Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 63% of the average value of its portfolio.
Investments, Risks and Performance
Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
The Fund has a non-fundamental policy to invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes in bonds.
Russell Investment Management, LLC ("RIM") provides or oversees the provision of all investment advisory and portfolio management services for the Fund. The Fund is advised by RIM and multiple money managers unaffiliated with RIM pursuant to a multi-manager approach. RIM may change a Fund's asset allocation at any time. The Fund's money managers select the individual portfolio instruments for the assets assigned to them. RIM manages assets not allocated to money manager strategies and utilizes quantitative and/or rules-based processes and qualitative analysis to assess Fund characteristics and invest in securities and instruments which provide the desired exposures. RIM may use strategies based on indexes. RIM also manages the Fund's cash balances.
The Fund may invest in mortgage related securities, including mortgage-backed securities. The Fund may also invest in (1) U.S. and non-U.S. corporate debt securities, (2) Yankee Bonds (dollar-denominated obligations issued in the U.S. by non-U.S. banks and corporations), (3) fixed income securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, non-U.S. governments, or by any U.S. government or non-U.S. government agency or instrumentality and (4) asset-backed securities. The Fund may invest in debt securities that are rated below investment grade (commonly referred to as "high-yield" or "junk bonds") and in "distressed" debt securities. The Fund may invest in currency futures and options on futures, forward currency contracts, currency swaps and currency options for speculative purposes or to seek to protect a portion of its investments against adverse currency exchange rate changes. The Fund may invest in derivative instruments and may use derivatives to take both long and short positions. The Fund's use of derivatives may cause the Fund's investment returns to be impacted by the performance of securities the Fund does not own and result in the Fund's total investment exposure exceeding the value of its portfolio. The duration of the Fund's portfolio will typically be within one year of the duration of the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, but may vary up to two years from the Index's duration. A portion of the Fund's net assets may be "illiquid" investments. The Fund may invest in variable and floating rate securities. The Fund may purchase loans and other direct indebtedness, including bank loans (also called "leveraged loans"). The Fund may invest in non-U.S. debt securities, including developed and emerging market debt securities, some of which may be non-U.S. dollar denominated. The Fund considers the following countries to have developed markets: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. As a general rule, the Fund considers emerging market countries to include every other country. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements. The Fund may invest in commercial paper, including asset-backed commercial paper. The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities to achieve its principal investment strategies. The Fund may invest in obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. or foreign banks. The Fund usually, but not always, exposes a portion of its cash to changes in interest rates or market/sector returns by purchasing fixed income securities and/or derivatives, which typically include exchange traded fixed income futures contracts, to be announced ("TBA") securities and swaps. Please refer to the "Investment Objective and Investment Strategies" section in the Fund's Prospectus for further information.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
An investment in the Fund, like any investment, has risks. The value of the Fund fluctuates and you could lose money. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are those associated with:
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Fixed Income Securities. Prices of fixed income securities generally rise and fall in response to, among other things, interest rate changes. Volatility in interest rates and in fixed income markets may increase the risk that the Fund's investments in fixed income securities could lose money. In addition, the Fund could lose money if the