A government, municipal or corporate bond that pays a fixed rate of interest until the bond matures; or a preferred stock that pays a fixed dividend. Bond investors should carefully consider risks such as interest rate, credit, repurchase and reverse purchase transaction risks. Greater risk, such as increased volatility, limited liquidity, prepayment, non-payment and increased default risk, is inherent in portfolios that invest in high yield (“junk”) bonds or mortgage backed securities, especially mortgage backed securities with exposure to sub-prime mortgages.
A Fund may invest in derivatives, including futures, options, forwards and swaps. Investments in derivatives may cause the Fund’s losses to be greater than if it invests only in conventional securities and can cause the Fund to be more volatile. Derivatives involve risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with other investments. 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.