Portfolio's investments, plus capital appreciation, if any, which generally arises from decreases in interest rates, foreign currency appreciation, or improving credit fundamentals for a particular sector or security. The Portfolio 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 Portfolio. The principal risks of investing in the Portfolio, which could adversely affect its net asset value, yield and total return, are listed below.
Small Portfolio Risk:the risk that a smaller portfolio may not achieve investment or trading efficiencies. Additionally, a smaller portfolio may be more adversely affected by large purchases or redemptions of portfolio shares
Interest Rate Risk:the risk that fixed income securities will fluctuate in value because of a change in interest rates; a portfolio with a longer average portfolio duration will be more sensitive to changes in interest rates than a portfolio 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 Portfolio has invested in, the Portfolio may not recoup the full amount of its initial investment or may not realize the full anticipated earnings from the 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 Portfolio could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a fixed income security, or the counterparty to a derivative contract, or the issuer or guarantor of collateral, 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
High Yield Risk:the risk that high yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly known as "junk bonds") are subject to greater levels of credit, call and liquidity risks. High yield securities are considered primarily speculative with respect to the issuer's continuing ability to make principal and interest payments, and may be more volatile than higher-rated securities of similar maturity
Market Risk:the risk that the value of securities owned by the Portfolio 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, changes in financial condition or credit rating, financial leverage, reputation or 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 Portfolio 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 forwards, futures, swaps and structured securities) and other similar investments, including leverage, liquidity, interest rate, market, counterparty (including credit), operational, legal and management risks, and valuation complexity. Changes in the value of a derivative or other similar investment may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than, the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Portfolio could lose more than the initial amount invested. Changes in the value of a derivative or other similar instrument may also create margin delivery or settlement payment obligations for the Portfolio. The Portfolio's use of derivatives or other similar investments may result in losses to the Portfolio, a reduction in the Portfolio's returns and/or increased volatility. Non-centrally-cleared over-the-counter ("OTC") derivatives or other similar investments 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 non-centrally-cleared OTC derivatives or other similar investments. The primary credit risk on derivatives or other similar investments that are exchange-traded or traded through a central clearing counterparty resides with the Portfolio's clearing broker or the clearinghouse. Changes in regulation relating to a registered fund's use of derivatives and related instruments could potentially limit or impact the Portfolio's ability to invest in derivatives, limit the Portfolio's ability to employ certain strategies that use derivatives or other similar investments and/or adversely affect the value of derivatives or other similar investments and the Portfolio's performance
Equity Risk:the risk that the value of equity or equity-related 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 or equity-related securities generally have greater price volatility than fixed income securities. In addition, preferred securities may be subject to greater credit risk or other risks, such as risks related to deferred and omitted distributions, limited voting rights, liquidity, interest rates, regulatory changes and special redemption rights
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. The Portfolio may invest in any tranche of mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities, including junior and/or equity tranches (to the extent consistent with the other of the Portfolio's guidelines), which generally carry higher levels of the foregoing risks