ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON INVESTMENTS, STRATEGIES AND RISKS

 

Information contained in this SAI expands upon information contained in the Prospectus. All investments in securities and other financial instruments involve a risk of financial loss. No assurance can be given that the Fund’s investment programs will be successful. Investors should carefully review the descriptions of the Fund’s investments and their risks described in the Prospectus and this SAI. No investment in shares of the Fund should be made without first reading the Prospectus.

General Investment Risks. Prices of securities in which the Fund invests may fluctuate in response to many factors, including, but not limited to, the activities of the individual companies whose securities the Fund owns, general market and economic conditions, interest rates, and specific industry changes. Such price fluctuations subject the Fund to potential losses. In addition, regardless of any one company’s particular prospects, a declining stock market may produce a decline in prices for all securities, which could also result in losses for the Fund. Market declines may continue for an indefinite period, and investors should understand that during temporary or extended bear markets, the value of equity securities will likely decline.

Borrowing Money. The Fund may , to the extent permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), borrow money in order to meet redemption requests or for extraordinary or emergency purposes. Borrowing involves the creation of a liability that requires the Fund to pay interest. In the event the Fund should ever borrow money under these conditions, such borrowing could increase the Fund’s costs and thus reduce the value of the Fund’s assets. In an extreme case, if the Fund’s current investment income were not sufficient to meet the interest expense of borrowing, it could be necessary for the Fund to liquidate certain of its investments at an inappropriate time.

Common Stock. The Funds may purchase common stock. Prices of common stock may fluctuate in response to many factors, including, but not limited to, the activities of the individual companies whose stock a Fund owns, general market and economic conditions, interest rates, and specific industry changes. Such price fluctuations subject the Funds to potential losses. In addition, regardless of any one company’s particular prospects, a declining stock market may produce a decline in prices for all stocks, which also result in losses for the Funds. Market declines may continue for any indefinite period, and investors should understand that during temporary or extended bear markets, the value of common stocks will likely decline.

Convertible Securities. The Fund may invest in securities convertible into common stock such as convertible bonds, convertible preferred stocks, and warrants. Convertible bonds are fixed income securities that may be converted at a stated price within a specified period into a certain quantity of the common stock of the same or a different issuer. Convertible bonds are senior to common stocks in an issuer’s capital structure, but are usually subordinated to similar non-convertible securities. While providing a fixed income stream (generally higher in yield than the income derivable from common stock but lower than that afforded by a similar nonconvertible security), a convertible security also provides the investor the opportunity, through its conversion feature, to participate in the capital appreciation of the underlying common stock. Like other debt securities, the value of a convertible bond tends to vary inversely with the level of interest rates. However, to the extent that the market price of the underlying common stock approaches or exceeds the conversion price, the price of the convertible bond will be increasingly influenced by its conversion value (the security’s worth, at market value, if converted into the underlying common stock). Although to a lesser extent than with fixed-income securities, the market value of convertible bonds tends to decline as interest rates increase and, conversely, tends to increase as interest rates decline. In addition, because of the conversion feature, the market value of convertible bonds tends to vary with fluctuations in the market value of the underlying common stock. A unique feature of convertible securities is that as the market price of the underlying common stock declines, convertible securities tend to trade increasingly on a yield basis and so may not experience market value declines to the same extent as the underlying common stock. When the market price of the underlying common stock increases, the prices of the convertible securities tend to rise as a reflection of the value of the underlying common stock. While no securities investments are without risk, investments in convertible securities generally entail less risk than investments in common stock of the same issuer.

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be subject to operational and information security risks resulting from breaches in cybersecurity. A breach in cybersecurity refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose or compromise confidential information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Breaches in cybersecurity include, among other things, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other operational disruptions. Successful cybersecurity breaches of the Fund and/or the Fund’s investment adviser, distributor, custodian, the transfer agent or other third party services providers may adversely impact the Fund and its shareholders. For instance, a successful cybersecurity breach may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, cause the release of private personal shareholder information, impede trading, subject the Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses, and/or cause reputational damage. The Fund relies on third-party service providers for many of the day-to-day operations, and is therefore subject to the risk that the protections and protocols implemented by those service providers will be ineffective in protecting the Funds from cybersecurity breaches. Similar types of cybersecurity risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Fund’s investments in such companies to lose value. There is no guarantee the Fund will be successful in protecting against cybersecurity breaches.

Debt Securities. The Fund may invest in corporate debt securities and U.S. Government obligations. Corporate securities include, but are not limited to, debt obligations offered by public or private corporations either registered or unregistered. The market value of such securities may fluctuate in response to interest rates and the creditworthiness of the issuer. A debt instrument’s credit quality depends on the issuer’s ability to pay interest on the security and repay the debt; the lower the credit rating, the greater the risk that the security’s issuer will default. The credit risk of a security may also depend on the credit quality of any bank or financial institution that provides credit enhancement for the security. In the case of corporate debt, the Fund will normally purchase investment grade securities, meaning securities rated BBB or better by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group or any comparable rating by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (“NRSRO”) or, if unrated, as determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality.

Lending of Portfolio Securities. In order to generate additional income, each Fund may lend portfolio securities in an amount up to 33⅓% of its total assets to broker-dealers, major banks, or other recognized domestic institutional borrowers of securities that the Adviser has determined are creditworthy under guidelines established by the Trustees. In determining whether a Fund will lend securities, the Adviser will consider all relevant facts and circumstances. Each Fund may not lend securities to any company affiliated with the Adviser. Each loan of securities will be collateralized by cash, securities, or letters of credit. A Fund might experience a loss if the borrower defaults on the loan.

The borrower at all times during the loan must maintain with a Fund cash or cash equivalent collateral, or provide to a Fund an irrevocable letter of credit equal in value to at least 100% of the value of the securities loaned. While the loan is outstanding, the borrower will pay a Fund any dividends or interest paid on the loaned securities, and a Fund may invest the cash collateral to earn additional income. Alternatively, a Fund may receive an agreed-upon amount of interest income from the borrower who has delivered equivalent collateral or a letter of credit. It is anticipated that a Fund may share with the borrower some of the income received on the collateral for the loan or a Fund will be paid a premium for the loan. Loans are subject to termination at the option of the Fund or the borrower, at any time. A Fund may pay reasonable administrative and custodial fees in connection with a loan, and may pay a negotiated portion of the income earned on the cash to the borrower or placing broker. As with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. If a Fund invests the cash collateral from the borrower, there is the risk that such investment may result in a financial loss. In such an event, a Fund would be required to repay the borrower out the Fund’s assets.

Where voting rights with respect to the loaned securities pass with the lending of the securities, the Adviser intends to call the loaned securities to vote proxies, or to use other practicable and legally enforceable means to obtain voting rights, when the Adviser has knowledge that, in its opinion, a material event affecting the loaned securities will occur or the Adviser otherwise believes it necessary to vote.

U.S. Government Obligations. The Fund may invest in U.S. Government obligations. “U.S. Government obligations” include securities, which are issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury, by various agencies of the U.S. Government, and by various instrumentalities, which have been established or sponsored by the U.S. Government. U.S. Treasury obligations are backed by the “full faith and credit” of the U.S. Government. U.S. Treasury obligations include Treasury Bills, Treasury Notes, and Treasury Bonds. Treasury Bills have initial maturities of one year or less; Treasury Notes have initial maturities of one to ten years; and Treasury Bonds generally have initial maturities of greater than ten years.

Agencies and instrumentalities established by the U.S. Government include the Federal Home Loan Banks, the Federal Land Bank, the Government National Mortgage Association, the Federal National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the Small Business Administration, the Bank for Cooperatives, the Federal Intermediate Credit Bank, the Federal Financing Bank, the Federal Farm Credit Banks, the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, the Resolution Funding Corporation, the Financing Corporation of America and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Some of these securities are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government while others are supported only by the credit of the agency or instrumentality, which may include the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury. In the case of U.S. Government obligations not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, and may not be able to assert a claim against the U.S. Government itself in the event the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. U.S. Government obligations are subject to price fluctuations based upon changes in the level of interest rates, which will generally result in all those securities changing in price in the same way, i.e., all those securities experiencing appreciation when interest rates decline and depreciation when interest rates rise. Any guarantee of the U.S. Government will not extend to the yield or value of the Fund’s shares.

Economic and Regulatory Risks. Although the U.S. economy has seen improvement over the years, the effects of the global financial crisis that began to unfold in 2007 continue to exist and economic growth has been slow and uneven. In response to the crisis, the United States and other governments and the Federal Reserve and other foreign central banks took steps to support financial markets, including by keeping interest rates at historically low levels. It is unclear how long this support will last and at what levels. Recently the Federal Reserve has shown signs that it is willing to allow interest rates to rise, if only moderately. Further reduction or withdrawal of support by the United States and the Federal Reserve and/or by other governments and their central banks, failure of such efforts or support in response to the crisis, or investor perception that such efforts or support are not succeeding could negatively affect financial markets generally, as well as result in higher interest rates, increase market volatility and reduce the value and liquidity of certain securities, including securities held by the Fund.

In addition, policy and legislative changes in the United States and in other countries have been implemented that are affecting many aspects of the financial markets and imposing additional regulatory requirements. Given the broad scope, sweeping nature, and relatively recent enactment of some of these changes, the potential impact they could have on securities held by the Fund is unclear and may not be fully known for some time. These changes and any future regulatory change could adversely affect the Fund.

Exchange-Traded Funds (“ETFs”). The Fund may purchase shares of ETFs. An ETF is typically an investment company registered under the 1940 Act that holds a portfolio of common stocks designed to track the performance of a particular index or market sector. Alternatively, ETFs may be actively managed pursuant to a particular investment strategy, similar to other non-index based investment companies. ETFs are traded on a securities exchange based on their market value. ETFs sell and redeem their shares at net asset value (“NAV”) in large blocks (typically 50,000 of its shares) called “creation units.” Shares representing fractional interests in these creation units are listed for trading on national securities exchanges and can be purchased and sold in the secondary market like ordinary stocks in lots of any size at any time during the trading day.

An investment in an ETF generally presents the same primary risks as an investment in a conventional registered investment company (i.e., one that is not exchange traded), including the risk that the general level of stock prices, or that the prices of stocks within a particular sector, may increase or decline, thereby affecting the value of the shares of an ETF. In addition, ETFs are subject to the following risks that do not apply to conventional investment companies: (i) the market price of the ETF’s shares may trade at a discount to their NAV; (ii) an active trading market for an ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained; (iii) trading of an ETF’s shares may be halted if the listing exchange deems such action appropriate; and (iv) ETF shares may be delisted from the exchange on which they trade, or activation of “circuit breakers” by the exchange (which are tied to large decreases in stock prices) may halt trading temporarily. ETFs are also subject to the risks of the underlying securities or sectors the ETF is designed to track.

Because ETFs and pools that issue similar instruments bear various fees and expenses, the Fund will pay a proportionate share of these expenses, as well as transaction costs, such as brokerage commissions. As with traditional investment companies, ETFs charge asset-based fees, although these fees tend to be relatively low as compared to other type of mutual funds. ETFs do not charge initial sales loads or redemption fees and investors pay only customary brokerage fees to buy and sell ETF shares.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has granted orders for exemptive relief to certain ETFs that permit investments in those ETFs by other investment companies (such as the Fund) in excess of some of the limits discussed above under section entitled “Investment Companies”. The Fund may invest in ETFs that have received such exemptive orders from the SEC, pursuant to the conditions specified in such orders. In accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F)(i) of the 1940 Act, the Fund may also invest in ETFs that have not received such exemptive orders and in other investment companies in excess of these limits, as long as the Fund (and all of its affiliated persons, including the Adviser) do not acquire more than 3% of the total outstanding stock of such ETF or other investment company, unless otherwise permitted to do so pursuant to permission granted by the SEC. In purchasing ETFs, the Fund will be subject to the 3% Limitation (as defined below) unless (i) the ETF or the Fund has received an order for exemptive relief from the 3% Limitation from the SEC that is applicable to the Fund; and (ii) the ETF and the Fund take appropriate steps to comply with any conditions in such order. The SEC has issued such exemptive orders to numerous ETFs and their investment advisers, which permit investment companies, including the Fund, to invest in such ETFs (“Exempted ETFs”) beyond the 3% Limitation, subject to certain terms and conditions, including that such investment companies enter into an agreement with the Exempted ETF. The Fund may enter into such agreements with one or more Exempted ETFs so that the Fund will be permitted to invest in such Exempted ETFs in excess of the 3% Limitation. If the Fund seeks to redeem shares of an ETF or other investment company purchased in reliance on Section 12(d)(1)(F), the investment company is not obligated to redeem an amount exceeding 1% of the investment company’s outstanding shares during a period of less than 30 days.

The market value of an ETF’s shares may differ from its NAV. This difference in price may be because the supply and demand in the market for ETF shares at any point in time is not always identical to the supply and demand in the market for the ETF’s underlying basket of securities. Accordingly, there may be times when an ETF trades at a premium (creating the risk that the Fund pays more than NAV for an ETF when making a purchase) or discount (creating the risks that the Fund’s NAV is reduced for undervalued ETFs it holds, and that the Fund receives less than NAV when selling an ETF).

Illiquid Securities . The Fund may invest in illiquid securities, but will limit its investment in illiquid securities to no more than 15% of its net assets. Illiquid securities are securities that may be difficult to sell promptly (generally within seven days) at approximately their current value because of a lack of an available market and other factors. Under the supervision of the Board, the Adviser determines the liquidity of the Fund’s investments and, through reports from the Adviser, the Board monitors investments in illiquid instruments on an ongoing basis. If through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the Fund were in a position where more than 15% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would seek to take appropriate steps to protect liquidity. The sale of some illiquid and other types of securities may be subject to legal restrictions.

If the Fund invests in securities for which there is no ready market, it may not be able to readily sell such securities. Such securities are unlike securities that are traded in the open market, which can be expected to be sold immediately if the market is adequate. The sale price of illiquid securities once realized may be lower or higher than the Adviser’s most recent estimate of their fair market value. Generally, less public information is available about the issuers of such securities than about companies whose securities are publicly traded.

Investment Companies. The Fund may invest in securities of other investment companies, both open-end and closed-end, including, without limitation, money market funds, and ETFs. Generally, under the 1940 Act, a fund may not acquire shares of another investment company if, immediately after such acquisition, (i) a fund would hold more than 3% of the other investment company’s total outstanding shares, (ii) a fund’s investment in securities of the other investment company would be more than 5% of the value of the total assets of the fund, or (iii) more than 10% of a fund’s total assets would be invested in investment companies. Under certain conditions, a fund may invest in registered and unregistered money market funds in excess of these limitations. The Fund expects to rely on Rule 12d1-1 under the 1940 Act when purchasing shares of a money market fund. Under Rule 12d1-1, the Fund may generally invest without limitation in money market funds as long as the Fund pays no sales charge (“sales charge”), as defined in rule 2830(b)(8) of the Conduct Rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), or service fee, as defined in rule 2830(b)(9) of the Conduct Rules of FINRA, charged in connection with the purchase, sale, or redemption of securities issued by the money market fund (“service fee”); or the investment Adviser waives its management fee in an amount necessary to offset any sales charge or service fee. The Fund generally expects to rely on Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act when purchasing shares of other investment companies that are not money market funds. Under Section 12(d)(1)(F), the Fund may generally acquire shares of another investment company unless, immediately after such acquisition, the Fund and its affiliated persons would hold more than 3% of the investment company’s total outstanding stock (the “3% Limitation”). To the extent the 3% Limitation applies to an investment the Fund wishes to make, the Fund may be prevented from allocating its investments in the manner that the Adviser considers optimal. Also, under the 1940 Act, to the extent that the Fund relies upon Section 12(d)(1)(F) in purchasing securities issued by another investment company, the Fund must either seek instructions from its shareholders with regard to the voting of all proxies with respect to its investment in such securities and vote such proxies only in accordance with the instructions, or vote the shares held by it in the same proportion as the vote of all other holders of the securities. In the event that there is a vote of investment company shares held by the Fund in reliance on Section 12(d)(1)(F), the Fund intends to vote such shares in the same proportion as the vote of all other holders of such securities. Investments in other investment companies subject the Fund to additional operating and management fees and expenses. For example, Fund investors will indirectly bear fees and expenses charged by underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests, in addition to the Fund’s direct fees and expenses.

Money Market Instruments. The Fund may invest in m oney market instruments . Money market instruments may include, without limitation, U.S. Government obligations, or corporate debt obligations (including those subject to repurchase agreements) as described herein, if they mature in thirteen months or less from the date of acquisition and are otherwise eligible for purchase by the Fund. Money market instruments also may include Bankers’ Acceptances, Certificates of Deposit of domestic branches of U.S. banks, Commercial Paper, Variable Amount Demand Master Notes (“Master Notes”), and shares of money market investment companies.

Bankers’ Acceptances are time drafts drawn on and “accepted” by a bank, which are the customary means of effecting payment for merchandise sold in import-export transactions and are a source of financing used extensively in international trade. When a bank “accepts” such a time draft, it assumes liability for its payment. When the Fund acquires a Banker’s Acceptance, the bank which “accepted” the time draft is liable for payment of interest and principal when due. The Banker’s Acceptance, therefore, carries the full faith and credit of such bank.

Certificate of Deposit (“CD”) is an unsecured interest-bearing debt obligation of a bank. CDs acquired by the Fund would generally be in amounts of $100,000 or more.

Commercial Paper is an unsecured, short-term debt obligation of a bank, corporation, or other borrower. Commercial Paper maturity generally ranges from two to 270 days and is usually sold on a discounted basis rather than as an interest-bearing instrument. The Fund will invest in Commercial Paper only if it is rated in the highest rating category by any NRSRO or, if not rated, if the issuer has an outstanding unsecured debt issue rated in the three highest categories by any NRSRO or, if not so rated, is of equivalent quality in the Adviser’s assessment. Commercial Paper may include Master Notes of the same quality.

Master Notes are unsecured obligations which are redeemable upon demand of the holder and which permit the investment of fluctuating amounts at varying rates of interest. Master Notes are acquired by the Fund only through the Master Note program of the Fund’s custodian, acting as administrator thereof. The Adviser will monitor, on a continuous basis, the earnings power, cash flow and other liquidity ratios of the issuer of a Master Note held by the Fund. The Fund may invest in shares of money market investment companies to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act.

Operational Risk. An investment in the Fund involves operational risk arising from factors such as processing errors, human errors, inadequate or failed internal or external processes, failures in systems and technology, changes in personnel and errors caused by third-party service providers. Any of these failures or errors could result in a loss or compromise of information, regulatory scrutiny, reputational damage or other events, any of which could have a material adverse effect on the Fund. While the Fund seeks to minimize such events through controls and oversight, there is no guarantee that the Fund will not suffer losses due to operational risk.

Options. The Fund may purchase and write, or sell, put and call options on securities. The Fund may buy and sell options for a number of purposes, including hedging, or speculative purposes. For example, it may do so to try to manage its exposure to the possibility that the prices of its portfolio securities may decline, or to establish a position in the securities market as a substitute for purchasing individual securities. Buying puts and writing covered calls may be used to hedge the Fund’s portfolio against price fluctuations. Buying call options tends to increase the Fund’s exposure to the securities market. The Fund may write a call or put option only if the option is “covered” by the Fund’s holding a position in the underlying securities or by other means, which would permit immediate satisfaction of the Fund’s obligation as writer of the option. The purchase and writing of options involves certain risks. During the option period, the covered call writer has, in return for the premium on the option, given up the opportunity to profit from a price increase in the underlying securities above the exercise price, but, as long as its obligation as a writer continues, has retained the risk of loss should the price of the underlying security decline. The writer of an option has no control over the time when it may be required to fulfill its obligation as a writer of the option. Once an option writer has received an exercise notice, it cannot effect a closing purchase transaction in order to terminate its obligation under the option and must deliver the underlying securities at the exercise price. If a put or call option purchased by the Fund is not sold when it has remaining value, and if the market price of the underlying security, in the case of a put, remains equal to or greater than the exercise price or, in the case of a call, remains less than or equal to the exercise price, the Fund will lose its entire investment in the option. Also, where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price of the put or call option may move more or less than the price of the related security. There can be no assurance that a liquid market will exist when the Fund seeks to close out an option position. Furthermore, if trading restrictions or suspensions are imposed on the options market, the Fund may be unable to close out a position.

Special Risk Factors of Options.   Transactions in derivative instruments such as options involve a risk of loss or depreciation due to: unanticipated adverse changes in securities prices, interest rates, indices, the other financial instruments’ prices or currency exchange rates; the inability to close out a position; default by the counterparty; imperfect correlation between a position and the desired hedge (if the derivative instrument is being used for hedging purposes); tax constraints on closing out positions; and portfolio management constraints on securities subject to such transactions.  The loss on derivative instruments (other than purchased options) may substantially exceed the amount invested in these instruments. In addition, the entire premium paid for purchased options may be lost before they can be profitably exercised. Transaction costs are incurred in opening and closing positions.

The Fund’s use of certain derivative instruments will have the economic effect of financial leverage. Financial leverage magnifies exposure to the swings in prices of an asset underlying a derivative instrument and results in increased volatility, which means the Fund will have the potential for greater gains, as well as the potential for greater losses, than if the Fund does not use derivative instruments that have a leveraging effect. Leveraging tends to magnify, sometimes significantly, the effect of any increase or decrease in the Fund’s exposure to an asset and may cause the Fund’s NAV to be volatile. For example, if the Adviser seeks to gain enhanced exposure to a specific asset through a derivative instrument providing leveraged exposure to the asset and that derivative instrument increases in value, the gain to the Fund will be magnified; however, if that investment decreases in value, the loss to the Fund will be magnified. A decline in the Fund’s assets due to losses magnified by the derivative instruments providing leveraged exposure may require the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions to satisfy its obligations, to meet redemption requests or to meet asset segregation requirements when it may not be advantageous to do so. There is no assurance that the Fund’s use of derivative instruments providing enhanced exposure will enable the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

The Fund’s success in using derivative instruments to hedge portfolio assets depends on the degree of price correlation between the derivative instruments and the hedged asset. Imperfect correlation may be caused by several factors, including temporary price disparities among the trading markets for the derivative instrument, the assets underlying the derivative instrument and the Fund’s assets.

Over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivative instruments involve an increased risk that the issuer or counterparty will fail to perform its contractual obligations. Some derivative instruments are not readily marketable or may become illiquid under adverse market conditions. Certain purchased OTC options, and assets used as cover for written OTC options, may be considered illiquid. The ability to terminate OTC derivative instruments may depend on the cooperation of the counterparties to such contracts. For thinly traded derivative instruments, the only source of price quotations may be the selling dealer or counterparty. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves skills different from conducting ordinary portfolio securities transactions. There can be no assurance that the Adviser’s use of derivative instruments will be advantageous to the Fund.

Preferred Stock. The Fund may invest in preferred stock. Preferred stocks are securities that represent an ownership interest providing the holder with claims on the issuer’s earnings and assets before common stock owners but after bond owners. Unlike debt securities, the obligations of an issuer of preferred stock, including dividend and other payment obligations, may not typically be accelerated by the holders of such preferred stock on the occurrence of an event of default or other non-compliance by the issuer of the preferred stock. Preferred stocks may include the obligation to pay a stated dividend. The price of preferred stocks could depend more on the size of the dividend than on the company’s performance. If a company fails to pay the dividend, its preferred stock is likely to drop in price. Changes in interest rates can also affect the price of preferred stock.

Repurchase Agreements . The Fund may invest in repurchase agreements. A repurchase agreement transaction occurs when an investor purchases a security (normally a U.S. Government security), then resells it to the vendor (normally a member bank of the Federal Reserve or a registered government securities dealer) and is required to deliver the security (and/or securities substituted for them under the repurchase agreement) to the vendor on an agreed upon date in the future. The repurchase price exceeds the purchase price by an amount that reflects an agreed upon market interest rate effective for the period during which the repurchase agreement is in effect. Delivery pursuant to the resale normally will occur within one to seven days of the purchase. Repurchase agreements are considered “loans” under the 1940 Act, collateralized by the underlying security. The Trust has implemented procedures to monitor on a continuous basis the value of the collateral serving as security for repurchase obligations. The Adviser will consider the creditworthiness of the vendor. If the vendor fails to pay the agreed upon resale price on the delivery date, the Fund will retain or attempt to dispose of the collateral. The Fund’s risk is that such default may include any decline in value of the collateral to an amount , which is less than 100% of the repurchase price, any costs of disposing of such collateral, and any loss resulting from any delay in foreclosing on the collateral. The Fund will not enter into any repurchase agreement that would cause more than 15% of its net assets to be invested in repurchase agreements that extend beyond seven days .

Restricted Securities. Within its limitation on investment in illiquid securities, the Fund may purchase restricted securities that generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the federal securities laws, or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the Fund may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time the Fund may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If during such a period adverse market conditions were to develop, the Fund might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.

Certain restricted securities are illiquid unless it is determined, based upon a review of the trading markets for a specific restricted security, that such restricted security is liquid because it is so-called “4(2) commercial paper” or is otherwise eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933 (“144A Securities”). Investing in 144A Securities may decrease the liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio to the extent that qualified institutional buyers become for a time uninterested in purchasing these restricted securities. The purchase price and subsequent valuation of restricted and illiquid securities normally reflect a discount, which may be significant, from the market price of comparable securities for which a liquid market exists. Subject to the oversight of the Board, 144A Securities determined by the Adviser to be liquid in accordance with procedures adopted by the Board shall not be deemed “illiquid securities”.

Securities Lending. In order to generate additional income, the Fund may lend portfolio securities in an amount up to 33⅓% of its total assets to broker-dealers, major banks , or other recognized domestic institutional borrowers of securities that the Adviser has determined are creditworthy under guidelines established by the Trustees. In determining whether the Fund will lend securities, the Adviser will consider all relevant facts and circumstances. The Fund may not lend securities to any company affiliated with the Adviser. Each loan of securities will be collateralized by cash, securities, or letters of credit. The Fund might experience a loss if the borrower defaults on the loan.

 

The borrower at all times during the loan must maintain with the Fund cash or cash equivalent collateral, or provide to the Fund an irrevocable letter of credit equal in value to at least 100% of the value of the securities loaned. While the loan is outstanding, the borrower will pay the Fund any dividends or interest paid on the loaned securities, and the Fund may invest the cash collateral to earn additional income. Alternatively, the Fund may receive an agreed-upon amount of interest income from the borrower who has delivered equivalent collateral or a letter of credit. It is anticipated that the Fund may share with the borrower some of the income received on the collateral for the loan or the Fund will be paid a premium for the loan. Loans are subject to termination at the option of the Fund or the borrower , at any time the Fund may pay reasonable administrative and custodial fees in connection with a loan, and may pay a negotiated portion of the income earned on the cash to the borrower or placing broker . As with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. If the Fund invests the cash collateral from the borrower, there is the risk that such investment may result in a financial loss. In such an event, the Fund would be required to repay the borrower out the Fund’s assets.

 

Where voting rights with respect to the loaned securities pass with the lending of the securities, the Adviser intends to call the loaned securities to vote proxies, or to use other practicable and legally enforceable means to obtain voting rights, when the Adviser has knowledge that, in its opinion, a material event affecting the loaned securities will occur or the Adviser otherwise believes it necessary to vote .

Short Selling of Securities. The Fund may engage in short selling of securities. In a short sale of securities, the Fund sells stock that it does not own, making delivery with securities “borrowed” from a broker. The Fund is then obligated to replace the security borrowed by purchasing it at the market price at the time of replacement. This price may or may not be less than the price at which the security was sold by the Fund. Until the security is replaced, the Fund is required to pay the lender any dividends and/or interest, which accrues during the period that the short sale remains open. In order to borrow the security, the Fund may also have to pay a fee, which would increase the cost of selling a security short. The proceeds of the short sale may be retained by the broker, to the extent necessary to meet margin requirements, until the short position is closed out, or the proceeds may be released to the Fund and invested in additional securities.

The Fund will incur a loss because of the short sale if the price of the security increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the Fund replaces the borrowed security. Excluding any dividend and/or interest payments, the Fund will realize a gain if the security declines in price between those two dates. The amount of any gain will be decreased and the amount of any loss will be increased by any dividends and/or interest the Fund may be required to pay in connection with the short sale.

In a short sale, the seller does not own the securities sold and is said to have a short position in those securities until the position is closed out. The Fund must deposit in a segregated account with the Fund’s custodial bank an amount of cash and/or liquid assets sufficient to cover the Fund’s short positions. While the short position is open, the Fund monitors daily the segregated account’s balance to ensure that it meets the relevant collateral requirements.

The Fund may also engage in short sales if at the time of the short sale the Fund owns or has the right to obtain without additional cost an equal amount of the security being sold short. This investment technique is known as a short sale “against the box”. The Fund does not intend to engage in short sales against the box for investment purposes. The Fund may, however, make a short sale against the box as a hedge, when the investment manager believes that the price of a security may decline, causing a decline in the value of a security owned by the Fund (or a security convertible or exchangeable for such security), or when the Fund wants to sell the security at an attractive current price. In such case, any future losses in the Fund 's long position should be offset by a gain in the short position and, conversely, any gain in the long position should be reduced by a loss in the short position. The extent to which such gains or losses are reduced will depend upon the amount of the security sold short relative to the amount the Fund owns. There will be certain additional transaction costs associated with short sales against the box, but the Fund will endeavor to offset these costs with the income from the investment of the cash proceeds of short sales.

Temporary Defensive Positions. Each Fund may, from time to time, take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its principal investment strategies. If the Adviser believes a temporary defensive position is warranted in view of market conditions, each Fund may hold cash or invest up to 100% of its assets in high-quality short-term government or corporate obligations, money market instruments or shares of money market mutual funds. Taking a temporary defensive position may prevent a Fund from achieving its investment objective.

Warrants and Rights. The Fund may purchase warrants and rights, or it may acquire ownership of such investments by virtue of its ownership of common stocks. Warrants are essentially options to purchase equity securities at specific prices and are valid for a specific period. Rights are similar to warrants but generally have a short duration and are distributed directly by the issuer to its shareholders. The holders of warrants and rights have no voting rights, receive no dividends, with respect to the equity interests underlying warrants or rights, and will have no rights with respect to the assets of the issuer, until the warrant or right is exercised. Investments in warrants and rights involve certain risks, including the possible lack of a liquid market for resale, potential price fluctuations as a result of speculation or other factors, and failure of the price of the underlying security to reach or have reasonable prospects of reaching a level at which the warrant or right can be prudently exercised (in which event the warrant or right may expire without being exercised, resulting in a loss of the Fund’s entire investment therein).

Portfolio Turnover. The portfolio turnover rate for the Fund is calculated by dividing the lesser of the Fund’s purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the year by the monthly average value of the securities. A fund’s portfolio turnover rate may vary greatly from year to year as well as within a particular year, and may also be affected by cash requirements for redemption of shares. High portfolio turnover rates will generally result in higher transaction costs to a Fund, including brokerage commission, and may result in additional tax consequences to the Fund’s shareholders.