from decreases in interest rates or improving credit fundamentals for a particular sector or security. The Fund may also invest up to 10% of its total assets in preferred securities.
Principal Risks
It is possible to lose money on an investment in the Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund, which could adversely affect its net asset value, yield and total return, are listed below.
Interest Rate Risk:the risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of an increase in interest rates; a fund with a longer average portfolio duration will be more sensitive to changes in interest rates than a fund with a shorter average portfolio duration
Call Risk:the risk that an issuer may exercise its right to redeem a fixed income security earlier than expected (a call). Issuers may call outstanding securities prior to their maturity for a number of reasons (e.g., declining interest rates, changes in credit spreads and improvements in the issuer's credit quality). If an issuer calls a security that the Fund has invested in, the Fund may not recoup the full amount of its initial investment and may be forced to reinvest in lower-yielding securities, securities with greater credit risks or securities with other, less favorable features
Credit Risk:the risk that the Fund could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a fixed income security, or the counterparty to a derivative contract, is unable or unwilling, or is perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as unable or unwilling, to meet its financial obligations
Market Risk:the risk that the value of securities owned by the Fund may go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, due to factors affecting securities markets generally or particular industries
Issuer Risk:the risk that the value of a security may decline for a reason directly related to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services
Liquidity Risk:the risk that a particular investment may be difficult to purchase or sell and that the Fund may be unable to sell illiquid investments at an advantageous time or price or achieve its desired level of exposure to a certain sector. Liquidity risk may result from the lack of an active market, reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed income securities, and may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed income funds may be higher than normal, causing increased supply in the market due to selling activity
Derivatives Risk:the risk of investing in derivative instruments (such as futures, swaps and structured securities), including leverage, liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, and valuation complexity. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than, the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Fund could lose more than the initial amount invested. The Fund's use of derivatives may result in losses to the Fund, a reduction in the Fund's returns and/or increased
volatility. Over-the-counter ('OTC') derivatives are also subject to the risk that a counterparty to the transaction will not fulfill its contractual obligations to the other party, as many of the protections afforded to centrally-cleared derivative transactions might not be available for OTC derivatives. The primary credit risk on derivatives that are exchange-traded or traded through a central clearing counterparty resides with the Fund's clearing broker or the clearinghouse. Changes in regulation relating to a mutual fund's use of derivatives and related instruments 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/or adversely affect the value of derivatives and the Fund's performance
Equity Risk:the risk that the value of equity securities, such as common stocks and preferred securities, may decline due to general market conditions which are not specifically related to a particular company or to factors affecting a particular industry or industries. Equity securities generally have greater price volatility than fixed income securities
Mortgage-Related and Other Asset-Backed Securities Risk:the risks of investing in mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities, including interest rate risk, extension risk, prepayment risk and credit risk
Leveraging Risk:the risk that certain transactions of the Fund, such as reverse repurchase agreements, loans of portfolio securities, and the use of when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment transactions, or derivative instruments, may give rise to leverage, magnifying gains and losses and causing the Fund to be more volatile than if it had not been leveraged. This means that leverage entails a heightened risk of loss
Management Risk:the risk that the investment techniques and risk analyses applied by PIMCO will not produce the desired results and that actual or potential conflicts of interest, legislative, regulatory, or tax restrictions, policies or developments may affect the investment techniques available to PIMCO and the individual portfolio manager in connection with managing the Fund and may cause PIMCO to restrict or prohibit participation in certain investments. There is no guarantee that the investment objective of the Fund will be achieved
Short Exposure Risk:the risk of entering into short sales, including the potential loss of more money than the actual cost of the investment, and the risk that the third party to the short sale will not fulfill its contractual obligations, causing a loss to the Fund
LIBOR Transition Risk:the risk related to the anticipated discontinuation of the London Interbank Offered Rate ('LIBOR'). Certain instruments held by the Fund rely in some fashion upon LIBOR. Although the transition process away from LIBOR has become increasingly well-defined in advance of the anticipated discontinuation date, there remains uncertainty regarding the nature of any replacement rate, and any potential effects of the transition away from LIBOR on the Fund or on certain instruments in which the Fund invests can be difficult to ascertain. The transition process may involve, among other things,