quality that pay interest periodically. In addition, federal income tax law requires that the holder of a zero-coupon security accrue a portion of the discount at which the security was purchased as taxable income each year. The Fund may consequently have to dispose of portfolio securities under disadvantageous circumstances to generate cash to satisfy its requirement as a regulated investment company to distribute all of its net income (including non-cash income attributable to zero coupon securities). These actions may reduce the assets to which the Fund's expenses could otherwise be allocated and may reduce the Fund's rate of return.
Restricted Securities Risk. Restricted securities are securities that cannot be offered for public resale unless registered under the applicable securities laws or that have a contractual restriction that prohibits or limits their resale. Restricted securities include private placement securities that have not been registered under the applicable securities laws, such as Rule 144A securities, and securities of U.S. and non-U.S. issuers that are issued pursuant to Regulation S. Private placements are generally subject to strict restrictions on resale. Restricted securities may not be listed on an exchange and may have no active trading market. Restricted securities may be illiquid. The Fund may be unable to sell a restricted security on short notice or may be able to sell them only at a price below current value. It may be more difficult to determine a market value for a restricted security. Also, a Fund may get only limited information about the issuer of a restricted security, so it may be less able to predict a loss. In addition, if Fund management receives material non-public information about the issuer, the Fund may as a result be unable to sell the securities. Certain restricted securities may involve a high degree of business and financial risk and may result in substantial losses.
Auction Rate Securities Risk. The auction rate municipal securities the Fund will purchase will typically have a long-term nominal maturity for which the interest rate is regularly reset through a "Dutch" auction. The interest rate set by the auction is the lowest interest rate that covers all securities offered for sale. While this process is designed to permit auction rate securities to be traded at par value, there is a risk that an auction will fail due to insufficient demand for the securities, which may adversely affect the liquidity and price of auction rate securities. Moreover, between auctions, there may be no secondary market for these securities, and sales conducted on a secondary market may not be on terms favorable to the seller. Thus, with respect to liquidity and price stability, auction rate securities may differ substantially from cash equivalents, notwithstanding the frequency of auctions and the credit quality of the security.
Government Securities Risk. The Fund invests in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies and instrumentalities (such as securities issued by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac). U.S. government securities are subject to market risk, interest rate risk and credit risk. Securities, such as those issued or guaranteed by Ginnie Mae or the U.S. Treasury, that are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity and the market prices for such securities will fluctuate. Notwithstanding that these securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, circumstances could arise that would prevent the payment of interest or principal. This would result in losses to the Fund. Securities issued or guaranteed by U.S. government-
related organizations, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will provide financial support. Therefore, U.S. government-related organizations may not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future. U.S. government securities include zero-coupon securities, which tend to be subject to greater market risk than interest-paying securities of similar maturities.
Risk Associated with the Fund Holding Cash, Money Market Instruments and Other Short-Term Investments. The Fund will, at times, hold assets in cash, money market instruments and other short-term investments, which may hurt the Fund's performance. These positions may also subject the Fund to additional risks and costs.
Cash Transactions Risk. Unlike certain ETFs, the Fund may effect creations and redemptions in cash or partially in cash. Therefore, it may be required to sell portfolio securities and subsequently recognize gains on such sales that the Fund might not have recognized if it were to distribute portfolio securities in-kind. As such, investments in Shares may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that distributes portfolio securities entirely in-kind.
General Market Risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to securities in general financial markets, a particular financial market or other asset classes due to a number of factors, including inflation (or expectations for inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, market instability, debt crises and downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, sanctions and other trade barriers, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund's investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics.
For example, the outbreak of COVID-19 has negatively affected economies, markets and individual companies throughout the world, including those in which the Fund invests. The effects of this pandemic to public health and business and market conditions, including, among other things, reduced consumer demand and economic output, supply chain disruptions and increased government spending, may continue to have a significant negative impact on the performance of the Fund's investments, increase the Fund's volatility, exacerbate pre-existing political, social and economic risks to the Fund, and negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations. In addition, governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations have taken or may take actions in response to the pandemic that affect the instruments in which the Fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that could have a significant negative impact on the Fund's investment performance. The duration and extent of COVID-19 and associated economic and market conditions and uncertainty over the long-term cannot be reasonably estimated at this time. The ultimate impact of COVID-19 and the extent to which the