable at any time, however. This right to redeem the notes depends on the ability of the borrower to make the specified payments on demand. The Fund’s investment adviser will consider the earning power, cash flow and other liquidity ratios of an issuer, and its ability to pay principal and interest on demand, including a situation in which all holders of such notes made demand simultaneously.

Illiquid and Restricted Securities. The Fund may not invest more than 15% of the value of its net assets in securities that may be considered illiquid, by virtue of the absence of a readily available market, legal or contractual restrictions on resale, or other factors limiting the marketability of the security. Generally, an illiquid security is any security that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the security. The Adviser will monitor the amount of illiquid securities in the Fund’s portfolio, under the supervision of the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”), to ensure compliance with this investment restriction. The Fund has a liquidity risk management program designed to assess and manage the Fund’s liquidity risk. The program has been approved by the Board, which has also approved the appointment of a liquidity program administrator (the “LPA”). The LPA is responsible for oversight of the Fund’s liquidity risk management efforts, including classifying the liquidity of each Fund investment, ensuring the Fund holds no more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments, ensuring that the Fund holds enough liquid assets to meet reasonably foreseeable redemption requests, and reporting to the Board regarding the effectiveness and operation of the liquidity risk management program.

Restricted securities acquired through private placements have contractual restrictions on their public resale that might limit the ability to value or to dispose of the securities and might lower the price that could be realized on a sale. To sell a restricted security that is not registered under applicable securities laws, the security might need to be registered. The expense of registering restricted securities may be negotiated with the issuer at the time of purchase. If the securities must be registered in order to be sold, a significant period may elapse between the time the decision is made to sell the security and the time the security is registered. There is a risk of downward price fluctuation during that period.

Limitations that apply to purchases of restricted securities do not limit purchases of restricted securities that are eligible for sale to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933, if those securities have been determined to be liquid by the Fund under its policies and procedures. If there is a lack of trading interest in a particular Rule 144A security, holdings of that security may be considered to be illiquid.

Borrowing. To the extent permitted under the 1940 Act and other applicable law, the Fund may borrow money. In the event that the Fund ever borrows money under these conditions, such borrowings could increase the Fund’s costs and thus reduce the value of the Fund’s assets and returns to shareholders.

Lending of Portfolio Securities. By lending its portfolio securities, the Fund would attempt to increase its income by receiving a fixed fee or a percentage of the collateral, in addition to continuing to receive the interest or dividends on the securities loaned. The terms, structure and the aggregate amount of such loans would be consistent with the 1940 Act. The borrower would be required to secure any such loan with collateral in cash or cash equivalents maintained on a current basis in an amount at least equal to the total market value and accrued interest of the securities loaned by the Fund.

If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities lent because of insolvency or other reasons, the Fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities lent or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If the Fund is not able to recover the securities lent, the Fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased. Cash received as collateral through loan transactions may be invested in other eligible securities that may be subject to market appreciation or depreciation. The Fund may not be able to recall loaned securities in time to exercise its voting rights.

Cash Equivalents. The Fund may invest in cash and high-quality short-term fixed-income securities. All money market instruments can change in value when interest rates or an issuer’s creditworthiness change dramatically. These short-term fixed-income securities are described below:

1.       Repurchase Agreements. Repurchase agreements are agreements by which the Fund purchases a security and obtains a simultaneous commitment from the seller to repurchase the security at an agreed upon price and date. The resale price is in excess of the purchase price and reflects an agreed upon market rate unrelated to the coupon rate on the purchased security. Repurchase agreements must be fully collateralized and can be entered into only with well-established banks and broker-dealers that have been deemed creditworthy by the Adviser. Repurchase transactions are intended to be short-term transactions, usually with the seller repurchasing the securities within seven days. Repurchase agreements that mature in more than seven days are subject to a fund’s limit on illiquid securities. When the Fund enters into a repurchase agreement it may lose money if the other party defaults on its obligation and the fund is delayed or prevented from disposing of the collateral. A loss may be incurred if the value of the collateral declines, and it might incur costs in selling the collateral or asserting its legal rights under the agreement. If a defaulting seller filed for bankruptcy or became insolvent, disposition of collateral might be delayed pending court action.

2.       Bank Obligations. Bank obligations include banker’s acceptances, negotiable certificates of deposit and non-negotiable time deposits, including U.S. dollar-denominated instruments issued or supported by the credit of U.S. or foreign banks or savings institutions. All investments in bank obligations are limited to the obligations of financial institutions having more than $1 billion in total assets at the time of purchase, and investments by the Fund in the obligations of foreign banks and foreign branches of U.S. banks will not exceed 10% of the Fund’s total assets at the time of purchase.

3.       Commercial Paper. Commercial paper will consist of issues rated at the time of investment as A-1 and/or P-1 by S&P, Moody’s or similar rating by another nationally recognized rating agency. In addition, the Fund may acquire unrated commercial paper and corporate bonds.

4.       Investment Company Securities. The Fund may invest in funds such as money market funds and short-term bond funds.

ETF Structure Risks. The Fund is structured as an ETF and as a result is subject to special risks, including:

INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS

Fundamental. The investment limitations described below have been adopted by the Trust with respect to the Fund and are fundamental (“Fundamental”), i.e., they may not be changed without the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund. As used in the Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information, the term “majority” of the outstanding Shares of the Fund means the lesser of: (1) 67% or more of the outstanding Shares of the Fund present at a meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding Shares of the Fund are present or represented at such meeting; or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding Shares of the Fund. Other investment practices which may be changed by the Board of Trustees without the approval of shareholders to the extent permitted by applicable law, regulation or regulatory policy are considered non-fundamental (“Non-Fundamental”).

The Fund:

Except with respect to borrowing and circumstances where the Fund is required to “cover” its positions, if a percentage or rating restriction on an investment or use of assets set forth herein or in the Prospectus is adhered to at the time a transaction is effected, later changes in such percentages or restrictions resulting from any cause other than actions by the Fund will not be considered a violation. Currently, subject to modification to conform to the 1940 Act as interpreted or modified, the Fund is permitted, consistent with the 1940 Act, to borrow, and pledge its Shares to secure such borrowing, provided, that immediately thereafter there is asset coverage of at least 300% for all borrowings by the Fund from a bank. If borrowings exceed this 300% asset coverage requirement by reason of a decline in net assets of the Fund, the Fund will reduce its borrowings within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 300% asset coverage requirement. The 1940 Act also permits the Fund to borrow for temporary purposes only in an amount not exceeding 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets at the time when the loan is made. A loan shall be presumed to be for temporary purposes if it is repaid within 60 days and is not extended or renewed. To the extent outstanding borrowings of the Fund exceed 5% of the value of the total assets of the Fund, the Fund will not make additional purchases of securities – the foregoing shall not be construed to prevent the Fund from settling portfolio transactions or satisfying shareholder redemptions orders. The SEC has indicated, however, that certain types of transactions, which could be deemed “borrowings” (such as firm commitment agreements and reverse repurchase agreements), are permissible if the Fund “covers” the agreements by establishing and maintaining segregated accounts.

Currently, with respect to senior securities, the 1940 Act and regulatory interpretations of relevant provisions of the 1940 Act establish the following general limits, subject to modification to conform to the 1940 Act as interpreted or modified: Open-end registered investment companies such as the Fund is not permitted to issue any class of senior security or to sell any senior security of which they are the issuers. The Trust is, however, permitted to issue separate series of shares and to divide those series into separate classes. The Fund currently offers one class of Shares. The Fund have no intention of issuing senior securities, except that the Trust has issued its shares in separate series and may divide those series into classes of shares. Collateral arrangements with respect to forward contracts, futures contracts or options, including deposits of initial and variation margin, are not considered to be the issuance of a senior security for purposes of this restriction.

With respect to the Fund’s Fundamental Policy #4 as described above, the Fund will consider, to the extent practicable and consistent with applicable rules, regulations of the SEC and applicable guidance from the staff of the SEC, investments of its underlying investment companies when determining its compliance with the policy.

Notwithstanding any of the foregoing limitations, any investment company, whether organized as a trust, association or corporation, or a personal holding company, may be merged or consolidated with or acquired by the Trust, provided that if such merger, consolidation or acquisition results in an investment in the securities of any issuer prohibited by said paragraphs, the Trust shall, within ninety days after the consummation of such merger, consolidation or acquisition, dispose of all of the securities of such issuer so acquired or such portion thereof as shall bring the total investment therein within the limitations imposed by said paragraphs above as of the date of consummation.