Rydex Series Funds

08/02/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/02/2021 14:50

Filing by Investment Company (SEC Filing - 497K)

Mutual Funds
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Currency
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8.1.2021
Rydex Funds Summary Prospectus
Class H
Ticker Symbol
Fund Name
RYSBX
Strengthening Dollar 2x Strategy Fund
The Fund is very different from most mutual funds in that it seeks to provide leveraged investment results on a daily basis. The pursuit of a leveraged investment goal has the following implications: • The Fund is riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage because the performance of an investment in the Fund is magnified. • The effect of leverage on the Fund will generally cause the Fund's performance to not match the performance of the Fund's benchmark over a period of time greater than one day. This means that the return of the Fund for a period of longer than a single trading day will be the result of each day's compounded returns over the period, which will very likely differ from the return of the Fund's benchmark for that period. As a consequence, especially in periods of market volatility, the path or trend of the benchmark during the longer period may be at least as important to the Fund's cumulative return for the longer period as the cumulative return of the benchmark for the relevant longer period. Further, the return for investors who invest for a period longer than a single trading day will not be the product of the return of the Fund's stated investment goal (i.e., 2x) and the cumulative performance of the Fund's benchmark. In addition, as a result of compounding, the Fund's performance for periods greater than one day is likely to be either greater than or less than the performance of the Fund's underlying index times the stated multiple in the Fund's investment objective (i.e., 2x), before accounting for fees and fund expenses. • The Fund is not suitable for all investors and is designed to be utilized only by sophisticated investors who (a) understand the risks associated with the use of leverage, (b) understand the consequences of seeking daily leveraged investment results, and (c) intend to actively monitor and manage their investments. Investors who do not understand the Fund or do not intend to actively manage and monitor their investments should not buy shares of the Fund.
The Fund seeks daily exposure to its underlying index equal to 200% of its net assets. As a consequence, the risk of total loss of your investment exists in the event of a decline in the value of the Fund's underlying index in excess of 50%. In short, the risk of total loss of your investment exists.
There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its objective and an investment in the Fund could lose money. The Fund is not a complete investment program.
Before you invest, you may wish to review the Fund's Prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You may obtain the Prospectus and other information about the Fund, including the Statement of Additional Information (SAI) and most recent reports to shareholders, at no cost by visiting guggenheiminvestments.com/services/prospectuses-and-reports, calling 800.820.0888 or e-mailing [email protected]. The Fund's Prospectus and SAI, both dated August 1, 2021, as revised from time to time, and the Fund's most recent shareholder reports, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.
SUMSDXH-0821x0822
guggenheiminvestments.com
Strengthening Dollar 2x Strategy Fund
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND
The Strengthening Dollar 2x Strategy Fund (the 'Fund') is very different from most other mutual funds in that it seeks daily leveraged investment results. As a result, the Fund may be riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage because the performance of an investment in the Fund is magnified.
The effect of leverage on the Fund will generally cause the Fund's performance to not match the performance of the Fund's benchmark (as described below) over a period of time greater than a single trading day. This means that the return of the Fund for a period of longer than a single trading day will be the result of each day's compounded returns over the period, which will very likely differ from twice the return of the Fund's underlying index (as defined below) for that period. As a consequence, especially in periods of market volatility, the path or trend of the benchmark during the longer period may be at least as important to the Fund's cumulative return for the longer period as the cumulative return of the benchmark for the relevant longer period. Further, the return for investors who invest for a period longer than a single trading day will not be the product of the return of the Fund's stated investment goal (i.e., 2x) and the cumulative performance of the benchmark.
The Fund is not suitable for all investors. The Fund should be utilized only by investors who (a) understand the risks associated with the use of leverage, (b) understand the consequences of seeking daily leveraged investment results, and (c) intend to actively monitor and manage their investments. Investors who do not meet these criteria should not buy shares of the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a complete investment program.
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
The Fund seeks to provide investment results that match the performance of a specific benchmark, before fees and expenses, on a daily basis. The Fund's current benchmark is 200% of the performance of the U.S. Dollar Index® (the 'underlying index'). The Fund does not seek to achieve its investment objective over a period of time greater than one day.
FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell Class H shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
SHAREHOLDER FEES (fees paid directly from your investment)
N/A
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Class H
Management Fees
0.90%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees
0.25%
Other Expenses*
0.79%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses
0.07%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses**
2.01%
Fee Waiver (and/or expense reimbursement)***
-0.04%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver (and/or expense reimbursement)**
1.97%
*
'Other Expenses' does not include fees paid to the Fund's swap contract counterparties, or the management fees, performance fees, and expenses of the reference assets or trading vehicles underlying such swap contracts. These fees and expenses, which are not reflected in this Annual Fund Operating Expenses table, are embedded in the returns of the swap contracts (i.e., the fees and expenses reduce the investment returns of the swap contracts) and represent an indirect cost of investing in the Fund.
**
The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses and Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver (and/or expense reimbursement) in this fee table may not correlate to the expense ratios in the Fund's financial highlights and financial statements because the financial highlights and financial statements reflect only the operating expenses of the Fund and do not include Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, which are fees and expenses incurred indirectly by the Fund through its investments in certain underlying investment companies.
1 | SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
***
The Advisor has contractually agreed, through August 1, 2022, to waive the amount of the Fund's management fee to the extent necessary to offset the proportionate share of any management fee paid by the Fund with respect to any Fund investment in an underlying fund for which the Advisor or any of its affiliates also serves as investment manager. The agreement may be terminated by the Advisor at the conclusion of any one-year term or by the Fund's Board of Trustees at any time, and when the Advisor ceases to serve as such.
EXAMPLE
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Class H
$200
$627
$1,079
$2,334
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 and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 0% of the average value of its portfolio. The Fund's portfolio turnover rate is calculated without regard to cash instruments and most derivatives. If such instruments were included, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate might be significantly higher.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Fund employs as its investment strategy a program of investing in derivative instruments, which primarily consist of index swaps, futures contracts, and options on securities, securities indices, and futures contracts. While the Fund may write (sell) and purchase swaps, it expects primarily to purchase swaps. The Advisor attempts to consistently apply leverage to increase the Fund's exposure to 200% of the underlying index, and expects to rebalance the Fund's holdings daily to maintain such exposure. Investing in derivative instruments enables the Fund to pursue its investment objective without investing directly in the securities included in the underlying index or in the same proportion that those securities are represented in the Fund's benchmark. The Fund's use of derivatives and the leveraged investment exposure created by such use are expected to be significant. Certain of the Fund's derivatives investments may be traded in the over-the-counter ('OTC') market.
Investments in derivative instruments, such as futures, options and swap agreements, have the economic effect of creating financial leverage in the Fund's portfolio because such investments may give rise to losses that exceed the amount the Fund has invested in those instruments. Financial leverage will magnify, sometimes significantly, the Fund's exposure to any increase or decrease in prices associated with a particular reference asset resulting in increased volatility in the value of the Fund's portfolio. The value of the Fund's portfolio is likely to experience greater volatility over short-term periods. While such financial leverage has the potential to produce greater gains, it also may result in greater losses, which in some cases may cause the Fund to liquidate other portfolio investments at a loss to comply with limits on leverage and asset segregation requirements imposed by the Investment Company Act of 1940 or to meet redemption requests.
The U.S. Dollar Index® measures the performance of the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies that include the Euro, Japanese Yen, British Pound, Canadian Dollar, Swedish Krona and Swiss Franc. On a day-to-day basis, the Fund may hold U.S. government securities or cash equivalents. The Fund also may enter into repurchase agreements with counterparties that are deemed to present acceptable credit risks. In an effort to ensure that the Fund is fully invested on a day-to-day basis, the Fund may conduct any necessary trading activity at or just prior to the close of the U.S. financial markets. The Fund is non-diversified and, therefore, may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a particular issuer in comparison to a diversified fund.
The Fund may invest a portion of its assets, and at times, a substantial portion of its assets, in other short-term fixed-income investment companies advised by the Advisor, or an affiliate of the Advisor, for various purposes, including for liquidity management purposes (e.g., to increase yield on liquid investments used to collateralize derivatives positions) or when such investment companies present a more cost-effective investment option than direct
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS | 2
investments in the underlying securities. Investments in these investment companies will significantly increase the portfolio's exposure to certain other asset categories, including: (i) a broad range of high yield, high risk debt securities rated below the top four long-term rating categories by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization or, if unrated, determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality (also known as 'junk bonds'); (ii) securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies and instrumentalities; (iii) collateralized loan obligations ('CLOs'), other asset-backed securities (including mortgage-backed securities) and similarly structured debt investments; and (iv) other short-term fixed income securities. Such investments will expose the Fund to the risks of these asset categories and increases or decreases in the value of these investments may cause the Fund to deviate from its investment objective.
PRINCIPAL RISKS
As with all mutual funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk that his or her investment could lose money. In addition to this risk, the Fund is subject to the principal risks described below.
Asset-Backed Securities Risk-Through its investments in other investment companies, the Fund may have exposure to asset-backed securities, including mortgage-backed securities and structured finance investments. Investors in asset-backed securities, including residential mortgage-backed securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities and other structured finance investments, generally receive payments that are part interest and part return of principal. These payments may vary based on the rate at which the underlying borrowers pay off their loans. Some asset-backed securities, including mortgage-backed securities, may have structures that make their performance based on changes in interest rates and other factors difficult to predict, causing their prices to be volatile. In particular, during periods of falling interest rates, asset-backed securities are more likely to be called or prepaid, which can result in the Fund having to reinvest proceeds in other investments at a lower interest rate or less advantageous terms, which would adversely affect the Fund. These instruments are particularly subject to interest rate, credit and liquidity and valuation risks.
Collateralized Loan Obligations ('CLO') and Collateralized Debt Obligations ('CDO') Risk-Through its investments in other investment companies, the Fund may have exposure to CLOs. CLOs bear many of the same risks as other forms of asset-backed securities, including interest rate risk, credit risk and default risk. As they are backed by pools of loans, CLOs also bear similar risks to investing in loans directly. CLOs issue classes or 'tranches' that vary in risk and yield. CLOs may experience substantial losses attributable to loan defaults. Losses caused by defaults on underlying assets are borne first by the holders of subordinate tranches. The Fund's investment in CLOs may decrease in market value when the CLO experiences loan defaults or credit impairment, the disappearance of a subordinate tranche, or market anticipation of defaults and investor aversion to CLO securities as a class.
CDOs are structured similarly to CLOs and bear the same risks as CLOs including interest rate risk, credit risk and default risk. CDOs are subject to additional risks because they are backed by pools of assets other than loans including securities (such as other asset-backed securities), synthetic instruments or bonds and may be highly leveraged. Like CLOs, losses incurred by a CDO are borne first by holders of subordinate tranches. Accordingly, the risks of CDOs depend largely on the type of underlying collateral and the tranche of CDOs in which the Fund invests. For example, CDOs that obtain their exposure through synthetic investments entail the risks associated with derivative instruments.
Compounding Risk-In addition to the correlation risks described under 'Correlation Risk,' the Fund's returns are subject to the effects of compounding, which generally will cause the Fund's performance to not correlate to the performance of the benchmark over periods greater than a single day, before accounting for fees and fund expenses. Compounded returns are the result of reinvesting daily returns over periods greater than a single day. The Fund's compounded returns for periods greater than a single day will be different than the performance of the benchmark over the same period. The effects of compounding on the performance of the Fund will be more pronounced when the underlying index experiences increased volatility, the greater the leverage employed in the Fund, and over longer holding periods.
Compounding affects the performance of all investments over time, but has a more significant effect on a leveraged index fund because the magnified changes in performance produced by the use of leverage lead to greater increases and decreases in the fund's daily returns which are then compounded over time. The effects of compounding, therefore, have a more significant effect on the Fund because it seeks to match a multiple of the performance of the Fund's underlying index on a daily basis.
3 | SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
Fund performance for periods greater than one day can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: (a) underlying index performance; (b) underlying index volatility; (c) financing rates associated with leverage; (d) other Fund expenses; (e) dividends or interest paid by companies in the underlying index; and (f) period of time. The table below illustrates the impact of two principal factors - volatility and index performance - on Fund performance. The table shows estimated Fund returns for a number of combinations of performance and volatility over a one-year period. Performance shown in the table assumes: (a) no dividends paid by the companies included in the underlying index; (b) no Fund expenses; and (c) a cost of leverage of zero percent. If Fund expenses, including the cost of leverage, were included, the Fund's performance would be lower than shown.
Areas shaded lighter represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return more than twice the performance of the underlying index; conversely, areas shaded darker represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return less than twice the performance of the underlying index.
Index Performance
Annualized Volatility
1x
2x
10%
25%
50%
75%
100%
-60%
-120%
-84%
-85%
-88%
-91%
-94%
-50%
-100%
-75%
-77%
-81%
-86%
-91%
-40%
-80%
-65%
-66%
-72%
-80%
-87%
-30%
-60%
-52%
-54%
-62%
-72%
-82%
-20%
-40%
-37%
-41%
-49%
-64%
-78%
-10%
-20%
-20%
-24%
-37%
-55%
-71%
0%
0%
-1%
-5%
-22%
-43%
-65%
10%
20%
19%
14%
-5%
-31%
-58%
20%
40%
42%
36%
11%
-15%
-47%
30%
60%
67%
59%
32%
-3%
-38%
40%
80%
93%
84%
52%
11%
-28%
50%
100%
122%
111%
76%
28%
-20%
60%
120%
154%
140%
100%
44%
-10%
The underlying index's annualized historical volatility rate for the five-year period ended June 30, 2021 is 5.70%. The underlying index's highest one-year volatility rate during the five-year period is 7.45%. The underlying index's annualized performance for the five-year period ended June 30, 2021 is -0.74%.
Historical underlying index volatility and performance are not indications of what the underlying index volatility and performance will be in the future. The table is intended to isolate the effects of the underlying index volatility and index performance on the return of the Fund, and underscore that the Fund is designed as a short-term trading vehicle for investors who intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios.
Correlation Risk-A number of factors may affect the Fund's ability to achieve a high degree of correlation with its benchmark, including instances in which the Fund does not hold or have exposure to each component security of the underlying index and the effect of compounding on the Fund's returns, and there can be no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation. Failure to achieve a high degree of correlation may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. The Fund does not attempt to, and should not be expected to, provide returns which are a multiple of the returns of the underlying index for periods other than a single day. The risk of the Fund not achieving its daily investment objective will be more acute when the underlying index has an extreme one-day movement approaching 50%. In addition, as a result of compounding, the Fund's performance for periods greater than a single day is likely to be either greater than or less than the performance of the underlying index times the stated multiple in the Fund's investment objective, before accounting for Fund fees and expenses.
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS | 4
Counterparty Credit Risk-The Fund makes investments in financial instruments and OTC-traded derivatives involving counterparties to gain exposure to a particular group of securities, index, asset class or other reference asset without actually purchasing those securities or investments, to hedge a position, or for other investment purposes. Through these investments and related arrangements (e.g., prime brokerage or securities lending arrangements or derivatives transactions), the Fund is exposed to credit risks that the counterparty may be unwilling or unable to make timely payments or otherwise to meet its contractual obligations. If the counterparty becomes bankrupt or defaults on (or otherwise becomes unable or unwilling to perform) its payment or other obligations to the Fund, the Fund may not receive the full amount that it is entitled to receive or may experience delays in recovering the collateral or other assets held by, or on behalf of, the counterparty. If this occurs, the value of your shares in the Fund will decrease.
Credit Risk-The Fund could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a fixed-income or other debt instrument or a counterparty to a derivatives transaction or other transaction is unable or unwilling, or perceived to be unable or unwilling, to pay interest or repay principal on time, defaults or otherwise fails to meet its obligations. Actual or perceived changes in economic, social, public health, financial or political conditions in general or that affect a particular type of instrument, issuer, guarantor or counterparty can reduce the ability of the party to meet its obligations, which can affect the credit quality, liquidity and/or value of an instrument. The value of an instrument also may decline for reasons that relate directly to the issuer, guarantor or counterparty, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for goods and services. The issuer, guarantor or counterparty could also suffer a rapid decline in credit rating, which would adversely affect the volatility of the value and liquidity of the instrument. Credit ratings may not be an accurate assessment of liquidity or credit risk.
Currency Risk-Direct and indirect exposure to foreign currencies subjects the Fund to the risk that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar or, in the case of short positions, that the U.S. dollar will decline in value relative to the currency being hedged. Currency exchange rates in foreign countries may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates, the imposition of currency controls, or other political, economic and social developments in the U.S. or abroad. In particular, the Fund may have direct and indirect exposure to foreign currencies and also may incur transaction costs in connection with conversions between those currencies. The Fund may attempt to, but is not obligated to, hedge its currency exposure. However, currency hedging strategies may not effectively eliminate all currency risk.
Derivatives Risk-Derivatives may pose risks in addition to and greater than those associated with investing directly in securities, currencies or other investments, including risks relating to leverage, imperfect correlations with underlying investments or the Fund's other portfolio holdings, high price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty credit, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. Their use is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The Fund's use of derivatives to obtain short exposure, if any, may result in greater volatility of the Fund's net asset value ('NAV') per share. If the Advisor is incorrect about its expectations of market conditions, the use of derivatives could also result in a loss, which in some cases may be unlimited. In addition, the Fund's use of derivatives may cause the Fund to realize higher amounts of short-term capital gains (generally taxed at ordinary income tax rates) than if the Fund had not used such instruments. Some of the derivatives in which the Fund invests may be traded (and privately negotiated) in the OTC market. OTC derivatives are subject to heightened counterparty credit, liquidity and valuation risks. Certain risks also are specific to the derivatives in which the Fund invests.
Futures Contracts Risk-Futures contracts are exchange-traded contracts that call for the future delivery of an asset at a certain price and date, or cash settlement of the terms of the contract. Risks of futures contracts may be caused by an imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the instruments and the price of the underlying assets. In addition, there is a risk that the Fund may not be able to enter into a closing transaction because of an illiquid market. Exchanges can limit the number of positions that can be held or controlled by the Fund or the Advisor, thus limiting the ability to implement the Fund's strategies. Futures markets are highly volatile and the use of futures may increase the volatility of the Fund's NAV. Futures are also subject to leverage and liquidity risks.
Options Risk-Options and options on futures contracts give the holder of the option the right, but not the obligation, to buy (or to sell) a position in a security or in a contract to the writer of the option, at a certain price. Options are subject to correlation risk because there may be an imperfect correlation between the options and the markets for underlying instruments that could cause a given transaction to fail to achieve its objectives. The successful use of options depends on the Advisor's ability to predict correctly future price fluctuations and the
5 | SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
degree of correlation between the markets for options and the underlying instruments. Exchanges can limit the number of positions that can be held or controlled by the Fund or the Advisor, thus limiting the ability to implement the Fund's strategies. Options are also particularly subject to leverage risk and can be subject to liquidity risk.
Swap Agreements Risk-Swap agreements are contracts among the Fund and a counterparty to exchange the return of the pre-determined underlying investment (such as the rate of return of the underlying index). Swap agreements may be negotiated bilaterally and traded OTC between two parties or, for certain standardized swaps, must be exchange-traded through a futures commission merchant and/or cleared through a clearinghouse that serves as a central counterparty. Risks associated with the use of swap agreements are different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions, due in part to the fact they could be considered illiquid and many swaps trade on the OTC market. Swaps are particularly subject to counterparty credit, correlation, valuation, liquidity and leveraging risks. While exchange trading and central clearing are intended to reduce counterparty credit risk and increase liquidity, they do not make swap transactions risk-free. Additionally, applicable regulators have adopted rules imposing certain margin requirements, including minimums, on OTC swaps, which may result in the Fund and its counterparties posting higher margin amounts for OTC swaps, which could increase the cost of swap transactions to the Fund and impose added operational complexity.
Early Closing Risk-The Fund is subject to the risk that unanticipated early closings of securities exchanges and other financial markets may result in the Fund's inability to buy or sell securities or other financial instruments on that day and may cause the Fund to incur substantial trading losses.
Financials Sector Risk-The Fund's investments are exposed to issuers conducting business in the Financials Sector. The Financials Sector includes companies involved in banking, thrifts and mortgage finance, specialized finance, consumer finance, asset management and custody banks, investment banking and brokerage and insurance. It also includes the Financial Exchanges & Data and Mortgage Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) sub-industries. Certain Financials Sector companies serve as counterparties with which the Fund may enter into derivatives agreements or other similar contractual arrangements. The Fund's exposure to such companies subjects the Fund to the risk that their securities will underperform the market as a whole due to legislative or regulatory changes, adverse market conditions and/or increased competition affecting the Financials Sector, which may adversely affect a company's ability to fulfill its obligations as a financial counterparty. Companies operating in the Financials Sector are subject to extensive government regulation, which may limit the financial commitments they can make and the interest rates and fees they can charge. Profitability is largely dependent on the availability and cost of capital funds, and can fluctuate significantly when interest rates change or due to increased competition.
High Yield and Unrated Securities Risk-High yield, below investment grade and unrated high risk debt securities (which also may be known as 'junk bonds') may present additional risks because these securities may be less liquid, and therefore more difficult to value accurately and sell at an advantageous price or time, and present more credit risk than investment grade bonds. The price of high yield securities tends to be subject to greater volatility due to issuer-specific factors, such as operating results and outlook and to real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions. This exposure may be obtained through investments in other investment companies. Based on its investment strategies, a significant portion of the Fund's investments (directly or indirectly) can be comprised of high yield and unrated securities and thus particularly prone to the foregoing risks, which may result in losses to the Fund.
Interest Rate Risk-Fixed-income and other debt instruments are subject to the possibility that interest rates could change. Changes in interest rates may adversely affect the Fund's investments in these instruments, such as the value or liquidity of, and income generated by, the investments. Interest rates may change as a result of a variety of factors, and the change may be sudden and significant, with unpredictable impacts on the financial markets and the Fund's investments. Fixed-income and other debt instruments with longer durations are more sensitive to changes in interest rates and, thus, subject to more volatility than similar instruments with shorter durations. Generally, when interest rates increase, the values of fixed-income and other debt instruments decline and when interest rates decrease, the values of fixed-income and other debt instruments rise. During periods of rising interest rates, because changes in interest rates on adjustable rate securities may lag behind changes in market rates, the value of such securities may decline until their interest rates reset to market rates. During periods of declining interest rates, because the interest rates on adjustable rate securities generally reset downward, their market value is unlikely to
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS | 6
rise to the same extent as the value of comparable fixed rate securities. During periods when interest rates are low or negative, the Fund's yield and performance may be adversely affected. The risks associated with rising interest rates are heightened given the current low interest rate environment.
Investment in Investment Vehicles Risk-Investing in other investment vehicles, including exchange-traded funds ('ETFs'), closed-end funds, affiliated short-term fixed income funds and other mutual funds, subjects the Fund to those risks affecting the investment vehicle, including the possibility that the value of the underlying securities held by the investment vehicle could decrease or the portfolio becomes illiquid. Moreover, the Fund and its shareholders will incur its pro rata share of the underlying vehicles' expenses, which will reduce the Fund's performance. In addition, investments in an ETF are subject to, among other risks, the risk that the ETF's shares may trade at a discount or premium relative to the NAV of the shares and the listing exchange may halt trading of the ETF's shares.
Investment in Loans Risk-The Fund may invest in loans directly or indirectly through assignments or participations. Investments in loans, including loan syndicates and other direct lending opportunities, involve special types of risks, including credit risk, interest rate risk, counterparty risk, prepayment risk and extension risk. Loans may offer a fixed or floating interest rate. Loans are often below investment grade and may be unrated. The Fund's investments in loans can also be difficult to value accurately and may be more susceptible to liquidity risk than fixed-income instruments of similar credit quality and/or maturity. The Fund is also subject to the risk that the value of any collateral for the loan may be insufficient or unavailable to cover the borrower's obligations should the borrower fail to make payments, become insolvent, or otherwise default. Transactions in loans are often subject to long settlement periods and often require consent from borrowers and/or an agent acting for the lenders, thus potentially limiting the ability of the Fund to invest sale proceeds in other investments and to use proceeds to meet its current redemption obligations. The Fund thus is subject to the risk of selling other investments at disadvantageous times or prices or taking other actions necessary to raise cash to meet its redemption obligations. Participations in loans may subject the Fund to the credit risk of both the borrower and the seller of the participation and may make enforcement of loan covenants, if any, more difficult for the Fund as legal action may have to go through the seller of the participation (or an agent acting on its behalf). Covenants contained in loan documentation are intended to protect lenders and investors by imposing certain restrictions and other limitations on a borrower's operations or assets and by providing certain information and consent rights to lenders. In addition to operational covenants, loans and other debt obligations often contain financial covenants which require a borrower to satisfy certain financial tests at periodic intervals or to maintain compliance with certain financial metrics. The Fund is exposed to, including through investment in underlying funds, loans and other similar debt obligations that are sometimes referred to as 'covenant-lite' loans or obligations, which generally are loans or other similar debt obligations that lack financial maintenance covenants or possess fewer or contingent financial maintenance covenants and other financial protections for lenders and investors. These 'covenant-lite' loans or obligations typically are particularly subject to the risks associated with investments in loans as described above.
Leveraging Risk-The Fund achieves leveraged exposure to the underlying index through the use of derivative instruments. The more the Fund invests in leveraged instruments, the more this leverage will magnify any losses on those investments. The Fund's investment in these instruments generally requires a small investment relative to the amount of investment exposure assumed. As a result, such investments may give rise to losses that exceed the amount invested in those instruments. Since the Fund's investment strategy involves consistently applied leverage, the value of the Fund's shares will tend to increase or decrease more than the value of any increase or decrease in the underlying index. Leverage also will have the effect of magnifying tracking error.
Liquidity and Valuation Risk-It may be difficult for the Fund to purchase and sell particular investments within a reasonable time at a fair price, or the price at which it has been valued by the Advisor for purposes of the Fund's NAV, causing the Fund to be less liquid and unable to realize what the Advisor believes should be the price of the investment. Valuation of portfolio investments may be difficult, such as during periods of market turmoil or reduced liquidity, and for investments that may, for example, trade infrequently or irregularly. In these and other circumstances, an investment may be valued using fair value methodologies, which are inherently subjective, reflect good faith judgments based on available information and may not accurately estimate the price at which the Fund could sell the investment at that time. These risks are heightened for fixed-income and other debt instruments because of the current low interest rate environment.
Market Risk-The value of, or income generated by, the investments held by the Fund may fluctuate rapidly and unpredictably and the Fund may incur losses as a result of factors affecting individual companies or issuers or particular industries. In addition, developments related to economic, political, social, public health, market or other conditions may cause volatility in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or debt markets, which
7 | SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
could adversely impact the Fund and its investments. Under such conditions, the Fund may experience significant redemption activity by shareholders and could be forced to sell portfolio securities or other assets at unfavorable prices in an effort to generate sufficient cash to pay redeeming shareholders. The Fund's investments may perform poorly or underperform the general securities markets or other types of securities. Governmental authorities and regulators have enacted and continue to enact significant fiscal and monetary policy changes designed to support financial markets, which present heightened risks to markets and Fund investments and are resulting in low interest rates and in some cases, negative yields, and such risks could be even further heightened if these actions are discontinued, disrupted, reversed or are ineffective in achieving their desired outcomes. It is unknown how long current circumstances will persist, whether they will reoccur in the future and whether efforts to support the economy and financial markets will be successful.
Non-Diversification Risk-The Fund is considered non-diversified and can invest a greater portion of its assets in securities of individual issuers than a diversified fund. As a result, changes in the market value of a single issuer's securities could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.
OTC Trading Risk-Certain of the derivatives in which the Fund may invest may be traded (and privately negotiated) in the OTC market. While the OTC derivatives market is the primary trading venue for many derivatives, it is largely unregulated and provides for less transparency than a national securities or commodities exchange. As a result and similar to other privately negotiated contracts, the Fund is subject to counterparty credit risk with respect to such derivatives contracts.
Passive Investment Risk-The Fund is not actively managed and the Advisor does not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. Therefore, the Fund may be subject to greater losses in a declining market than a fund that is actively managed.
Portfolio Turnover Risk-Periodic rebalancing of the Fund's holdings pursuant to its daily investment objective may lead to a greater number of portfolio transactions in the Fund than experienced by other mutual funds. Such frequent and active trading may lead to significantly higher transaction costs because of increased broker commissions associated with such transactions.
Prepayment and Extension Risk-Prepayment risk is the risk that the principal on mortgage-backed securities, other asset-backed securities or any debt security with an embedded call option may be prepaid at any time, which could reduce the security's yield and market value. In the case of prepayment risk, if the investment is converted, prepaid or redeemed before maturity, the portfolio manager may not be able to invest the proceeds in other investments providing as high a level of income, resulting in a reduced yield to the Fund. The rate of prepayments tends to increase as interest rates fall, which could cause the average maturity of the portfolio to shorten. Conversely, extension risk is the risk that an unexpected rise in interest rates will extend the life of a mortgage- or asset-backed security beyond the prepayment time. If the Fund's investments are locked in at a lower interest rate for a longer period of time, the portfolio manager may be unable to capitalize on securities with higher interest rates or wider spreads.
Regulatory and Legal Risk-U.S. and non-U.S. governmental agencies and other regulators regularly implement additional regulations and legislators pass new laws that affect the investments held by the Fund, the strategies used by the Fund or the level of regulation or taxation applying to the Fund (such as regulations related to investments in derivatives and other transactions). These regulations and laws impact the investment strategies, performance, costs and operations of the Fund or taxation of shareholders.
Repurchase Agreement Risk-The Fund's investment in repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk with respect to the collateral securing the repurchase agreements. Investments in repurchase agreements also may be subject to the risk that the market value of the underlying obligations may decline prior to the expiration of the repurchase agreement term.
Shareholder Trading Risk-The Fund may be used as a tool for certain investors that employ trading strategies involving frequent trading. Such trading strategies may lead to increased portfolio turnover in the Fund, higher transaction costs, and the possibility of increased short-term capital gains (which will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them) and/or long-term capital gains. Large movements of assets into and out of the Fund due to active or frequent trading also may adversely affect the Fund's ability to achieve its investment objective.
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Temporary Defensive Investment Risk-The Advisor generally does not attempt to take defensive positions in the Fund in declining markets. Therefore, the Fund may be subject to greater losses in a declining market than a fund that does take defensive positions in declining markets.
Tracking Error Risk-The Advisor may not be able to cause the Fund's performance to match that of the Fund's benchmark, either on a daily or aggregate basis. Factors such as Fund expenses, imperfect correlation between the Fund's investments and those of the underlying index, rounding of share prices, changes to the composition of the underlying index, regulatory policies, high portfolio turnover rate, and the use of leverage all contribute to tracking error. Tracking error may cause the Fund's performance to be less than you expect.
Trading Halt Risk-The Fund typically will hold futures contracts and short-term options. The major exchanges on which these contracts are traded, such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, have established limits on how much the trading price of a futures contract or option may decline over various time periods within a day, and may halt trading in a contract that exceeds such limits. If a trading halt occurs, the Fund may temporarily be unable to purchase or sell certain securities, futures contracts or options. Such a trading halt near the time the Fund prices its shares may limit the Fund's ability to use leverage and fully invest its assets, which could increase tracking error and adversely affect performance, and may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective.
U.S. Government Securities Risk-U.S. government securities may or may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. U.S. government securities are subject to the risks associated with fixed-income and debt securities, particularly interest rate risk and credit risk.
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
The following bar chart shows the performance of the Class H shares of the Fund from year to year. The variability of performance over time provides an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The following table shows the performance of the Class H shares of the Fund as an average over different periods of time in comparison to the performance of a broad-based market index. The figures in the bar chart and table assume the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions. Of course, this past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future.
Updated performance information is available on the Fund's website at www.guggenheiminvestments.com or by calling 800.820.0888.
The performance information shown below for Class H shares is based on a calendar year.
Period Ending
Return
Year-to-Date
June 30, 2021
4.70%
Highest Quarter
March 31, 2015
17.08%
Lowest Quarter
June 30, 2017
-9.17%
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AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS(for periods ended December 31, 2020)
The after-tax returns presented in the table below are calculated using highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from those shown below. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold shares of the Fund through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Past
Past
Past
Class H
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Return Before Taxes
-13.68%
-2.52%
0.77%
Return After Taxes on Distributions
-13.89%
-2.64%
0.61%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund
Shares
-8.09%
-1.94%
0.58%
U.S. Dollar Index® (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes)
-6.69%
-1.83%
1.30%
INVESTMENT ADVISOR
Security Investors, LLC, which operates under the name Guggenheim Investments, serves as the investment adviser of the Fund.
PORTFOLIO MANAGERS
Michael P. Byrum, CFA, Senior Vice President. Mr. Byrum has been associated with the Advisor since 1993.
Ryan A. Harder, CFA, Portfolio Manager. Mr. Harder has been associated with the Advisor since 2004.
PURCHASE AND SALE OF FUND SHARES
The minimum initial investment amounts and minimum account balance requirements for Class H accounts held through a third party (e.g., a brokerage account) are typically:
$1,000 for retirement accounts
$2,500 for all other accounts
Accounts opened through a financial intermediary (non-direct) will be subject to your financial intermediary's minimum initial investment amount and account balance requirements, which may be different than the amounts above.
Class H accounts held directly at Guggenheim Investments (other than those that are managed by financial professionals) are subject to a minimum initial investment and account balance of $5,000 (including retirement accounts).
Direct accounts managed by financial professionals are not subject to minimum initial investment and minimum account balance requirements.
There are no minimum amounts for subsequent investments in the Fund except for subsequent investments made via Automated Clearing House ('ACH').
The Fund reserves the right to modify its minimum account balance requirements at any time, with or without prior notice to you.
The Fund redeems its shares continuously and investors may sell their shares back to the Fund on any day that the New York Stock Exchange (the 'NYSE') is open for business (a 'Business Day'). You will ordinarily submit your transaction order through your financial intermediary or other securities dealers through which you opened your shareholder account or through Guggenheim Investments directly. The Fund also offers you the option to send redemption orders to Guggenheim Investments by mail, fax or telephone.
TAX INFORMATION
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income or capital gains (or a combination of both), unless your investment is in an IRA or other tax-advantaged retirement account. Investments through a tax-advantaged retirement account may be subject to taxation upon withdrawal.
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PAYMENTS TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your sales person to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your sales person or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
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