STATEMENT OF
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
July 1, 2024

BRINKER CAPITAL
DESTINATIONS TRUST

Destinations Large Cap Equity Fund
Class I Shares (DLCFX)
Class Z Shares (DLCZX)

Destinations Small-Mid Cap Equity Fund
Class I Shares (DSMFX)
Class Z Shares (DSMZX)

Destinations International Equity Fund
Class I Shares (DIEFX)
Class Z Shares (DIEZX)

Destinations Equity Income Fund
Class I Shares (DGEFX)
Class Z Shares (DGEZX)

Destinations Core Fixed Income Fund
Class I Shares (DCFFX)
Class Z Shares (DCFZX)

Destinations Low Duration Fixed Income Fund
Class I Shares (DLDFX)
Class Z Shares (DLDZX)

Destinations Global Fixed Income Opportunities Fund
Class I Shares (DGFFX)
Class Z Shares (DGFZX)

Destinations Municipal Fixed Income Fund
Class I Shares (DMFFX)
Class Z Shares (DMFZX)

Destinations Multi Strategy Alternatives Fund
Class I Shares (DMSFX)
Class Z Shares (DMSZX)

Destinations Shelter Fund
Class I Shares (DSHFX)
Class Z Shares (DSHZX)

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus. The SAI supplements the information contained in the current prospectus (“Prospectus”) of Brinker Capital Destinations Trust (the “Trust”), dated July 1, 2024, and should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus. The most recent Annual Report for the Funds, which includes the Funds’ audited financial statements dated February 29, 2024, is incorporated by reference into this SAI. Shareholders may obtain copies of the Prospectus or Funds’ annual or semi-annual report upon request and free of charge by writing or calling the Funds at P.O. Box 2175, Milwaukee, WI 53201 or 1-877-771-7979 or on the Internet at: www.destinationsfunds.com. You will be notified by mail each time the Funds’ annual or semi-annual report is posted on the Funds’ website and provided with a link to access the report online.

CONTENTS

Capitalized terms used but not defined in this SAI have the meanings accorded to them in the Prospectus.

THE TRUST

Brinker Capital Destinations Trust (the “Trust”) was organized as a Delaware statutory trust under the laws of The State of Delaware on October 10, 2016. The Trust is a series company that currently consists of ten funds (individually, a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”). Each Fund is a separate series of the Trust, an open-end registered management investment company. Each Fund currently offers two classes of shares designated as Class I shares and Class Z shares.

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, MANAGEMENT POLICIES
AND RISK FACTORS

Each Fund is diversified, which means that, with respect to 75% of its total assets, the Fund will not invest more than 5% of its assets in the securities of any single issuer, nor hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any single issuer (other than, in each case, securities of other investment companies, and securities issued or guaranteed by the U. S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities). The Prospectus discusses the investment objectives of the Funds, which are separate series of the Trust, and the policies to be employed to achieve those objectives. Supplemental information is set out below concerning the types of securities and other instruments in which the Funds may invest, the investment policies and strategies that the Funds may utilize and certain risks attendant to those investments, policies and strategies. The Funds may rely upon the independent advice of its respective Sub-advisers (each a “Sub-adviser,” collectively, the “Sub-advisers”) to evaluate potential investments.

Asset-Backed Securities (“ABS”)

ABS are securities backed by non-mortgage assets such as company receivables, truck and auto loans, leases and credit card receivables. Other types of ABS may be created in the future. ABS are generally issued as pass-through certificates, which represent undivided fractional ownership interests in the underlying pools of assets. ABS may also be debt instruments, which are also known as collateralized obligations and are generally issued as the debt of a special purpose entity, such as a trust, organized solely for the purpose of owning such assets and issuing debt obligations.

ABS may be traded over-the-counter and typically have a short-intermediate maturity structure depending on the paydown characteristics of the underlying financial assets which are passed through to the security holder. ABS are not issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities; however, the payment of principal and interest on such obligations may be guaranteed up to certain amounts and, for a certain period, by a letter of credit issued by a financial institution (such as a bank or insurance company) unaffiliated with the issuers of such securities. The purchase of ABS raises risk considerations peculiar to the financing of the instruments underlying such securities.

For example, there is a risk that another party could acquire an interest in the obligations superior to that of the holders of the ABS. There also is the possibility that recoveries on repossessed collateral may not, in some cases, be available to support payments on those securities.

ABS may enhance the Funds’ performance; however, investing in ABS involves certain risks beyond those found in other types of mutual fund investments. For the avoidance of doubt, the Funds may invest in excess of these credit and holding limitations.

Collateralized Debt Obligations.   The Funds invest in collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”), which include collateralized bond obligations (“CBOs”), collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”) and other similarly structured securities. CBOs and CLOs are types of ABS. A CBO is a trust which is backed by a diversified pool of high risk, below investment grade fixed income securities. A CLO is a trust typically collateralized by a pool of loans, which may include, among others, domestic and foreign senior secured loans, senior unsecured loans, and subordinate corporate loans, including loans that may be rated below investment grade or equivalent unrated loans.

For both CBOs and CLOs, the cash flows from the trust are split into two or more portions, called tranches, varying in risk and yield. The riskiest portion is the “equity” tranche that bears the bulk of defaults from the bonds or loans in the trust and serves to protect the other, more senior tranches from default in all but the most severe circumstances. Since they are partially protected from defaults, senior tranches from a CBO trust or CLO trust or trust of another CDO typically have higher ratings and lower yields than its underlying securities and can be rated investment grade. Despite the protection from the equity tranche, CBO, CLO or other CDO tranches can experience substantial losses due to actual defaults, increased sensitivity to defaults due to collateral default and disappearance of protecting tranches, market anticipation of defaults, as well as aversion to CBO, CLO or other CDO securities as a class.

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The risks of an investment in a CBO, CLO or other CDO depend largely on the type of the collateral securities and the class of the instrument in which a Fund invests. Normally, CBOs, CLOs and other CDOs are privately offered and sold, and thus, are not registered under the securities laws. As a result, investments in CBOs, CLOs or other CDOs may be characterized by the Funds as illiquid securities; however, an active dealer market may exist for CBOs, CLOs or other CDOs allowing them to qualify for Rule 144A transactions. In addition to the normal risks associated with fixed income securities discussed elsewhere in this SAI and the Prospectus (e.g., interest rate risk and default risk), CBOs, CLOs or other CDOs carry additional risks including, but not limited to: (i) the possibility that distributions from collateral securities will not be adequate to make interest or other payments; (ii) the quality of the collateral may decline in value or default; (iii) the Funds may invest in CBOs, CLOs or other CDOs that are subordinate to other classes; and (iv) the complex structure of the security may not be fully understood at the time of investment and may produce disputes with the issuer or unexpected investment results.

Bank Capital Securities

Certain Funds may invest in bank capital securities of both non-U.S. (foreign) and U.S. issuers. Bank capital securities may be issued by banks to help fulfill their regulatory capital requirements. Bank capital securities may be of any credit quality. Bank capital securities may include, among other investments, fixed-maturity dated subordinated notes; hybrid securities with characteristics of both debt obligations and preferred stocks; perpetual callable securities with no maturity date and a cumulative interest deferral feature, which permits the issuer bank to withhold payment of interest until a later undetermined date; and convertible debt securities that can be converted at the issuer’s option to equity securities. Investments in bank capital securities are subject to the risks of other debt investments, such as default and non-payment, as well as certain other risks, such as the risk that bank regulators may force the bank to dissolve, merge, restructure its capitalization or take other actions intended to prevent its failure or ensure its orderly resolution. Bank regulators in certain jurisdictions have broad authorities they may use to prevent the failure of banking institutions or to stabilize the banking industry, all of which may adversely affect the values of investments in bank capital securities and other bank obligations, including those of other banks.

Certain Funds may invest in contingent securities structured as contingent convertible securities (also known as “CoCos”), which are typically issued by non-U.S. banks and are designed to behave like bonds in times of economic health yet absorb losses when a pre-determined trigger event occurs. A contingent convertible security is a hybrid debt security either convertible into equity at a predetermined share price or written down in value based on the specific terms of the individual security if a pre-specified trigger event occurs. Unlike traditional convertible securities, the conversion of a contingent convertible security from debt to equity is “contingent” and will occur only in the case of a trigger event. Trigger events vary by instrument and are defined by the documents governing the contingent convertible security. Such trigger events may include a decline in the issuer’s capital below a specified threshold level, increase in the issuer’s risk weighted assets, the share price of the issuer falling to a particular level for a certain period of time and certain regulatory events. Contingent convertible securities are subject to the credit, interest rate, high yield security, foreign security and market risks associated with bonds and equities, and to the risks specific to convertible securities in general. Contingent convertible securities are also subject to additional risks specific to their structure including conversion risk.

Bank Loans Risk

Commercial banks and other financial institutions or institutional investors make corporate loans to companies that need capital to grow or restructure. Borrowers generally pay interest on corporate loans at rates that change in response to changes in standardized market interest rates or the prime rates of U.S. banks. As a result, the value of corporate loan investments is generally less exposed to the adverse effects of shifts in market interest rates than investments that pay a fixed rate of interest. The market for corporate loans may be subject to irregular trading activity and wide bid/ask spreads. In addition, transactions in corporate loans may settle on a delayed basis. As a result, the proceeds from the sale of corporate loans may not be readily available to make additional investments or to meet a Fund’s redemption obligations. To the extent the extended settlement process gives rise to short-term liquidity needs, a Fund may hold additional cash, sell investments or temporarily borrow from banks and other lenders. The corporate loans in which a Fund invests are usually rated below investment grade.

Bankruptcy and Insolvency Issues

Some of the companies in which a Fund invests may be involved in complex bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings in the United States or elsewhere. There are a number of significant risks inherent in the bankruptcy or insolvency process. A Fund cannot guarantee the outcome of any bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding.

Under U.S. bankruptcy or other insolvency proceedings, a Fund may risk taking a loss on its investment and having its claim released or discharged against the debtor and third parties. For example, under a plan of reorganization, a Fund could receive

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a cash distribution for less than its initial investment or receive securities or other financial instruments in exchange for its claims, which then could be discharged and released against the debtor or other third parties. In addition, through U.S. bankruptcy proceedings, a debtor can effectuate a sale of assets with a purchaser acquiring such assets free and clear of any claims or liens underlying a Fund’s investment, with the Fund having only potential recourse to the proceeds of the sale.

Under certain circumstances, payments or grants of security to a Fund may be reclaimed, recharacterized or avoided if any such payment or grant is later determined by the applicable court to have been a fraudulent conveyance, fraudulent transfer, preferential payment or otherwise subject to avoidance under applicable law. In addition, especially in the case of investments made prior to the commencement of bankruptcy proceedings, creditors can lose their ranking and priority if they exercise “domination and control” of a debtor and other creditors can demonstrate that they have been harmed by such actions.

Many events in a bankruptcy are often beyond the control of the creditors. While creditors may be given an opportunity to object to or otherwise participate in significant actions, there can be no assurance that a court in the exercise of its broad powers or discretion would not approve actions that would be contrary to the interests of a Fund.

The duration of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding is difficult to predict. A creditor’s return on investment can be adversely impacted by delays while a plan of reorganization is being negotiated, approved by the creditors and confirmed by the bankruptcy court and until the plan ultimately becomes effective. Similar delays can occur while a court considers a sale or other restructuring transaction. In addition, the administrative costs in connection with a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding are frequently high and will be paid out of the debtor’s estate prior to any return to unsecured creditors or equity holders. If a proceeding involves protracted or difficult litigation, or turns into a liquidation, substantial assets may be devoted to administrative costs. Also, in the early stages of the bankruptcy process, it is often difficult to estimate the extent of, or even to identify, any contingent claims that might be made. Further, certain claims that have priority by law (for example, claims for taxes) may be quite substantial.

The effect of a bankruptcy filing on or by a portfolio company may adversely and permanently affect the portfolio company. The portfolio company may lose its market position, going concern value and key employees and otherwise become incapable of restoring itself as a viable entity. If the proceeding is converted to a liquidation, the liquidation value of the portfolio company may not equal the liquidation value that was believed to exist at the time of the investment.

Borrowing

The Funds may borrow to the extent permitted under its investment restrictions and such borrowing may create leverage. Leverage increases investment risk as well as investment opportunity. If the income and investment gains on securities purchased with borrowed money exceed the interest paid on the borrowing, the NAV of the Funds’ shares will rise faster than would otherwise be the case. On the other hand, if the income and investment gains fail to cover the cost, including interest, of the borrowings, or if there are losses, the NAV of the Funds’ shares will decrease faster than otherwise would be the case. The Funds may borrow money to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act. This means that, in general, the Funds may borrow money from banks for (i) any purpose on a secured basis in an amount up to 1/3 of the Funds’ total assets, or (ii) temporary administrative purposes on an unsecured basis in an amount not to exceed 5% of the Funds’ total assets.

Commercial Paper

Commercial paper consists of short-term, promissory notes issued by banks, corporations and other entities to finance short-term credit needs. These securities generally are discounted but sometimes may be interest bearing. Commercial paper, which also may be unsecured, is subject to credit risk.

Current Market Conditions Risk

Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the Funds in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions. As a means to fight inflation, which remains at elevated levels, the Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks have raised interest rates and expect to continue to do so, and the Federal Reserve has announced that it intends to reverse previously implemented quantitative easing. U.S. regulators have proposed several changes to market and issuer regulations that could directly impact the Funds, and any regulatory changes could adversely impact the Funds’ ability to achieve its investment strategies or make certain investments. Recent and potential future bank failures could result in disruption to the broader banking industry or markets generally and reduce confidence in financial institutions and the economy as a whole, which may also heighten market volatility and reduce liquidity. The ongoing adversarial political climate in the United States, as well as political and diplomatic events both domestic and abroad, have and may continue to have an adverse impact on the U.S. regulatory landscape, markets and investor behavior, which could have a negative impact on the

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Fund’s investments and operations. Other unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy. For example, ongoing armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and among Israel, Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East, have caused and could continue to cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes and other matters. If geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Funds’ assets may go down. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against emerging future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Advancements in technology may also adversely impact markets and the overall performance of the Funds. For instance, the economy may be significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased regulation of artificial intelligence. These events, and any other future events, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Funds’ portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.

Currency Transactions

Currency Exchange Rates.   A Fund’s share value may change significantly when the currencies, other than the U.S. dollar, in which that Fund’s investments are quoted or denominated, strengthen or weaken against the U.S. dollar. Currency exchange rates generally are determined by the forces of supply and demand in the foreign exchange markets and the relative merits of investments in different countries as seen from an international perspective. Currency exchange rates can also be affected unpredictably by intervention by U.S. or foreign governments or central banks or by currency controls or political developments in the U.S. or abroad.

Currency Risks.   The value of the securities quoted or denominated in international currencies may be adversely affected by fluctuations in the relative currency exchange rates and by exchange control regulations. A Fund’s investment performance may be negatively affected by a devaluation of a currency in which the Fund’s investments are quoted or denominated. Further, a Fund’s investment performance may be significantly affected, either positively or negatively, by currency exchange rates because the U.S. dollar value of securities quoted or denominated in another currency will increase or decrease in response to changes in the value of such currency in relation to the U.S. dollar.

Cyber Security

As with any entity that conducts business through electronic means in the modern marketplace, the Funds, and their service providers, may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from cyber-attacks. Cyber-attacks include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized monitoring, release, misuse, loss, destruction or corruption of confidential information, unauthorized access to relevant systems, compromises to networks or devices that the Funds and their service providers use to service the Funds’ operations, operational disruption or failures in the physical infrastructure or operating systems that support the Funds and their service providers, or various other forms of cyber security breaches. Cyber-attacks affecting the Funds, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC d.b.a. Brinker Capital Investments, the Funds’ investment adviser (the “Adviser”) or any of the Sub-advisers, the Funds’ distributor, custodian, transfer agent, or any other of the Funds’ intermediaries or service providers may adversely impact the Funds and their shareholders, potentially resulting in, among other things, financial losses or the inability of Fund shareholders to transact business. For instance, cyber-attacks may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the Funds’ ability to calculate their NAVs, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential business information, impede trading, subject the Funds to regulatory fines or financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. The Funds may also incur additional costs for cyber security risk management purposes designed to mitigate or prevent the risk of cyber- attacks. Such costs may be ongoing because threats of cyber-attacks are constantly evolving as cyber-attackers become more sophisticated and their techniques become more complex. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which a Fund may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Funds’ investment in such companies to lose value. There can be no assurance that the Funds, the Funds’ service providers, or the issuers of the securities in which the Funds invest will not suffer losses relating to cyber-attacks or other information security breaches in the future.

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Debt Securities

Debt securities may be subject to credit risk, interest rate risk, prepayment and extension risk as well as call risk. Credit risk is the failure of an issuer or borrower to make timely interest or principal payments, or a decline or perception of a decline in the credit quality of a bond or creditworthiness of a borrower, which can cause the security’s price to fall, potentially lowering the applicable Fund’s share price. Credit spread risk is the risk that economic and market conditions or any actual or perceived credit deterioration may lead to an increase in the credit spreads (i.e., the difference in yield between two securities of similar maturity but different credit quality) and a decline in price of the issuer’s securities. Prices of bonds and senior loans tend to move inversely with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in rates will adversely affect bond and senior loans prices and, accordingly, a Fund’s share price. The longer a debt security’s effective maturity and duration, the more its price is likely to react to interest rates. Interest rate changes normally have different effects on variable or floating rate securities than they do on securities with fixed interest rates. When interest rates fall, debt securities may be repaid more quickly than expected and an investing Fund may be required to reinvest the proceeds at a lower interest rate. This is referred to as “prepayment risk.” When interest rates rise, debt securities may be repaid more slowly than expected and the value of the Fund’s holdings may fall sharply. This is referred to as “extension risk.” If an issuer “calls” its bond before its maturity date during a time of declining interest rates, the Fund might have to reinvest the proceeds in an investment offering a lower yield. A Fund may face a heightened level of interest rate risk during periods when the Federal Reserve raises interest rates.

Senior Loans

Senior loans are business loans made to borrowers that may be corporations, partnerships or other entities. These borrowers operate in a variety of industries and across geographic regions. Investing in senior loans involves investment risk and some borrowers default on their senior loan repayments. The risks associated with senior loans are similar to the risks of junk bonds, although senior loans typically are senior and secured, whereas junk bonds often are subordinated and unsecured. Investments in senior loans typically are below investment grade and are considered speculative because of the credit risks of their borrowers. Such borrowers are more likely to default on their payments of interest and principal owed, and such defaults could reduce a Fund’s net asset value and income distributions. An economic downturn generally leads to a higher non- payment rate, and a senior loan may lose significant value before a default occurs. No active trading market may exist for certain senior loans, which may impair the ability of an investing Fund to realize full value in the event of the need to sell a senior loan and which may make it difficult to value senior loans. Adverse market conditions may impair the liquidity of some actively traded senior loans. To the extent that a secondary market does exist for certain senior loans, the market may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid/ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods.

Senior loans are subject to the risk that when sold, such sale may not settle in a timely manner, resulting in a settlement date that may be much later than the trade date. Delayed settlement interferes with a Fund’s ability to realize the proceeds of senior loan sales in a timely way. There is no assurance that the liquidation of the collateral would satisfy the claims of the borrower’s obligations in the event of the non-payment of scheduled interest or principal, or that the collateral could be readily liquidated. Senior loans may not be deemed to be securities and, in such case, may not be afforded the anti-fraud protections of the Federal securities laws in the event of fraud or misrepresentation by a borrower.

Equity Securities

The equity oriented Funds may invest in all types of equity securities, including exchange-traded and over-the-counter common and preferred stocks, warrants, rights, convertible securities, depositary receipts and shares, trust certificates, limited partnership interests, shares of other investment companies, real estate investment trusts and equity participations.

Common Stock.   Common stock is an interest in a company, limited liability company, or similar entity that entitles the holder to a share in the profits of the company, in the form of dividends, and the proceeds from a sale or liquidation of the company.

The interests of common shareholders are the most junior in a corporate structure. This means that in the event of the bankruptcy of the company its creditors and any holders of a preferred class of equity securities are paid before the common stockholders are entitled to receive anything. However, any assets of the company in excess of the amount owed to creditors or preferred stockholders are shared pro-rata among the common stockholders. Common stockholders normally have voting control of the company and are entitled to vote on the election of directors and certain fundamental corporate actions.

Convertible Securities.   Convertible securities are preferred stocks or fixed income securities that are convertible at the option of the holder, or in some circumstances at the option of the issuing company, at a stated exchange rate or formula into

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the company’s common stock or other equity securities. At the time a company sells the convertible securities, the conversion price is normally higher than the market price of the common stock.

A holder of convertible securities will generally receive interest or dividends at a rate lower than comparable debt securities, but the holder has the potential for additional gain if the market value of the common stock exceeds the conversion price. When the market price of the common stock is below the conversion price, convertible securities tend to trade like fixed income securities. If the market price of the common stock is higher than the conversion price, convertible securities tend to trade like the common stock. Convertible securities rank senior to common stocks in an issuer’s capital structure and consequently may be of higher quality and entail less risk than the issuer’s common stock. The price of a convertible security will normally vary in some proportion to changes in the price of the underlying common stock because of its conversion or exercise feature. However, the value of a convertible security may not increase or decrease as rapidly as the underlying common stock. A convertible security normally also will provide income and is subject to interest rate risk. Convertible securities may be lower-rated securities and are subject to greater levels of credit risk. A Fund may be forced to convert a security before it would otherwise choose which may have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.

Investing in Small and Medium Capitalization Companies.   Investing in the equity securities of small and medium capitalization companies involves additional risks compared to investing in large capitalization companies. Compared to large companies, these companies may have more limited product lines and capital resources; have less established markets for their products; have earnings that are more sensitive to changes in the economy, competition and technology; and be more dependent upon key members of management. The market value of the common stock of small and medium capitalization companies may be more volatile, particularly in response to company announcements or industry events, have less active trading markets and be harder to sell at the time and prices that a Sub-adviser considers appropriate.

Initial Public Offerings (“IPOs”).   Certain Funds may purchase securities of companies that are offered pursuant to an IPO. An IPO is a company’s first offering of stock to the public in the primary market, typically to raise additional capital. Like all equity securities, IPO securities are subject to market risk and liquidity risk, but those risks may be heightened for IPO securities. The market value of IPO securities may fluctuate considerably due to factors such as the absence of a prior public market for the security, unseasoned trading of the security, the small number of shares available for trading, limited information about the issuer, and aberrational trading activity and market interest surrounding the IPO. There is also the possibility of losses resulting from the difference between the issue price and potential diminished value of the security once it is traded in the secondary market. In addition, the purchase of IPO securities may involve high transaction costs. The Funds’ investment in IPO securities may have a significant positive or negative impact on the Funds’ performance and may result in significant capital gains.

Non-Publicly Traded Securities.   The Funds may invest in non-publicly traded securities, which may be less liquid than publicly traded securities. Although these securities may be resold in privately negotiated transactions, the prices realized from these sales could be less than those originally paid by a Fund. In addition, companies whose securities are not publicly traded are not subject to the disclosure and other investor protection requirements that may be applicable if their securities were publicly traded.

Preferred Stocks.   Preferred stocks are equity securities, but they have many characteristics of fixed income securities. Their similarities to fixed income securities generally cause preferred stocks to trade more like debt instruments than common stocks. Thus, the value of preferred stocks reflects the credit risk of the company and the dividend yield on the preferred stocks compared to prevailing interest rates. Preferred stocks are entitled to receive dividends before any dividend is paid to the holders of common stock. The dividend may be at a fixed or variable dividend payment rate, may be payable on fixed dates or at times determined by the company and may be payable in cash, additional shares of preferred stock or other securities. Many preferred stocks are redeemable at the option of the company after a certain date. Holders of preferred stock are also entitled to receive a payment upon the sale or liquidation of a company before any payment is made to the company’s common stockholders. However, preferred stock is an equity security and, therefore, is junior in priority of payment to the company’s creditors in the event of a bankruptcy, including holders of the company’s debt securities. This junior ranking to creditors makes preferred stock riskier than fixed income securities.

Warrants and Stock Purchase Rights.   Warrants and stock purchase rights are securities permitting, but not obligating, their holder to purchase other securities, normally the issuer’s common stock. Stock purchase rights are frequently issued as a dividend to a company’s stockholders and represent the right to purchase a fixed number of shares at a fixed or formula price. The price may reflect a discount to the market price. Warrants are generally sold by a company or issuer together with fixed

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income securities and represent the right to a fixed number of shares of common stock or other securities at a fixed or formula price. The exercise price is normally higher than the market price at the time the company sells the warrant.

Warrants and stock purchase rights do not carry with them the right to receive dividends on or to vote the securities that they entitle their holders to purchase. They also do not entitle the holder to share in the assets of the company during the company’s liquidation. The rights to purchase common stock or other securities conferred by a warrant or stock purchase right may only be exercised on specific dates or for a specific period. Trading in these instruments is affected both by the relationship of the exercise price to the current market price of the common stock or other securities and also by the period remaining until the right or warrant expires. An investment in warrants and stock purchase rights may be considered more speculative than other types of equity investments. A warrant or stock purchase right expires worthless if it is not exercised on or prior to its expiration date.

Fixed Income Securities

The market value of the obligations held by the Funds can be expected to vary inversely to changes in prevailing interest rates. Investors also should recognize that, in periods of declining interest rates, a Fund’s yield will tend to be somewhat higher than prevailing market rates and, in periods of rising interest rates a Fund’s yield will tend to be somewhat lower. Also, when interest rates are falling, the inflow of net new money to the Funds from the continuous sale of their shares will tend to be invested in instruments producing lower yields than the balance of their portfolios, thereby reducing a Fund’s current yield. In periods of rising interest rates, the opposite can be expected to occur. In addition, securities in which the Funds may invest may not yield as high a level of current income as might be achieved by investing in securities with less liquidity, less creditworthiness or longer maturities. Declines in dealer market-making capacity as a result of structural or regulatory changes could decrease liquidity and/or increase volatility in the fixed income markets.

Certain of the Funds may invest in U.S. government securities, its agencies or government-sponsored enterprises (Note that securities issued by U.S. Government agencies or government-sponsored enterprises may not be guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury), corporate debt securities of U.S. and Non-U.S. issuers, including convertible securities and corporate commercial paper, mortgage-backed and other ABS, inflation-indexed bonds issued by both governments and corporations, structured notes, including hybrid or “indexed” securities, loan participations and assignments, delayed funding loans and revolving credit facilities, bank certificates of deposit, fixed time deposits and bankers’ acceptances, repurchase agreements on fixed income instruments and reverse repurchase agreements on fixed income instruments, debt securities issued by states or local governments and their agencies, authorities and other government-sponsored enterprises, and obligations of international agencies or supranational entities.

Brady Bonds.   “Brady Bonds” is a term used to refer to fixed income instruments that are issued as part of a debt restructuring in which the bonds are issued in exchange for cash and certain of the country’s outstanding commercial bank loans. Investors should recognize that Brady Bonds do not have a long payment history. Brady Bonds may be collateralized or uncollateralized, are issued in various currencies (primarily the U.S. dollar) and are actively traded in the over-the-counter secondary market for debt of Latin American issuers. In light of the history of commercial bank loan defaults by Latin American public and private entities, investments in Brady Bonds may be viewed as speculative and subject to, among other things, the risk of default.

Dollar-denominated, collateralized Brady Bonds, which may be fixed rate par bonds or floating rate discount bonds, are collateralized in full as to principal by U.S. Treasury zero coupon bonds having the same maturity as the bonds. Interest payments on these Brady Bonds generally are collateralized by cash or securities in the amount that, in the case of fixed rate bonds, is equal to at least one year of rolling interest payments or, in the case of floating rate bonds, initially is equal to at least one year’s rolling interest payments based on the applicable interest rate at that time and is adjusted at regular intervals thereafter.

Brady Bonds are often viewed as having three or four valuation components: the collateralized repayment of principal at final maturity; the collateralized interest payments; the uncollateralized interest payments; and any uncollateralized repayment of principal at maturity (these uncollateralized amounts constituting the “residual risk”).

Corporate Debt Securities.   Corporate debt securities are subject to the risk of the issuer’s inability to meet principal and interest payments on the obligation and may also be subject to price volatility due to such factors as interest rate sensitivity, market perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer and general market liquidity. When interest rates rise, the value of corporate debt securities can be expected to decline. Debt securities with longer maturities tend to be more sensitive to interest rate movements than those with shorter maturities.

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A Fund’s investments in U.S. dollar or foreign currency-denominated corporate debt securities of domestic or foreign issuers are limited to corporate debt securities (corporate bonds, debentures, notes and other similar corporate debt instruments, including convertible securities) which meet the minimum ratings criteria set forth for the Funds, or, if unrated, are in the Sub-adviser’s opinion comparable in quality to corporate debt securities in which the Funds may invest.

Corporate income-producing securities may include forms of preferred or preference stock. The rate of interest on a corporate debt security may be fixed, floating or variable, and may vary inversely with respect to a reference rate. The rate of return or return of principal on some debt obligations may be linked or indexed to the level of exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and a foreign currency or currencies. Debt securities may be acquired with warrants attached.

Securities rated Baa and BBB are the lowest which are considered “investment grade” obligations. Moody’s describes securities rated Baa as “medium-grade” obligations; they are “neither highly protected nor poorly secured ... [i]nterest payments and principal security appear adequate for the present but certain protective elements may be lacking or may be characteristically unreliable over any great length of time. Such bonds lack outstanding investment characteristics and in fact have speculative characteristics as well.” S&P describes securities rated BBB as “regarded as having an adequate capacity to pay interest and repay principal ... [w]hereas it normally exhibits adequate protection parameters, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to pay interest and repay principal... than in higher rated categories.”

Debt Securities Rating Criteria.   Investment grade debt securities are those rated “BBB” or higher by the Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group (“S&P”), “Baa” or higher by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”), the equivalent rating of other nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (“NRSROs”) or determined to be of equivalent credit quality by the Sub-adviser. Debt securities rated BBB are considered medium grade obligations. Adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances may weaken the issuer’s ability to pay interest and repay principal.

Below investment grade debt securities are those rated “BB” and below by S&P, Moody’s or the equivalent rating of other NRSROs. Below investment grade debt securities or comparable unrated securities are commonly referred to as “junk bonds” and are considered predominantly speculative and may be questionable as to capacity to make principal and interest payments. Changes in economic conditions are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to make principal payments and interest payments. The amount of junk bond securities outstanding has proliferated as an increasing number of issuers have used junk bonds for corporate financing. An economic downturn could severely affect the ability of highly leveraged issuers to service their debt obligations or to repay their obligations upon maturity. Factors having an adverse impact on the market value of lower quality securities will have an adverse effect on a Fund’s NAV to the extent it invests in such securities. In addition, the Fund may incur additional expenses to the extent they are required to seek recovery upon a default in payment of principal or interest on their portfolio holdings.

The secondary market for junk bond securities, which is concentrated in relatively few market makers, may not be as liquid as the secondary market for more highly rated securities, a factor which may have an adverse effect on a Fund’s ability to dispose of a particular security when necessary to meet its liquidity needs. Under adverse market or economic conditions, the secondary market for junk bond securities could contract further, independent of any specific adverse changes in the condition of a particular issuer. As a result, a Fund could find it more difficult to sell these securities or may be able to sell the securities only at prices lower than if such securities were widely traded. Prices realized upon the sale of such lower rated or unrated securities, under these circumstances, may be less than the prices used in calculating a Fund’s NAV.

Since investors generally perceive that there are greater risks associated with lower quality debt securities of the type in which a Fund may invest a portion of its assets, the yields and prices of such securities may tend to fluctuate more than those for higher rated securities. In the lower quality segments of the debt securities market, changes in perceptions of issuers’ creditworthiness tend to occur more frequently and in a more pronounced manner than do changes in higher quality segments of the debt securities market, resulting in greater yield and price volatility.

Lower rated and comparable unrated debt securities tend to offer higher yields than higher rated securities with the same maturities because the historical financial condition of the issuers of such securities may not have been as strong as that of other issuers. However, lower rated securities generally involve greater risks of loss of income and principal than higher rated securities. The Sub-advisers will attempt to reduce these risks through portfolio diversification and by analysis of each issuer and its ability to make timely payments of income and principal, as well as broad economic trends and corporate developments.

The definitions of the ratings of debt obligations may be found in Appendix A following this SAI.

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High Yield Securities.   The Funds may invest in medium or lower rated securities and unrated securities of comparable quality, sometimes referred to as “junk bonds.” Generally, such securities offer a higher current yield than is offered by higher rated securities, but also (i) will likely have some quality and protective characteristics that, in the judgment of the rating organizations, are outweighed by large uncertainties or major risk exposures to adverse conditions and (ii) are predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal in accordance with the terms of the obligations.

The market values of certain of these securities also tend to be more sensitive to individual corporate developments and changes in economic conditions than higher quality bonds. In addition, medium and lower rated securities and comparable unrated securities generally present a higher degree of credit risk. The risk of loss because of default by these issuers is significantly greater because medium and lower rated securities generally are unsecured and frequently subordinated to the prior payment of senior indebtedness. In light of these risks, the Board has instructed the Sub- advisers, in evaluating the creditworthiness of an issue, whether rated or unrated, to take various factors into consideration, which may include, as applicable, the issuer’s financial resources, its sensitivity to economic conditions and trends, the operating history of and the community support for the facility financed by the issue, and the ability of the issuer’s management and regulatory matters.

In addition, the market value of securities in lower rated categories is more volatile than that of higher quality securities, and the markets in which medium and lower rated securities are traded are more limited than those in which higher rated securities are traded. The existence of limited markets may make it more difficult for a Fund to obtain accurate market quotations for purposes of valuing its securities and calculating its NAV. Moreover, the lack of a liquid trading market may restrict the availability of securities for the Funds to purchase and may also have the effect of limiting the ability of the Funds to sell securities at their fair value either to meet redemption requests or to respond to changes in the economy or the financial markets.

Lower rated debt obligations also present risks based on payment expectations. If an issuer calls the obligation for redemption, a Fund may have to replace the security with a lower yielding security, resulting in a decreased return for investors. Also, the principal value of bonds moves inversely with movements in interest rates; in the event of rising interest rates, the value of the securities held by the Funds may decline more than a portfolio consisting of higher rated securities. If the Funds experience unexpected net redemptions, it may be forced to sell its higher rated bonds, resulting in a decline in the overall credit quality of the securities held by the Funds and increasing the exposure of the Funds to the risks of lower rated securities. Investments in zero coupon bonds may be more speculative and subject to greater fluctuations in value because of changes in interest rates than bonds that pay interest currently.

Subsequent to its purchase by a Fund, an issue of securities may cease to be rated or its rating may be reduced below the minimum required for purchase by the Funds. Neither event will require sale of these securities by the Funds, but the Sub-adviser will consider the event in determining whether the Funds should continue to hold the security.

Loan Participations.   The Funds may invest in fixed and floating rate loans (“Loans”) arranged through private negotiations between a borrowing corporation, government or other entity (“Borrower”) and one or more financial institutions (“Lenders”) in the form of participations in Loans (“Participations”). Participations typically will result in the Funds having a contractual relationship only with the Lender, not with the Borrower. A Fund will have the right to receive payments of principal, interest and any fees to which it is entitled only from the Lender selling the Participation and only upon receipt by the Lender of the payments from the Borrower. In connection with purchasing Participations, a Fund generally will have no right to enforce compliance by the Borrower with the terms of the loan agreement relating to the Loan, nor any rights of set off against the Borrower, and the Funds may not directly benefit from any collateral supporting the Loan in which it has purchased the Participation. As a result, the Funds will assume the credit risk of both the Borrower and the Lender that is selling the Participation. In the event of the insolvency of the Lender selling a Participation, the Funds may be treated as a general creditor of the Lender and may not benefit from any set off between the Lender and the Borrower. The Funds will acquire Participations only if the Lender is interpositioned between the Funds and the Borrower is determined by the applicable Sub-adviser to be creditworthy.

There are risks involved in investing in Participations. The Funds may have difficulty disposing of them because there is no liquid market for such securities. The lack of a liquid secondary market will have an adverse impact on the value of such securities and on a Fund’s ability to dispose of particular Participations when necessary to meet the Fund’s liquidity needs or in response to a specific economic event, such as a deterioration in the creditworthiness of the Borrower. The lack of a liquid market for Participations also may make it more difficult for a Fund to assign a value to these securities for purposes of valuing its portfolio and calculating its NAV.

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Ratings as Investment Criteria.   In general, the ratings of an NRSRO such as Moody’s and S&P represent the opinions of those agencies as to the quality of debt obligations that they rate. It should be emphasized, however, that these ratings are relative and subjective, are not absolute standards of quality and do not evaluate the market risk of securities. These ratings will be used by the Funds as initial criteria for the selection of portfolio securities, but the Funds also will rely upon the independent advice of their Sub-advisers to evaluate potential investments. Among the factors that will be considered are the long-term ability of the issuer to pay principal and interest and general economic trends.

Subsequent to its purchase by a Fund, an issue of debt obligations may cease to be rated or its rating may be reduced below the minimum required for purchase by that Fund. Neither event will require the sale of the debt obligation by the Fund, but the Fund’s Sub-advisers will consider the event in their determination of whether the Fund should continue to hold the obligation. In addition, to the extent that the ratings change as a result of changes in rating organizations or their rating systems or owing to a corporate restructuring of an NRSRO, a Fund will attempt to use comparable ratings as standards for its investments in accordance with its investment objectives and policies.

Trust Preferred Securities.   The fixed income oriented Funds may invest in “trust preferred securities,” or “capital notes.” Trust preferred securities or capital notes are convertible preferred shares issued by a trust where proceeds from the sale are used to purchase convertible subordinated debt from the issuer. The convertible subordinated debt is the sole asset of the trust. The coupon from the issuer to the trust exactly mirrors the preferred dividend paid by the trust. Upon conversion by the investors, the trust in turn converts the convertible debentures and passes through the shares to the investors.

Variable and Floating Rate Securities.   The Funds may invest in variable and floating rate securities. Variable and floating rate securities provide for a periodic adjustment in the interest rate paid on the obligations. The terms of such obligations provide that interest rates are adjusted periodically based upon an interest rate adjustment index as provided in the respective obligations. The adjustment intervals may be regular, and range from daily up to annually, or may be event based, such as based on a change in the prime rate.

The Funds may invest in floating rate debt instruments (“floaters”) and engage in credit spread trades. The interest rate on a floater is a variable rate which is tied to another interest rate, such as a money-market index or Treasury bill rate. The interest rate on a floater resets periodically, typically every six months. While, because of the interest rate reset feature, floaters provide the Fund with a certain degree of protection against rises in interest rates, the Funds will participate in any declines in interest rates as well. A credit spread trade is an investment position relating to a difference in the prices or interest rates of two securities or currencies, where the value of the investment position is determined by movements in the difference between the prices or interest rates, as the case may be, of the respective securities or currencies.

The Funds may also invest in inverse floating rate debt instruments (“inverse floaters”). The interest rate on an inverse floater resets in the opposite direction from the market rate of interest to which the inverse floater is indexed. An inverse floating rate security may exhibit greater price volatility than a fixed rate obligation of similar credit quality.

Variable rate demand notes (“VRDNs”) are obligations issued by corporate or governmental entities which contain a floating or variable interest rate adjustment formula and an unconditional right of demand to receive payment of the unpaid principal balance plus accrued interest upon a short notice period not to exceed seven days. The interest rates are adjustable at intervals ranging from daily to up to every six months to some prevailing market rate for similar investments, such adjustment formula being calculated to maintain the market value of the VRDN at approximately the par value of the VRDN upon the adjustment date. The adjustments are typically based upon the prime rate of a bank or some other appropriate interest rate adjustment index.

Master demand notes are notes which provide for a periodic adjustment in the interest rate paid (usually tied to the Treasury bill auction rate) and permit daily changes in the principal amount borrowed. While there may be no active secondary market with respect to a particular VRDN purchased by a Fund, the Fund may, upon the notice specified in the note, demand payment of the principal of and accrued interest on the note at any time and may resell the note at any time to a third-party.

The absence of such an active secondary market, however, could make it difficult for the Funds to dispose of the VRDN involved in the event the issuer of the note defaulted on its payment obligations, and the Funds could, for this or other reasons, suffer a loss to the extent of the default.

Foreign Issuers

ADRs, EDRs and GDRs.   The Funds may purchase American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”), Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) or other securities representing underlying shares of foreign companies. ADRs are publicly traded on exchanges or over-the-counter in the U.S. and are issued through “sponsored” or “unsponsored”

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arrangements. In a sponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes the obligation to pay some or all of the depository’s transaction fees, whereas under an unsponsored arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes no obligation and the depository’s transaction fees are paid by the ADR holders. In addition, less information is available in the U.S. about an unsponsored ADR than about a sponsored ADR, and the financial information about a company may not be as reliable for an unsponsored ADR as it is for a sponsored ADR. A Fund may invest in ADRs through both sponsored and unsponsored arrangements.

Custody Services and Related Investment Costs.   Custody services and other costs relating to investment in international securities markets generally are more expensive than in the U.S. Such markets have settlement and clearance procedures that differ from those in the U.S. In certain markets there have been times when settlements have been unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions, making it difficult to conduct such transactions. The inability of a Fund to make intended securities purchases because of settlement problems could cause the Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities. Inability to dispose of a portfolio security caused by settlement problems could result either in losses to a Fund because of a subsequent decline in value of the portfolio security or could result in possible liability to the Fund. In addition, security settlement and clearance procedures in some emerging countries may not fully protect a Fund against loss or theft of its assets.

Economic, Political and Social Factors.   Certain non-U.S. countries, including emerging markets, may be subject to a greater degree of economic, political and social instability than is the case in the U.S. and Western European countries. Such instability may result from, among other things: (i) authoritarian governments or military involvement in political and economic decision making; (ii) popular unrest associated with demands for improved economic, political and social conditions; (iii) internal insurgencies; (iv) hostile relations with neighboring countries; and (v) ethnic, religious and racial disaffection and conflict. Such economic, political and social instability could significantly disrupt the financial markets in such countries and the ability of the issuers in such countries to repay their obligations. Investing in emerging countries also involves the risk of expropriation, nationalization, confiscation of assets and property or the imposition of restrictions on foreign investments and on repatriation of capital invested. In the event of such expropriation, nationalization or other confiscation in any emerging country, a Fund could lose its entire investment in that country.

Certain emerging market countries restrict or control foreign investment in their securities markets to varying degrees. These restrictions may limit a Fund’s investment in those markets and may increase the expenses of the Fund. In addition, the repatriation of both investment income and capital from certain markets in the region is subject to restrictions such as the need for certain governmental consents. Even where there is no outright restriction on repatriation of capital, the mechanics of repatriation may affect certain aspects of a Fund’s operation.

Economies in individual non-U.S. countries may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross domestic product, rates of inflation, currency valuation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payments positions. Many non-U.S. countries have experienced substantial, and in some cases extremely high, rates of inflation for many years. Inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had, and may continue to have, very negative effects on the economies and securities markets of certain emerging countries.

Economies in emerging countries generally are dependent heavily upon international trade and, accordingly, have been and may continue to be affected adversely by trade barriers, exchange controls, managed adjustments in relative currency values and other protectionist measures imposed or negotiated by the countries with which they trade. These economies also have been, and may continue to be, affected adversely by economic conditions in the countries with which they trade.

Eurodollar Instruments and Yankee Bonds.   The Funds may invest in Eurodollar certificates of deposit (“ECDs”), Eurodollar bonds and Yankee bonds. Eurodollar instruments are bonds of corporate and government issuers that pay interest and principal in U.S. dollars but are issued in markets outside the U.S., primarily in Europe. Yankee bonds are bonds of foreign governments and their agencies and foreign banks and corporations that pay interest in U.S. dollars and are typically issued in the U.S. ECDs are U.S. dollar-denominated certificates of deposit issued by foreign branches of domestic banks.

Foreign Securities.   The Funds may invest in the securities of non-U.S. issuers. Funds that invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies may engage in foreign currency transactions on a spot (cash) basis and enter into forward foreign currency exchange contracts and invest in foreign currency futures contracts and options on foreign currencies and futures. A forward foreign currency exchange contract, which involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date at a price set at the time of the contract, reduces a Fund’s exposure to changes in the value of the currency it will deliver and increases its exposure to changes in the value of the currency it will receive for the duration of the contract. The effect on the value of a Fund is similar to selling securities denominated in one currency and purchasing securities denominated in another currency. A contract to sell foreign currency would limit any potential gain which might be realized if the value of the

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hedged currency increases. A Fund may enter into these contracts to hedge against foreign exchange risk, to increase exposure to a foreign currency or to shift exposure to foreign currency fluctuations from one currency to another. Suitable hedging transactions may not be available in all circumstances and there can be no assurance that a Fund will engage in such transactions at any given time or from time to time. Also, such transactions may not be successful and may eliminate any chance for a Fund to benefit from favorable fluctuations in relevant foreign currencies. A Fund may use one currency (or a basket of currencies) to hedge against adverse changes in the value of another currency (or a basket of currencies) when exchange rates between the two currencies are positively correlated.

Frontier Markets.   “Frontier market countries” are a subset of emerging market countries with even smaller national economies, so these risks may be magnified further. Frontier market countries may also be more affected by government activities than more developed countries. For example, the governments of frontier market countries may exercise substantial influence within the private sector or subject investments to government approval, and governments of other countries may impose or negotiate trade barriers, exchange controls, adjustments to relative currency values and other measures that adversely affect a frontier market country. Governments of other countries may also impose sanctions or embargoes on frontier market countries.

Foreign Securities Markets and Regulations.   There may be less publicly available information about non-U.S. markets and issuers than is available with respect to U.S. securities and issuers. Non-U.S. companies generally are not subject to accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, practices and requirements comparable to those applicable to U.S. companies. The trading markets for most non-U.S. securities are generally less liquid and subject to greater price volatility than the markets for comparable securities in the U.S. The markets for securities in certain emerging markets are in the earliest stages of their development. Even the markets for relatively widely traded securities in certain non-U.S. markets, including emerging countries, may not be able to absorb, without price disruptions, a significant increase in trading volume or trades of a size customarily undertaken by institutional investors in the U.S. Additionally, market making and arbitrage activities are generally less extensive in such markets, which may contribute to increased volatility and reduced liquidity.

The less liquid a market, the more difficult it may be for a Fund to accurately price its portfolio securities or to dispose of such securities at the times determined by the Sub-adviser to be appropriate. The risks associated with reduced liquidity may be particularly acute in situations in which a Fund’s operations require cash, such as in order to meet redemptions and to pay its expenses.

Risks of Non-U.S. Investments.   To the extent a Fund invests in the securities of non-U.S. issuers, those investments involve considerations and risks not typically associated with investing in the securities of issuers in the U.S. These risks are heightened with respect to investments in countries with emerging markets and economies. The risks of investing in securities of non-U.S. issuers or issuers with significant exposure to non-U.S. markets may be related, among other things, to: (i) differences in size, liquidity and volatility of, and the degree and manner of regulation of, the securities markets of certain non-U.S. markets compared to the securities markets in the U.S.; (ii) economic, political and social factors; and (iii) foreign exchange matters, such as restrictions on the repatriation of capital, fluctuations in exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the currencies in which a Fund’s portfolio securities are quoted or denominated, exchange control regulations and costs associated with currency exchange. The political and economic structures in certain non-U.S. countries, particularly emerging markets, are expected to undergo significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristic of more developed countries.

Unanticipated political or social developments may affect the values of a Fund’s investments in such countries. The economies and securities and currency markets of many emerging markets have experienced significant disruption and declines. There can be no assurances that these economic and market disruptions will not continue.

Growing tensions, including trade disputes, between the United States and other nations, or among foreign powers, and possible diplomatic, trade or other sanctions could adversely impact the global economy, financial markets and the Funds. The strengthening or weakening of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies may, among other things, adversely affect the Funds’ investments denominated in non- U.S. dollar currencies. It is difficult to predict when similar events affecting the U.S. or global financial markets may occur, the effects that such events may have, and the duration of those effects.

Investments in China.   China is an emerging market, and as a result, investments in securities of companies organized and listed in China may be subject to liquidity constraints and significantly higher volatility, from time to time, than investments in securities of more developed markets. China may be subject to considerable government intervention and varying degrees of economic, political and social instability. These factors may result in, among other things, a greater risk of stock market, interest rate, and currency fluctuations, as well as inflation. Accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards in China

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are different from U.S. standards and, therefore, disclosure of certain material information may not be made, may be less available, or may be less reliable. It may also be difficult or impossible for a Fund to obtain or enforce a judgment in a Chinese court. In addition, periodically there may be restrictions on investments in Chinese companies. For example, Executive Orders have been issued prohibiting U.S. persons from purchasing or investing in publicly-traded securities of certain companies identified by the U.S. Government because of their ties to the Chinese military or China’s surveillance technology sector. These restrictions have also applied to instruments that are derivative of, or are designed to provide investment exposure to, those companies. The universe of affected securities can change from time to time. As a result of an increase in the number of investors looking to sell such securities, or because of an inability to participate in an investment that the Adviser or a Sub-adviser otherwise believes is attractive, a Fund may incur losses. Certain investments that are or become designated as prohibited may have less liquidity as a result of such designation and the market price of such prohibited investments may decline, potentially causing losses to a Fund. In addition, the market for securities and other investments of other Chinese-based issuers may also be negatively impacted, resulting in reduced liquidity and price declines.

Investments in the United Kingdom.   On January 31, 2020, the UK officially withdrew from the EU (commonly known as “Brexit”). Following a transition period, the United Kingdom’s post-Brexit trade agreement with the European union passed into law in December 2020, became effective on a provisional basis on January 1, 2021, and formally entered into force on May 1, 2021.

The impact of Brexit on the UK, the EU and global markets remains unclear and will depend largely upon the UK’s ability to negotiate favorable terms with the EU with respect to trade and market access. Brexit may also impact each of these markets should it lead to the creation of divergent national laws and regulations that produce new legal regimes and unpredictable tax consequences. As a result of the uncertain consequences of Brexit, the economies of the UK and EU as well as the broader global economy could be significantly impacted, which may result in increased volatility and illiquidity, and potentially lower economic growth on markets in the UK, EU and globally that could potentially have an adverse effect on the value of a Fund’s investments.

Investments in Russia.   Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, significantly amplifying already existing geopolitical tensions. Russia’s actions and the resulting responses by the United States and other countries could increase volatility and uncertainty in the financial markets and adversely affect regional and global economies. The United States and other countries have imposed broad-ranging economic sanctions on Russia, certain Russian individuals, banking entities and corporations, and Belarus as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and may impose sanctions on other countries that provide military or economic support to Russia. The sanctions restrict companies from doing business with Russia and Russian companies, prohibit transactions with the Russian central bank and other key Russian financial institutions and entities, ban Russian airlines and ships from using many other countries’ airspace and ports, respectively, and place a freeze on certain Russian assets. The sanctions also removed some Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT), the electronic network that connects banks globally to facilitate cross-border payments. In addition, the United States and the United Kingdom have banned oil and other energy imports from Russia, and the European Union has banned most Russian crude oil imports and refined petroleum products, with limited exceptions. The extent and duration of Russia’s military actions or future escalation of such hostilities, and the extent and impact of the resulting sanctions (including any retaliatory actions or countermeasures that may be taken by those subject to sanctions, including cyber-attacks) are impossible to predict, but could result in significant market disruptions, including in certain industries or sectors, such as the oil and natural gas markets, and may negatively affect global supply chains, inflation and global growth. These and any related events could have a significant impact on a Fund’s performance and the value of the Fund’s investments, even though the Fund does not have direct exposure to Russian issuers or issuers in other countries affected by the invasion.

Supranational Entities.   In order to qualify as regulated investment companies (“RICs”), the Funds must satisfy the diversification requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “IRC”) IRC pursuant to which each Fund, amongst other requirements described in the “Taxes” section below, is limited to investing up to 25% of its total assets in the securities of any one issuer, which includes the debt securities issued by supranational organizations such as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“World Bank”), which was chartered to finance development projects in developing member countries; and the Asian Development Bank, which is an international development bank established to lend funds, promote investment and provide technical assistance to member nations in the Asian and Pacific regions. As supranational entities do not possess taxing authority, they are dependent upon their members’ continued support in order to meet interest and principal payments.

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Withholding and Other Taxes.   The Funds may be subject to taxes, including withholding taxes imposed by certain non-U.S. countries on income (possibly including, in some cases, capital gains) earned with respect to a Fund’s investments in such countries. These taxes will reduce the return achieved by a Fund. Treaties between the U.S. and such countries may reduce the otherwise applicable tax rates.

Derivatives

Overview

The Funds may enter into a variety of derivatives as means to hedge its exposure to a number of risks associated with its investment strategies or otherwise implement its investment strategies. The derivatives markets consist of, among other things, (a) futures contracts and options on such futures (both of which trade exclusively on regulated futures exchanges), (b) swaps and other derivatives traded on regulated swap execution and trading facilities and privately-negotiated bilateral derivatives contracts and (c) certain securities or securities with embedded derivatives, such as options or hybrid securities (some of which may be traded on regulated securities exchanges). Transactions other than exchange-traded futures and exchange-traded options or securities are sometimes referred to as “OTC” derivatives. Derivatives contracts are available with respect to a variety of asset classes including, for example, foreign exchange, interest rates, credit, equity and commodities.

Regulation relating to a Fund’s use of derivatives and related instruments, including Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act, 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.

Regulation of Derivatives

In an attempt to reduce systemic and counterparty risks associated with OTC derivative transactions, the Dodd-Frank Act requires that a substantial portion of OTC derivatives be submitted for clearing to regulated clearinghouses. The CFTC also requires a substantial portion of derivative transactions that have historically been executed on a bilateral basis in the OTC markets to be executed through a regulated swap execution facility or designated contract market. The SEC is expected to eventually impose a similar requirement with respect to security-based swaps. Such requirements could limit the ability of the Funds to invest or remain invested in derivatives and may make it more difficult and costly for investment funds, including the Funds, to enter into highly tailored or customized transactions. They may also render certain strategies in which a Fund might otherwise engage impossible or so costly that they will no longer be economical to implement.

OTC trades submitted for clearing will be subject to minimum initial and variation margin requirements set by the relevant clearinghouse, as may be adjusted to a higher amount by the Fund’s Futures Commission Merchant, as well as possible SEC- or CFTC-mandated margin requirements. With respect to uncleared swaps, swap dealers are required to collect variation margin from the Fund and may be required to collect initial margin from the Fund pursuant to the CFTC’s or the Prudential Regulators’ uncleared swap margin rules. Both initial and variation margin must be in the form of eligible collateral, and may be composed of cash and/or securities, subject to applicable regulatory haircuts. These rules also mandate that collateral in the form of initial margin be posted to cover potential future exposure attributable to uncleared swap transactions for certain entities, which may include the Fund. In the event the Fund is required to post collateral in the form of initial margin in respect of its uncleared swap transactions, all such collateral will be posted with a third-party custodian pursuant to a triparty custody agreement between the Fund, its dealer counterparty and an unaffiliated custodian.

Although the Dodd-Frank Act requires many OTC derivative transactions previously entered into on a principal-to-principal basis to be submitted for clearing by a regulated clearinghouse, certain of the derivatives that may be traded by the Fund may remain principal-to-principal or OTC contracts between the Fund and third parties. The risk of counterparty non-performance can be significant in the case of these OTC instruments, and “bid-ask” spreads may be unusually wide in these markets. To the extent not mitigated by implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act, if at all, the risks posed by such instruments and techniques, which can be complex, may include: (1) credit risks (the exposure to the possibility of loss resulting from a counterparty’s failure to meet its financial obligations), as further discussed below; (2) market risk (adverse movements in the price of a financial asset or commodity); (3) legal risks (the characterization of a transaction or a party’s legal capacity to enter into it could render the transaction unenforceable, and the insolvency or bankruptcy of a counterparty could pre-empt otherwise enforceable contract rights); (4) operational risk (inadequate controls, deficient procedures, human error, system failure or fraud); (5) documentation risk (exposure to losses resulting from inadequate documentation); (6) liquidity risk (exposure to losses created by inability to prematurely terminate derivative transactions); (7) systemic risk (the risk that financial difficulties in one institution or a major market disruption will cause uncontrollable financial harm to the financial system); (8) concentration risk (exposure to losses from the concentration of closely related risks such as exposure to a

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particular industry or exposure linked to a particular entity); and (9) settlement risk (the risk faced when one party to a transaction has performed its obligations under a contract but has not yet received value from its counterparty).

Swap dealers and major swap participants that are registered with the CFTC and with whom the Fund may trade are subject to minimum capital and margin requirements. These requirements may apply irrespective of whether the OTC derivatives in question are traded bilaterally or cleared. OTC derivatives dealers are subject to business conduct standards, disclosure requirements, reporting and recordkeeping requirements, transparency requirements, position limits, limitations on conflicts of interest, and other regulatory burdens. These requirements may increase the overall costs for OTC derivative dealers, which are likely to be passed along, at least partially, to market participants in the form of higher fees or less advantageous dealer marks. The full impact of the Dodd-Frank Act on the Fund remains uncertain, and it is unclear how the OTC derivatives markets will ultimately adapt to this new regulatory regime.

Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act governs the Fund’s use of derivative instruments and certain other transactions that create future payment and/or delivery obligations by the Fund. Rule 18f-4 permits the Fund to enter into Derivative Transactions (as defined below) and certain other transactions notwithstanding the restrictions on the issuance of  “senior securities” under Section 18 of the 1940 Act. Section 18 of the 1940 Act, among other things, prohibits open-end funds, including the Fund, from issuing or selling any “senior security,” other than borrowing from a bank (subject to a requirement to maintain 300% “asset coverage”). In connection with the adoption of Rule 18f-4, the SEC eliminated the asset segregation framework arising from prior SEC guidance for covering Derivative Transactions and certain financial instruments.

Under Rule 18f-4, “Derivative Transactions” include the following: (1) any swap, security-based swap (including a contract for differences), futures contract, forward contract, option (excluding purchased options), any combination of the foregoing, or any similar instrument, under which the Fund is or may be required to make any payment or delivery of cash or other assets during the life of the instrument or at maturity or early termination, whether as margin or settlement payment or otherwise; (2) any short sale borrowing; (3) reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions, if the Fund elects to treat these transactions as Derivative Transactions under Rule 18f-4; and (4) when-issued or forward-settling securities (e.g., firm and standby commitments, including to-be-announced (“TBA”) commitments, and dollar rolls) and non-standard settlement cycle securities, unless the Fund intends to physically settle the transactions and the transaction will settle within 35 days of its trade date.

Rule 18f-4 requires that the Fund that invests in Derivative Transactions above a specified amount adopt and implement a derivatives risk management program administered by a derivatives risk manager that is appointed by and overseen by the Fund’s Board, and comply with an outer limit on Fund leverage risk based on value at risk. If the fund uses Derivative Transactions in a limited amount are considered “limited derivatives users,” as defined in Rule 18f-4, will not be subject to the full requirements of Rule 18f-4, but will have to adopt and implement policies and procedures reasonably designed to manage the Fund’s derivatives risk. The Fund will be subject to reporting and recordkeeping requirements regarding its use of Derivative Transactions.

The requirements of Rule 18f-4 may limit the Fund’s ability to engage in Derivative Transactions as part of its investment strategies. These requirements may also increase the cost of the Fund’s investments and cost of doing business, which could adversely affect the value of the Fund’s investments and/or the performance of the Fund. The rule also may not be effective to limit the Fund’s risk of loss. In particular, measurements of VaR rely on historical data and may not accurately measure the degree of risk reflected in the Fund’s derivatives or other investments. There may be additional regulation of the use of Derivative Transactions by registered investment companies, which could significantly affect their use. The ultimate impact of the regulations remains unclear. Additional regulation of Derivative Transactions may make them more costly, limit their availability or utility, otherwise adversely affect their performance or disrupt markets.

Credit Default Swaps

Credit default swaps are a mechanism to either purchase or sell default protection. As a purchaser of a credit default swap, the Fund pays a premium to enter into an arrangement that protects a portfolio security in the event of a default with respect to the issuer of that security. As a seller of a credit default swap, the Fund collects a premium for selling protection. Consequently, credit default swaps may be used to obtain credit default protection or enhance portfolio income. The Fund may enter into these transactions to preserve a return or spread on a particular investment or portion of its assets, as a duration management technique or to protect against any increase in the price of securities the Fund anticipates purchasing at a later date. The Fund may also use these transactions for speculative purposes, such as to obtain the price performance of a security without actually purchasing the security in circumstances where, for example, the subject security is illiquid, is unavailable for direct investment or available only on less attractive terms. Although certain index credit default swaps are currently subject to

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mandatory clearing, single name and certain other index credit default swaps are still transacted in the bilateral OTC derivatives market. Swaps have risks associated with them, including the possible default by the counterparty to the transaction, illiquidity and, where swaps are used as hedges, the risk that the use of a swap could result in losses greater than if the swap had not been employed.

For purposes of applying a Fund’s investment policies and restrictions, swap agreements are generally valued by a Fund at market value. In the case of a credit default swap, however, in applying certain of the Fund’s investment policies and restrictions a Fund will value the swap at its notional amount or its full exposure value (i.e., the sum of the notional amount for the contract plus the market value), but may value the credit default swap at market value for purposes of applying certain of the Fund’s other investment policies and restrictions. For example, a Fund may value credit default swaps at full exposure value for purposes of the Fund’s credit quality guidelines because such value reflects the Fund’s actual economic exposure during the term of the credit default swap agreement. In this context, both the notional amount and the market value may be positive or negative depending on whether the Fund is selling or buying protection through the credit default swap. The manner in which certain securities or other instruments are valued by a Fund for purposes of applying investment policies and restrictions may differ from the manner in which those investments are valued by other types of investors.

Foreign Exchange Contracts

The Funds may invest in securities quoted or denominated in foreign currencies and may hold currencies to meet settlement requirements for foreign securities. To protect against uncertainty in the level of future exchange rates between a particular foreign currency and the U.S. dollar or between foreign currencies, the Fund may engage in different types of foreign exchange transactions (collectively, “Foreign Exchange Contracts”) including, for example, forward foreign exchange contracts, non-deliverable forward exchange transactions, foreign exchange swaps, foreign exchange options, foreign exchange futures transactions and options on foreign exchange futures transactions. Each of these transaction types is described below. The amount the Fund may invest in Foreign Exchange Contracts is limited to the amount of the Fund’s aggregate investments in foreign currencies.

Generally, forward foreign exchange contracts are privately-negotiated bilateral agreements solely involving the exchange of 2 different currencies on a specific future date at a fixed exchange rate agreed upon at the inception of the transaction. They are distinguishable from so-called non- deliverable forward foreign exchange contracts which are discussed further below. Typically, forward foreign exchange contracts (i) are traded in an interbank market conducted directly between currency traders (typically commercial banks or other financial institutions) and their customers, (ii) generally have no deposit requirements and (iii) are consummated without payment of any commissions. The Fund, however, may enter into forward foreign exchange contracts requiring deposits and/or commissions. In fact, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System has implemented supervisory guidance to the effect that federally regulated banks must collect variation margin payments from certain types of financial institutions which may include the Fund in connection with forward foreign exchange contracts. There currently is no central clearing system for such forward foreign exchange contracts entered into on this market and, accordingly, if a Fund wishes to ‘close out’ any such contracts entered into on this market before the specified date, it will be reliant upon the agreement of the relevant counterparty.

At or before the maturity of a forward foreign exchange contract, a Fund may either sell a portfolio security denominated in the same currency as its obligations under the forward foreign exchange contract and use the proceeds of such sale to make delivery under the forward foreign exchange contract or retain the security and offset its obligation to deliver the currency under the forward foreign exchange contract by purchasing a second contract pursuant to which the Fund will obtain, on the same maturity date, the same amount of the currency that it is obligated to deliver. If the Fund retains the portfolio security and engages in an offsetting transaction, the Fund, at the time of execution of the offsetting transaction, will incur a gain or a loss to the extent movement has occurred in forward currency contract prices during the period between the Fund’s entering into the original forward foreign exchange contract and entering into the offsetting contract. Should forward prices decline during this period, the Fund will realize a gain to the extent the price of the currency it has agreed to sell exceeds the price of the currency it has agreed to purchase. Should forward prices increase, the Fund will suffer a loss to the extent the price of the currency it has agreed to purchase exceeds the price of the currency it has agreed to sell.

There are a number of risks associated with entering into forward foreign exchange contracts. These may include settlement risk, which is the risk of loss when one party to the forward foreign exchange contract delivers the currency it sold but does not receive the corresponding amount of the currency it bought. Although many forward foreign exchange transactions mitigate this risk through the use of a payment-versus-payment (“PVP”) settlement arrangement (such as settling trades through CLS Bank International or an escrow arrangement), there is no assurance that all forward foreign exchange transactions entered into by a Fund will be subject to such a PVP arrangement and, therefore, they may be subject to

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settlement risk. In addition, the market for forward foreign exchange contracts may be limited with respect to certain currencies such that, upon a contract’s maturity, a Fund may be unable to negotiate with the dealer to enter into an offsetting transaction. Moreover, there can be no assurance that an active forward foreign exchange contract market will always exist. Another risk associated with forward foreign exchange contracts is that the correlation between movements in the prices of those contracts and movements in the price of the underlying currency hedged or used for cover may not be perfect. These factors may restrict a Fund’s ability to successfully hedge against the risk of devaluation of currencies in which the Fund holds a substantial quantity of securities and are unrelated to the qualitative rating that may be assigned to any particular security. In addition, although forward foreign exchange contracts may mitigate the risk of loss resulting from a decline in the value of a hedged currency, they may also limit the potential gain that might result should from an increase in the value of the hedged currency. If a currency devaluation is generally anticipated, a Fund may not be able to contract to sell currency at a price above the devaluation level it anticipates.

The successful use of forward foreign exchange contracts as a hedging technique draws upon special skills and experience with respect to these instruments and usually depends on the ability of the Fund’s Sub-adviser to forecast interest rate and currency exchange rate movements correctly. Should interest or exchange rates move in an unexpected manner, the Fund may not achieve the anticipated benefits of forward foreign exchange contracts or may realize losses and thus be in a worse position than if those strategies had not been used. Many forward foreign exchange contracts are subject to no daily price fluctuation limits so adverse market movements could continue with respect to those contracts to an unlimited extent over a period of time.

A non-deliverable forward foreign exchange contract or “NDF” generally is similar to a forward foreign exchange contract, except that at maturity the NDF does not require physical delivery of currencies; rather, an NDF typically is settled in U.S. dollars or another reserve currency. One of the currencies involved in the transaction, usually an emerging market currency, may be subject to capital controls or similar restrictions, and is therefore said to be “nondeliverable”. Thus, under an NDF, the transaction terms provide for the payment of a net cash settlement amount on the settlement date in lieu of delivery of the notional amounts of the bought currency and the sold currency. The cash settlement amount is determined by converting the notional amount of one of the currencies (the “reference currency”) into the other currency (the “settlement currency”) at a spot foreign exchange rate that is observed on a pre-agreed pricing source or determined using another pre-agreed method (such source or method, the “settlement rate option”) on a date (a “valuation date”) prior to the settlement date, and netting the currency amounts so that a single net payment in the settlement currency is made on the settlement date by the party owing the excess. In some NDFs, each of the bought currency and the sold currency is converted into a third currency that serves as the settlement currency. In either case, under an NDF no payment or account transfer takes place in the reference currency.

Futures and Options on Futures

The Funds may enter into futures contracts and purchase and write (sell) options on futures contracts, including but not limited to interest rate, securities index and foreign currency futures contracts and put and call options on these futures contracts. These contracts will be entered into only upon the concurrence of the Sub-adviser that such contracts are necessary or appropriate in the management of a Fund’s assets. These contracts will be entered into on exchanges designated by the CFTC or, consistent with CFTC regulations, on foreign exchanges. These transactions may be entered into for bona fide hedging and other permissible risk management purposes including protecting against anticipated changes in the value of securities a Fund intends to purchase.

The Fund may buy and sell index futures contracts with respect to any index traded on a recognized exchange or board of trade. An index futures contract is a bilateral agreement pursuant to which two parties agree to take or make delivery of an amount of cash equal to a specified dollar amount times the difference between the index value at the close of trading of the contract and the price at which the futures contract is originally struck. No physical delivery of the securities comprising the index is made. Instead, settlement in cash must occur upon the termination of the contract, with the settlement being the difference between the contract price, and the actual level of the stock index at the expiration of the contract. Generally, contracts are closed out prior to the expiration date of the contract.

A Fund may lose the expected benefit of these futures or options transactions and may incur losses if the prices of the underlying securities or commodities move in an unanticipated manner. In addition, changes in the value of a Fund’s futures and options positions may not prove to be perfectly or even highly correlated with changes in the value of its portfolio securities. Successful use of futures and related options is subject to a Sub-adviser’s ability to correctly predict movements in the direction of the securities markets generally, which ability may require different skills and techniques than predicting changes in the prices of individual securities. Moreover, futures and options contracts may only be closed out by entering into offsetting transactions on the exchange where the position was entered into (or a linked exchange), and as a result of daily

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price fluctuation limits there can be no assurance that an offsetting transaction could be entered into at an advantageous price at any particular time. Consequently, a Fund may realize a loss on a futures contract or option that is not offset by an increase in the value of its portfolio securities that are being hedged or the Fund may not be able to close a futures or options position without incurring a loss in the event of adverse price movements.

A Fund will incur brokerage costs whether or not its hedging is successful and will be required to post and maintain “margin” as a good-faith deposit against performance of its obligations under futures contracts and under options written by the Fund. Futures and options positions are marked to the market daily and a Fund may be required to make subsequent “variation” margin payments depending upon whether its positions increase or decrease in value. In this context margin payments involve no borrowing on the part of a Fund. After an option is purchased, it may suffer a total loss of premium (plus transaction costs) if that option expires without being exercised. An option’s time value (i.e., the component of the option’s value at any time that exceeds the in-the-money amount as of such time) tends to diminish over time. Even though an option may be in-the-money to the purchaser at various times prior to its expiration date, the purchaser’s ability to realize the value of an option depends on when and how the option may be exercised. For example, the terms of a transaction may provide for the option to be exercised automatically if it is in-the-money on the expiration date. Conversely, the terms may require timely delivery of a notice of exercise, and exercise may be subject to other conditions (such as the occurrence or non-occurrence of certain events, such as knock-in, knock-out or other barrier events) and timing requirements, including the “style” of the option.

Options on Securities and Securities Indices

The Funds may purchase put and call options on any security in which it may invest or options on any securities index based on securities in which it may invest. A Fund would also be able to enter into closing sale transactions in order to realize gains or minimize losses on options it has purchased.

Purchasing Call and Put Options.   The Funds will normally purchase call options in anticipation of an increase in the market value of securities of the type in which they may invest. The purchase of a call option will entitle a Fund, in return for the premium paid, to purchase specified securities at a specified price during the option period. A Fund will ordinarily realize a gain if, during the option period, the value of such securities exceeded the sum of the exercise price, the premium paid and transaction costs; otherwise, the Fund will realize either no gain or a loss on the purchase of the call option.

Under a conventional cash-settled option, the purchaser of the option pays a premium in exchange for the right to receive, upon exercise of the option, (i) in the case of a call option, the excess, if any, of the reference price or value of the underlier (as determined pursuant to the terms of the option) above the option’s strike price or (ii) in the case of a put option, the excess, if any, of the option’s strike price above the reference price or value of the underlier (as so determined). Under a conventional physically-settled option structure, the purchaser of a call option has the right to purchase a specified quantity of the underlier at the strike price, and the purchaser of a put option has the right to sell a specified quantity of the underlier at the strike price.

A Fund will normally purchase put options in anticipation of a decline in the market value of securities in its portfolio (“protective puts”) or in securities in which it may invest. The purchase of a put option will entitle the Fund, in exchange for the premium paid, to sell specified securities at a specified price during the option period. The purchase of protective puts is designed to offset or hedge against a decline in the market value of the Fund’s securities. Put options may also be purchased by a Fund for the purpose of affirmatively benefiting from a decline in the price of securities which it does not own. The Fund will ordinarily realize a gain if, during the option period, the value of the underlying securities decreased below the exercise price sufficiently to more than cover the premium and transaction costs; otherwise, the Fund will realize either no gain or a loss on the purchase of the put option. Gains and losses on the purchase of protective put options would tend to be offset by countervailing changes in the value of the underlying portfolio securities.

Risks of Trading Options.   The risk-return profile of an option may vary depending on the characteristics of the relevant transaction. For example, a “knock-out option” may expire prior to the scheduled expiration date if the reference price or value of the underlier falls below, in the case of a put option, or exceeds, in the case of a call option, an agreed upon price or value at specific points in time, or at any time during the exercise period, depending upon how the option is structured. The buyer of such an option bears the risk of reference price movements causing the option to expire prior to the scheduled expiration date. Transaction terms that give a party the right to extend or accelerate the scheduled termination date of a transaction are economically equivalent to options. Such features may cause holders of such options to incur significant losses if exercised against them. The option premium in respect of such features may be in the form of an explicit payment or may be implicit in other terms of the transaction.

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There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market on an options exchange will exist for any particular exchange-traded option, or at any particular time. If a Fund is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction with respect to covered options it has written, the Fund will not be able to sell the underlying securities or dispose of any segregated assets until the options expire or are exercised. Similarly, if a Fund is unable to effect a closing sale transaction with respect to options it has purchased, it will have to exercise the options in order to realize any profit and will incur transaction costs upon the purchase or sale of underlying securities.

Reasons for the absence of a liquid secondary market on an exchange include the following: (i) there may be insufficient trading interest in certain options; (ii) restrictions may be imposed by an exchange on opening or closing transactions or both; (iii) trading halts, suspensions or other restrictions may be imposed with respect to particular classes or series of options; (iv) unusual or unforeseen circumstances may interrupt normal operations on an exchange; (v) the facilities of an exchange or the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCCorp”) may not at all times be adequate to handle current trading volume; or (vi) one or more exchanges could, for economic or other reasons, decide or be compelled at some future date to discontinue the trading of options (or a particular class or series of options), in which event the secondary market on that exchange (or in that class or series of options) would cease to exist, although outstanding options on that exchange, if any, that had been issued by the OCC as a result of trades on that exchange would continue to be exercisable in accordance with their terms. A Fund may terminate its obligations under an exchange- traded call or put option by purchasing an option identical to the one it has written. Obligations under over-the-counter options may be terminated only by entering into an offsetting transaction with the counter-party to such option. Such purchases are referred to as “closing purchase transactions.” A Fund may purchase and sell both options that are traded on U.S. and foreign exchanges and options traded over the counter with broker-dealers who make markets in these options. The ability to terminate over-the-counter options is more limited than with exchange-traded options and may involve the risk that broker-dealers participating in such transactions will not fulfill their obligations.

Transactions by a Fund in options on securities and indices may be subject to limitations established by the CFTC, SEC, relevant self-regulatory organizations, each relevant exchange, board of trade or other trading facility governing the maximum number of options in each class which may be written or purchased by a single investor or group of investors acting in concert. Thus, the number of options that a Fund may write or purchase may be affected by options written or purchased by other investment advisory clients. An exchange, board of trade or other trading facility may order the liquidations of positions found to be in excess of these limits, and it may impose certain other sanctions.

The writing and purchase of options is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The successful use of protective puts for hedging purposes depends in part on a Sub-adviser’s ability to predict future price fluctuations and the degree of correlation between the options and securities markets.

The hours of trading for options may not conform to the hours during which the underlying securities are traded. To the extent the options markets close before the markets for the underlying securities, significant price movements can take place in the underlying markets that cannot be reflected in the options markets.

In addition to the risks of imperfect correlation between a Fund’s portfolio and the index underlying the option, the purchase of securities index options involves the risk that the premium and transaction costs paid by the Fund in purchasing an option will be lost. This could occur as a result of unanticipated movements in the price of the securities comprising the securities index on which the option is based.

Writing Covered Call and Put Options on Securities and Securities Indices.   The Funds may also write (sell) covered call and put options on any securities and on any securities index composed of securities in which it may invest. Options on securities indices are similar to options on securities, except that the exercise of securities index options requires cash payments and typically does not involve the actual purchase or sale of securities. In addition, securities index options are designed to reflect price fluctuations in a group of securities or segments of the securities market rather than price fluctuations in a single security.

The Trust, on behalf of each Fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” ​(“CPO”) under CEA, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the Fund’s operation. Accordingly, neither the Fund nor the Adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a CPO. Although the Adviser has concluded based on its communications with and oversight of the Fund’s Sub-advisers that as of the date of this SAI the Fund currently operate within the exclusions from CFTC regulation, there is no certainty that a Fund or the Adviser will be able to continue to rely on an exclusion from CFTC regulation in the future. A Fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may

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determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. In addition, the Sub-advisers of a Fund that registers with the CFTC as a commodity pool may have to register with the CFTC as commodity trading advisers, unless an exemption from such registration applies. If a Fund or the Adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.

Equity-Linked Securities

A Fund may invest in privately issued securities whose investment results are designed to correspond generally to the performance of a specified stock index or “basket” of securities, or sometimes a single stock (referred to as “equity-linked securities”). These securities are used for many of the same purposes as derivative instruments and share many of the same risks. Equity-linked securities may be considered illiquid and thus subject to a Fund’s restrictions on investments in illiquid securities.

Global Health Events

The market value of a Fund’s investments may decline in tandem with a drop in the overall value of the markets in which the Fund invests and/or other markets based on negative developments in the U.S. and global economies. Economic, political, and financial conditions or industry or economic trends or developments may, from time to time, and for varying periods of time, cause volatility, illiquidity or other potentially adverse effects in the financial markets, including the fixed-income market. The commencement, continuation or ending of government policies and economic stimulus programs, changes in money policy, increases or decreases in interest rates, war, acts of terrorism, recessions, or other actual or perceived factors or events that affect the financial markets, including the fixed-income markets, may contribute to the development of or increase in volatility, illiquidity, shareholder redemptions, and other adverse effects that could negatively impact the Fund’s performance. Similarly, the impact of any epidemic, pandemic or natural disaster, or widespread fear that such events may occur, could negatively affect the global economy, as well as the economies of individual countries, the financial performance of individual companies and sectors, and the markets in general in significant and unforeseen ways. Any such impact could adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the securities and other instruments in which the Fund invests, which in turn could negatively impact the Fund’s performance and cause losses on your investment in the Fund.

Illiquid Securities

The Funds will not invest more than 15% of their net assets in illiquid and other securities that are not readily marketable. “Illiquid securities” are investments that a Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or otherwise disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. Certain investments or asset classes may be illiquid investments due to restrictions on trading or limitations on transfer that would affect a determination of liquidity. Repurchase agreements maturing in more than seven days will be included for purposes of the foregoing limit. Securities subject to restrictions on resale under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“1933 Act”), are considered illiquid unless they are eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144A or another exemption from the registration requirements of the 1933 Act and are determined to be liquid by the Sub-adviser. The Sub-advisers determine the liquidity of Rule 144A and other restricted securities according to procedures adopted by the Board. The Board monitors the Sub-advisers’ application of these guidelines and procedures. The inability of a Fund to dispose of illiquid investments readily or at reasonable prices could impair the Fund’s ability to raise cash for redemptions or other purposes. The Adviser and/or Sub-adviser will monitor the amount of illiquid investments in a Fund, under the oversight of, and periodic reporting to, the Board, to ensure compliance with this requirement. Illiquid investments may be priced at fair value as determined in good faith by the Adviser, with applicable input from appropriate Sub-advisers and pursuant to procedures approved by the Board. Despite such good faith efforts to determine fair value prices, a Fund’s illiquid investments are subject to the risk that the investment’s fair value price may differ from the actual price that the Fund may ultimately realize upon its sale or disposition. Difficulty in selling illiquid investments may result in a loss or may be costly to a Fund.

Investments in Investment Companies

The Funds may invest in the securities of other investment companies (including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”)) to the extent such investments are consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives and policies and permissible under the 1940 Act. Pursuant to Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act, subject to certain exceptions, a Fund may not acquire the securities of other domestic or foreign investment companies if, as a result: (i) more than 10% of the Fund’s total assets would be invested in securities of other investment companies, (ii) such purchase would result in more than 3% of the total outstanding voting securities of any one investment company being held by the Fund, or (iii) more than 5% of the Fund’s total assets would be invested in any one investment company. These limitations do not apply to the purchase of shares of any investment company

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in connection with a merger, consolidation, reorganization or acquisition of substantially all the assets of another investment company. In addition, a Fund is not subject to the 3% limitation if  (i) a Fund relies on Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act, as described below; or (ii) a Fund relies on Rule 12d1-3 under the 1940 Act, which allows unaffiliated mutual funds to exceed the 5% limitation and the 10% limitation, provided the aggregate sales loads any investor pays (i.e., the combined distribution expenses of both the acquiring fund and the acquired funds) does not exceed the limits on sales loads established by FINRA for funds of funds.

Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act permits an investment company to invest in other investment companies beyond the statutory limits of Section 12(d)(1)(A), subject to certain conditions that are similar to those previously imposed through exemptive orders. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an investment company that is an acquired fund of a registered investment company in reliance on Section 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act, generally will not be permitted to invest in shares of other investment companies beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1)(A), other than in the limited circumstances set forth in Rule 12d1-4.

A Fund also may invest its uninvested cash reserves or cash it receives as collateral from borrowers of its portfolio securities in connection with the Fund’s securities lending program, in shares of one or more money market funds, which investments will not be subject to the limitations described above.

If a Fund invests in, and thus, is a shareholder of, another investment company, the Fund’s shareholders will indirectly bear the Fund’s proportionate share of the fees and expenses paid by such other investment company, including advisory fees, in addition to both the management fees payable directly by the Fund to the Fund’s own investment adviser and the other expenses that the Fund bears directly in connection with the Fund’s own operations.

With respect to investments in underlying ETFs, the market prices of index-based investments will fluctuate in accordance with both changes in the market value of their underlying portfolio securities and due to supply and demand for the instruments on the exchanges on which they are traded (which may result in their trading at a discount or premium to their NAVs). Investments in index-based ETFs may not replicate exactly the performance of their specific index because of transaction costs and because of the temporary unavailability of certain component securities of the index.

Lending Portfolio Securities

Consistent with applicable regulatory requirements, the Funds may lend portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial organizations. A Fund will not lend securities to affiliated companies unless the Fund has applied for and received specific authority to do so from the SEC. A Fund’s loan of securities will be collateralized by cash, letters of credit or U.S. government securities. A Fund will maintain the collateral in an amount at least equal to the current market value of the loaned securities. From time to time, a Fund may pay a part of the interest earned from the investment of collateral received for securities loaned to the borrower and/or a third-party that is unaffiliated with the Fund and is acting as a “finder.” A Fund will comply with the following conditions whenever it loans securities: (i) the Fund must receive at least 100% cash collateral or equivalent securities from the borrower; (ii) the borrower must increase the collateral whenever the market value of the securities loaned rises above the level of the collateral; (iii) the Fund must be able to terminate the loan at any time; (iv) the Fund must receive reasonable interest on the loan, as well as any dividends, interest or other distributions on the loaned securities and any increase in market value; (v) the Fund may pay only reasonable custodian fees in connection with the loan; and (vi) voting rights on the loaned securities may pass to the borrower except that, if a material event adversely affecting the investment in the loaned securities occurs, the Board must terminate the loan and regain the right to vote the securities. Generally, the borrower of any portfolio securities will be required to make payments to the lending Fund in lieu of any dividends the Fund would have otherwise received had it not loaned the securities to the borrower. Any such payments, however, will not be treated as “qualified dividend income” for purposes of determining what portion of the Fund’s regular dividends (as defined below) received by individuals may be taxed at the rates generally applicable to long-term capital gains (see “Taxes” below). Should the borrower of the securities fail financially, the Fund may experience delays in recovering the loaned securities or exercising its rights in the collateral. Loans are made only to borrowers that are deemed by the Manager to be of good financial standing. In a loan transaction, the Fund will also bear the risk of any decline in value of securities acquired with cash collateral. A Fund will minimize this risk by limiting the investment of cash collateral to money market funds or high quality instruments with short maturities or funds that invest only in such instruments.

A Fund may invest the cash received as collateral through loan transactions in other eligible securities, including shares of a registered money market fund or unregistered money market fund that complies with the requirements of Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act, including funds that do not seek to maintain a stable $1.00 per share NAV. Investing the cash collateral subjects a Fund’s investments to market appreciation or depreciation. A Fund remains obligated to return all collateral to the borrower under the terms of its securities lending arrangements, even if the value of the investments made with the collateral has

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declined. Accordingly, if the value of an investment declines, a Fund would be required to liquidate other investments in order to return collateral to the borrower at the end of a loan.

Money Market Instruments

Money market instruments include: U.S. government securities, certificates of deposit, time deposits and bankers’ acceptances issued by domestic banks (including their branches located outside the U.S. and subsidiaries located in Canada), domestic branches of foreign banks, savings and loan associations and similar institutions; high grade commercial paper; and repurchase agreements with respect to the foregoing types of instruments. Certificates of deposit (“CDs”) are short-term, negotiable obligations of commercial banks. Time deposits (“TDs”) are non-negotiable deposits maintained in banking institutions for specified periods of time at stated interest rates. Bankers’ acceptances are time drafts drawn on commercial banks by borrowers, usually in connection with international transactions.

Mortgage-Backed Securities

The Funds may invest in mortgage-related securities including mortgage-backed securities. The average maturity of pass-through pools of mortgage-backed securities varies with the maturities of the underlying mortgage instruments. In addition, a pool’s stated maturity may be shortened by unscheduled payments on the underlying mortgages. Factors affecting mortgage prepayments include the level of interest rates, general economic and social conditions, the location of the mortgaged property and age of the mortgage. Because prepayment rates of individual pools vary widely, it is not possible to accurately predict the average life of a particular pool. Common practice is to assume that prepayments will result in an average life ranging from two to ten years for pools of fixed rate 30-year mortgages. Pools of mortgages with other maturities or different characteristics will have varying average life assumptions. Mortgage-backed securities may be classified as private, governmental or government-related, depending on the issuer or guarantor. Private mortgage-backed securities represent pass-through pools consisting principally of conventional residential mortgage loans created by non- governmental issuers, such as commercial banks, savings and loan associations and private mortgage insurance companies. Governmental mortgage-backed securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government National Mortgage Association (“GNMA”), the principal U.S. guarantor of such securities, is a wholly-owned U.S. governmental corporation within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”). Government related mortgage-backed securities are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Issuers of these securities include the Federal National Mortgage Association (“FNMA” or “Fannie Mae”) and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“FHLMC” or Freddie Mac”). FNMA is a government-sponsored corporation owned entirely by private stockholders that is subject to general regulation by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Pass-through securities issued by FNMA are guaranteed as to timely payment of principal and interest by FNMA. FHLMC is a government sponsored corporation owned entirely by private stockholders that is subject to general regulation by the Secretary of HUD. Participation certificates representing interests in mortgages from FHLMC’s national portfolio are guaranteed as to the timely payment of interest and ultimate collection of principal by FHLMC. On September 6, 2008, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) and the U.S. Treasury began a federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, placing the two federal instrumentalities under conservatorship with the FHFA. Under the plan of conservatorship, the FHFA has assumed control of, and generally has the power to direct, the operations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and is empowered to exercise all powers collectively held by their respective shareholders, directors and officers, including the power to (1) take over the assets of and operate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with all the powers of the shareholders, the directors, and the officers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and conduct all business of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; (2) collect all obligations and money due to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; (3) perform all functions of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which are consistent with the conservator’s appointment; (4) preserve and conserve the assets and property of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; and (5) contract for assistance in fulfilling any function, activity, action or duty of the conservator.

In connection with the actions taken by the FHFA, the U.S. Treasury has entered into certain preferred stock purchase agreements (SPAs) with each of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae which establish the U.S. Treasury as the holder of a new class of senior preferred stock in each of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The senior preferred stock was issued in connection with financial contributions from the U.S. Treasury to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Although the SPAs are subject to amendment from time to time, currently the U.S. Treasury is obligated to provide such financial contributions up to an aggregate maximum amount determined by a formula set forth in the SPAs, and until such aggregate maximum amount is reached, there is not a specific end date to the U.S. Treasury’s obligations.

Since mid-2007, the residential mortgage market has been subject to extensive litigation and legislative and regulatory scrutiny. The result has been extensive reform legislation and regulations including with respect to loan underwriting,

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mortgage loan servicing, foreclosure practices and timing, loan modifications, enhanced disclosure and reporting obligations and risk retention. Numerous laws, regulations and rules related to residential mortgage loans generally, and foreclosure actions particularly, have been proposed or enacted by federal, state and local governmental authorities, which may result in delays in the foreclosure process, reduced payments by borrowers, modification of the original terms of mortgage loans, permanent forgiveness of debt, increased prepayments due to the availability of government-sponsored refinancing initiatives and/or increased reimbursable servicing expenses. Any of these factors could result in delays and reductions in distributions to residential mortgage-backed securities and may reduce the amount of investment proceeds to which a Fund would be entitled.

The conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the current uncertainty regarding the future status of these organizations may also adversely affect the mortgage market and the value of mortgage-related assets. It remains unclear to what extent the ability of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to act as the primary sources of liquidity in the residential mortgage markets, both by purchasing mortgage loans for their own portfolios and by guaranteeing mortgage-backed securities, may be curtailed. Legislators have repeatedly unveiled various plans to reduce and reform the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the mortgage market and, possibly, wind down both institutions. Although it is unclear whether, and if so how, those plans may be implemented or how long any such wind-down or reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, if implemented, would take, a reduction in the ability of mortgage loan originators to access Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to sell their mortgage loans may adversely affect the financial condition of mortgage loan originators. In addition, any decline in the value of agency securities may affect the value of residential mortgage-backed securities as a whole.

Since March 13, 2020, there have been a number of government initiatives applicable to federally backed mortgage loans in response to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak. Although the effects of COVID-19 have decreased on a relative basis, it is difficult to predict how the future effects of COVID-19, or government initiatives relating to COVID-19, may affect the federally backed mortgage market, the U.S. mortgage market as a whole and the price of securities relating to the mortgage markets, and in turn, the Fund’s investments.

The rate and aggregate amount of distributions on mortgage-backed securities, and therefore the average lives of those securities and the yields realized by a Fund, will be sensitive to the rate of prepayments (including liquidations) and modifications of the related mortgage loans, any losses and shortfalls on the related mortgage loans allocable to the tranches held by a Fund and the manner in which principal payments on the related mortgage loans are allocated among the various tranches in the particular securitization transaction. Furthermore, mortgage-backed securities are sensitive to changes in interest rates, but may respond to those changes differently from other fixed income securities due to the possibility of prepayment of the mortgage loans. Among other factors, a significant amount of defaults, rapid prepayments or prepayment interest shortfalls may erode amounts available for distributions to a Fund. The timing of changes in the rate of prepayments of the mortgage loans may significantly affect the Funds’ actual yield to maturity, even if the average rate of principal payments is consistent with a Fund’s expectations. If prepayments of mortgage loans occur at a rate faster than that anticipated by a Fund, payments of interest on the mortgage-backed securities could be significantly less than anticipated. Similarly, if the number of mortgage loans that are modified is larger than that anticipated by a Fund, payments of principal and interest on the mortgage-backed securities could be significantly less than anticipated.

Mortgage-backed securities that are issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, are not subject to the Fund’s industry concentration restrictions, by virtue of the exclusion from that test available to all U.S. government securities. In the case of privately issued mortgage-related securities, the Fund takes the position that mortgage-related securities do not represent interests in any particular industry or group of industries.

Foreign Mortgage-Related Securities.   Foreign mortgage-related securities are interests in pools of mortgage loans made to residential home buyers domiciled in a foreign country. These include mortgage loans made by trust and mortgage loan companies, credit unions, chartered banks, and others. Pools of mortgage loans are assembled as securities for sale to investors by various governmental, government-related and private organizations (e.g., Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and First Australian National Mortgage Acceptance Corporation Limited). The mechanics of these mortgage-related securities are generally the same as those issued in the United States. However, foreign mortgage markets may differ materially from the U.S. mortgage market with respect to matters such as the sizes of loan pools, pre-payment experience, and maturities of loans.

Uniform Mortgage-Backed Securities (“UMBS”).   Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have entered into a joint initiative to develop a common securitization platform for the issuance of UMBS (the “Single Security Initiative”) that aligns the characteristics of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac certificates. The Single Security Initiative seeks to support the overall liquidity of the to-be-announced (“TBA”) market. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac began issuing UMBS in June 2019. The issuance of

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UMBS may not achieve the intended results and may have unanticipated or adverse effects on the market for mortgage-backed securities.

Collateralized Mortgage Obligations.   CMOs are securities collateralized by mortgages, mortgage pass-throughs, mortgage pay-through bonds (bonds representing an interest in a pool of mortgages where the cash flow generated from the mortgage collateral pool is dedicated to bond repayment) and mortgage-backed bonds (general obligations of the issuers payable out of the issuers’ general funds and additionally secured by a first lien on a pool of single family detached properties). To the extent a Fund invests in CMOs, the Fund typically will seek to invest in CMOs rated in one of the two highest categories by S&P or Moody’s. Many CMOs are issued with a number of classes or series that have different expected maturities. Investors purchasing such CMOs are credited with their portion of the scheduled payments of interest and principal on the underlying mortgages plus all unscheduled prepayments of principal based on a predetermined priority schedule. Accordingly, the CMOs in the longer maturity series are less likely than other mortgage pass-through securities to be prepaid prior to their stated maturity. Although some of the mortgages underlying CMOs may be supported by various types of insurance and some CMOs may be backed by GNMA certificates or other mortgage pass- through securities issued or guaranteed by U.S. Government agencies or instrumentalities, the CMOs themselves are not generally guaranteed.

Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits.   REMICs are private entities formed for the purpose of holding a fixed pool of mortgages secured by interests in real property. REMIC Certificates issued by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac represent beneficial ownership interests in a REMIC trust consisting principally of mortgage loans or Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or GNMA-guaranteed mortgage pass- through certificates. For Freddie Mac REMIC Certificates, Freddie Mac guarantees the timely payment of interest. GNMA REMIC Certificates are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.

Parallel Pay Securities; Planned Amortization Class CMOs.   Parallel pay CMOs and REMICs are structured to provide payments of principal on each payment date to more than one class. These simultaneous payments are taken into account in calculating the stated maturity date or final distribution date of each class, which must be retired by its stated maturity date or final distribution date but may be retired earlier. PAC Bonds generally require payments of a specified amount of principal on each payment date. PAC Bonds are always parallel pay CMOs, with the required principal payment on such securities having the highest priority after interest has been paid to all classes.

Adjustable-Rate Mortgage Securities.   ARMS are a form of pass-through security representing interests in pools of mortgage loans whose interest rates are adjusted from time to time. The adjustments are usually determined in accordance with a predetermined interest rate index and may be subject to certain limits. Although the value of ARMS, like other debt securities, generally varies inversely with changes in market interest rates (increasing in value during periods of declining interest rates and decreasing in value during periods of increasing interest rates), the value of ARMS should generally be more resistant to price swings than other debt securities because the interest rates of ARMS move with market interest rates. The adjustable-rate feature of ARMS will not, however, eliminate fluctuations in the prices of ARMS, particularly during periods of extreme fluctuations in interest rates. Also, because many adjustable-rate mortgages only reset on an annual basis, it can be expected that the prices of ARMS will fluctuate to the extent that changes in prevailing interest rates are not immediately reflected in the interest rates payable on the underlying adjustable-rate mortgages.

Stripped Mortgage-Backed Securities.   Stripped mortgage-backed securities are securities that are created when a U.S. Government agency or a financial institution separates the interest and principal components of a mortgage-backed security and sells them as individual securities. The holder of the PO receives the principal payments made by the underlying mortgage-backed security, while the holder of the IO receives interest payments from the same underlying security. The prices of stripped mortgage-backed securities may be particularly affected by changes in interest rates. As interest rates fall, prepayment rates tend to increase, which tends to reduce prices of IOs and increase prices of POs. Rising interest rates can have the opposite effect.

Estimated Average Life.   Due to the possibility of prepayments of the underlying mortgage instruments, mortgage-backed securities generally do not have a known maturity. In the absence of a known maturity, market participants generally refer to an “average life estimate.” An average life estimate is a function of an assumption regarding anticipated prepayment patterns and is based upon current interest rates, current conditions in the relevant housing markets and other factors. The assumption is necessarily subjective, and thus different market participants can produce different average life estimates with regard to the same security. There can be no assurance that the estimated average life will be a security’s actual average life.

Municipal Securities

Municipal securities consist of: (i) debt obligations issued by or on behalf of public authorities to obtain funds to be used for various public facilities, refunding outstanding obligations, general operating expenses and lending such funds to other public

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institutions and facilities, and (ii) certain private activity and industrial development bonds issued by or on behalf of public authorities to obtain funds to provide for the construction, equipment, repair or improvement of privately operated facilities. Additional information regarding municipal securities is described below:

Municipal Bonds.   Municipal bonds are debt obligations issued to obtain funds for various public purposes. Municipal bonds include general obligation bonds, revenue or special obligation bonds, private activity and industrial development bonds, moral obligation bonds and participation interests in municipal bonds. General obligation bonds are backed by the taxing power of the issuing municipality. Revenue bonds are backed by the revenues of a project or facility, such as tolls from a toll bridge. Certificates of participation represent an interest in an underlying obligation or commitment, such as an obligation issued in connection with a leasing arrangement. The payment of principal and interest on private activity and industrial development bonds is generally dependent solely on the ability of the facility’s user to meet its financial obligations and the pledge, if any, of real and personal property so financed as security for such payment. A Fund may purchase private activity or industrial development bonds if, in the opinion of counsel for the issuers, the interest paid is exempt from federal income tax. Municipal bonds are issued by or on behalf of public authorities to raise money to finance various privately-owned or operated facilities for business and manufacturing, housing, sports and pollution control. These bonds are also used to finance public facilities such as airports, mass transit systems, ports, parking, sewage or solid waste disposal facilities and certain other facilities. The payment of the principal and interest on such bonds is dependent solely on the ability of the facility’s user to meet its financial obligations and the pledge, if any, of real and personal property so financed as security for such payment. Moral obligation bonds are normally issued by special purpose authorities. Moral obligation bonds are not backed by the full faith and credit of the state, but are generally backed by the agreement of the issuing authority to request appropriations from the state legislative body.

Municipal Leases.   Municipal leases are instruments, or participations in instruments, issued in connection with lease obligations or installment purchase contract obligations of municipalities (so-called “municipal lease obligations”). Although municipal lease obligations do not constitute general obligations of the issuing municipality, a lease obligation may be backed by the municipality’s covenant to budget for, appropriate funds for and make the payments due under the lease obligation. However, certain lease obligations contain “non-appropriation” clauses, which provide that the municipality has no obligation to make lease or installment purchase payments in future years unless money is appropriated for such purpose in the relevant years. Municipal lease obligations are a form of financing, and the market for such obligations is still developing. Municipal leases will be treated as liquid only if they satisfy criteria set forth in guidelines established by the Board, and there can be no assurance that a market will exist or continue to exist for any municipal lease obligation. Information regarding illiquid securities is provided under the section “Illiquid Securities” above.

Municipal Notes.   Municipal notes consist of general obligation notes, tax anticipation notes (notes sold to finance working capital needs of the issuer in anticipation of receiving taxes on a future date), revenue anticipation notes (notes sold to provide needed cash prior to receipt of expected non-tax revenues from a specific source), bond anticipation notes, tax and revenue anticipation notes, certificates of indebtedness, demand notes and construction loan notes. The maturities of the instruments at the time of issue will generally range from three months to one year.

The Adviser and/or a Sub-Adviser, as applicable, may rely on the opinion of the issuer’s counsel, which is rendered at the time the security is issued, to determine whether the security is fit, with respect to its validity and tax status, to be purchased by a Fund. The Adviser, the Sub-Advisers and the Funds do not guarantee this opinion is correct, and there is no assurance that the IRS will agree with such counsel’s opinion.

Pay-in-Kind Securities

The fixed income oriented Funds may invest in pay-in-kind securities. Pay-in-kind securities are debt obligations or preferred stock that pays interest or dividends in the form of additional debt obligations or preferred stock.

Private Placements

Investment in privately placed securities may be less liquid than in publicly traded securities. Although these securities may be resold in privately negotiated transactions, the prices realized from these sales could be less than those originally paid by a Fund or less than what may be considered the fair value of such securities. Furthermore, companies whose securities are not publicly traded may not be subject to the disclosure and other investor protection requirements that might be applicable if their securities were publicly traded.

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Put Transactions

A Fund may purchase securities at a price which would result in a yield to maturity lower than generally offered by the seller at the time of purchase when the Fund can simultaneously acquire the right to sell the securities back to the seller, the issuer or a third party (the “writer”) at an agreed-upon price at any time during a stated period or on a certain date. Such a right is generally denoted as a “standby commitment” or a “put.” The purpose of engaging in transactions involving puts is to maintain flexibility and liquidity to permit a Fund to meet redemptions and remain as fully invested as possible in municipal securities. A Fund reserves the right to engage in put transactions. The right to put the securities depends on the writer’s ability to pay for the securities at the time the put is exercised. A Fund would limit its put transactions to institutions which an adviser believes present minimum credit risks, and an adviser would use its best efforts to initially determine and continue to monitor the financial strength of the sellers of the options by evaluating their financial statements and such other information as is available in the marketplace. It may, however, be difficult to monitor the financial strength of the writers because adequate current financial information may not be available. In the event that any writer is unable to honor a put for financial reasons, a Fund would be a general creditor (i.e., on a parity with all other unsecured creditors) of the writer. Furthermore, particular provisions of the contract between a Fund and the writer may excuse the writer from repurchasing the securities; for example, a change in the published rating of the underlying municipal securities or any similar event that has an adverse effect on the issuer’s credit or a provision in the contract that the put will not be exercised except in certain special cases; for example, to maintain Fund liquidity. A Fund could, however, at any time sell the underlying portfolio security in the open market or wait until the portfolio security matures, at which time it should realize the full par value of the security.

The securities purchased subject to a put may be sold to third persons at any time, even though the put is outstanding, but the put itself, unless it is an integral part of the security as originally issued, may not be marketable or otherwise assignable. Therefore, the put would have value only to that particular Fund. Sale of the securities to third parties or lapse of time with the put unexercised may terminate the right to put the securities. Prior to the expiration of any put option, a Fund could seek to negotiate terms for the extension of such an option. If such a renewal cannot be negotiated on terms satisfactory to the Fund, the Fund could, of course, sell the portfolio security. The maturity of the underlying security will generally be different from that of the put. For the purpose of determining the “maturity” of securities purchased subject to an option to put, and for the purpose of determining the dollar-weighted average maturity of a Fund including such securities, the Fund will consider “maturity” to be the first date on which it has the right to demand payment from the writer of the put although the final maturity of the security is later than such date.

Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”)

REITs are pooled investment vehicles which invest primarily in income producing real estate or real estate related loans or interests. REITs are generally classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs or a combination of equity and mortgage REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive income primarily from the collection of rents. Equity REITs can also realize capital gains by selling properties that have appreciated in value. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive income from the collection of interest payments. REITs are not taxed on income distributed to shareholders provided they comply with the applicable tax laws. Debt securities issued by REITs, for the most part, are general and unsecured obligations and are subject to risks associated with REITs.

Investing in REITs involves certain unique risks in addition to those risks associated with investing in the real estate industry in general. An equity REIT may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying properties owned by the REIT. A mortgage REIT may be affected by changes in interest rates and the ability of the issuers of its Fund mortgages to repay their obligations. REITs are dependent upon the skills of their managers and are not diversified. REITs are generally dependent upon maintaining cash flows to repay borrowings and to make distributions to shareholders and are subject to the risk of default by lessees or borrowers. REITs whose underlying assets are concentrated in properties used by a particular industry, such as health care, are also subject to industry related risks.

REITs (especially mortgage REITs) also are subject to interest rate risks. When interest rates decline, the value of a REIT’s investment in fixed rate obligations can be expected to rise. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the value of a REIT’s investment in fixed rate obligations can be expected to decline. If the REIT invests in adjustable-rate mortgage loans the interest rates on which are reset periodically, yields on a REIT’s investments in such loans will gradually align themselves to reflect changes in market interest rates. This causes the value of such investments to fluctuate less dramatically in response to interest rate fluctuations than would investments in fixed rate obligations.

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REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. Historically, REITs have been more volatile in price than the larger capitalization stocks included in Standard & Poor’s 500® Stock Index (“S&P 500”).

Repurchase Agreements

The Funds may enter into repurchase agreements. Under the terms of a typical repurchase agreement, a Fund would acquire an underlying debt obligation for a relatively short period (usually not more than one week) subject to an obligation of the seller to repurchase, and the Fund to resell, the obligation at an agreed upon price and time, thereby determining the yield during the Fund’s holding period. This arrangement results in a fixed rate of return that is not subject to market fluctuations during the Fund’s holding period. A Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with respect to U.S. government securities with member banks of the Federal Reserve System and certain non-bank dealers. Under each repurchase agreement, the selling institution is required to maintain the value of the securities subject to the repurchase agreement at not less than their repurchase price. A Fund’s Sub-adviser, acting under the supervision of the Trustees, reviews on an ongoing basis the value of the collateral and the creditworthiness of those non-bank dealers with whom the Fund enters into repurchase agreements. A Fund may not enter into a repurchase agreement with more than seven days to maturity if, as a result, more than 15% of the value of its net assets would be invested in illiquid investments that are assets, including such repurchase agreements. In entering into a repurchase agreement, a Fund bears a risk of loss in the event the other party to the transaction defaults on its obligations and the Fund is delayed or prevented from exercising its rights to dispose of the underlying securities, including the risk of a possible decline in the value of the underlying securities during the period in which the Fund seeks to assert its rights to them, the risk of incurring expenses associated with asserting those rights and the risk of losing all or a part of the income from the agreement.

Reverse Repurchase Agreements

Reverse repurchase agreements are transactions in which a Fund sells portfolio securities to financial institutions, such as banks and broker-dealers, and agrees to repurchase them at a mutually agreed-upon date and price that is higher than the original sale price. Reverse repurchase agreements are similar to a fully collateralized borrowing by a Fund. Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act permits a Fund to enter into reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions, notwithstanding the limitation on the issuance of senior securities in Section 18 of the 1940. The Rule permits a Fund to elect whether to treat a reverse repurchase agreement as a borrowing, subject to the asset coverage requirements of Section 18 of the Act, or as a Derivative Transactions under Rule 18f-4. See “Derivatives” above.

Reverse repurchase agreements involve risks. Reverse repurchase agreements are a form of leverage, and the use of reverse repurchase agreements by a Fund may increase the Fund’s volatility. Reverse repurchase agreements are also subject to the risk that the other party to the reverse repurchase agreement will be unable or unwilling to complete the transaction as scheduled, which may result in losses to a Fund. Reverse repurchase agreements also involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by a Fund may decline below the price at which it is obligated to repurchase the securities. In addition, when a Fund invests the proceeds it receives in a reverse repurchase transaction, there is a risk that those investments may decline in value. In this circumstance, a Fund could be required to sell other investments in order to meet its obligations to repurchase the securities.

Rule 144A Securities Risk

The market for Rule 144A securities typically is less active than the market for publicly traded securities. Rule 144A securities carry the risk that their liquidity may become impaired and the Fund may be unable to dispose of the securities promptly or at reasonable prices.

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies

The Fund may invest in publicly or private offered special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) to the extent that a Sub-adviser believes that such investment will help the Fund to meet its investment objective. SPACs are collective investment structures that pool funds in order to seek potential acquisition opportunities. SPACs and similar entities may be blank check companies with no operating history or ongoing business other than to seek a potential acquisition. Certain SPACs may seek acquisitions only in limited industries or regions, which may increase the volatility of their prices. Investments in SPACs may be illiquid and/or be subject to restrictions on resale. To the extent the SPAC is invested in cash or similar securities, this may impact a Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective.

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SPACs involve risks. Unless and until an acquisition is completed, a SPAC generally invests its assets (less an amount to cover expenses) in U.S. Government securities, money market fund securities and cash. SPACs and similar entities may be blank check companies with no operating history or ongoing business other than to seek a potential acquisition. Accordingly, the value of their securities is particularly dependent on the ability of the entity’s management to identify and complete a profitable acquisition. Certain SPACs may seek acquisitions only in limited industries or regions, which may increase the volatility of their prices. Investments in SPACs may be illiquid and/or be subject to restrictions on resale. To the extent the SPAC is invested in cash or similar securities, this may impact a Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective.

Structured Notes

Typically, the value of the principal and/or interest on these instruments is determined by reference to changes in the value of specific currencies, interest rates, indexes or other financial indicators (“Reference”) or the relevant change in two or more References. The interest rate or the principal amount payable upon maturity or redemption may be increased or decreased depending upon changes in the applicable Reference. The terms of the structured securities may provide that in certain circumstances no principal is due at maturity and, therefore, may result in the loss of the Fund’s entire investment. The value of structured securities may move in the same or the opposite direction as the value of the Reference, so that appreciation of the Reference may produce an increase or decrease in the interest rate or value of the security at maturity. In addition, the change in interest rate or the value of the security at maturity may be a multiple of the change in the value of the Reference so that the security may be more or less volatile than the Reference, depending on the multiple. Consequently, structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk and volatility than other types of debt obligations. Structured notes are derivative debt securities, the interest rate or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. Indexed securities include structured notes as well as securities other than debt securities, the interest rate or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. Indexed securities may include a multiplier that multiplies the indexed element by a specified factor and, therefore, the value of such securities may be very volatile. To the extent the Funds invest in these securities, however, the Sub-adviser analyzes these securities in its overall assessment of the effective duration of the Funds’ portfolio in an effort to monitor the Funds’ interest rate risk. Certain restrictions imposed on the Funds by the IRC may limit the Funds’ ability to use structured notes.

TBAs

A Fund that purchases or sells mortgage-backed securities may choose to purchase or sell certain mortgage-backed securities on a delayed delivery or forward commitment basis through the “to-be announced” ​(TBA) market. With TBA transactions, the fund would enter into a commitment to either purchase or sell mortgage-backed securities for a fixed price, with payment and delivery at a scheduled future date beyond the customary settlement period for mortgage-backed securities. These transactions are considered to be TBA because a Fund commits to buy a pool of mortgages that have yet to be specifically identified but will meet certain standardized parameters (such as yield, duration, and credit quality) and contain similar loan characteristics. For either purchase or sale transactions, a Fund may choose to extend the settlement through a “dollar roll” transaction in which it sells mortgage-backed securities to a dealer and simultaneously agrees to purchase substantially similar securities in the future at a predetermined price. These transactions have the potential to enhance a Fund’s returns and reduce its administrative burdens when compared with holding mortgage-backed securities directly, although these transactions will increase the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate. During the roll period, a Fund forgoes principal and interest paid on the securities. However, the Fund would be compensated by the difference between the current sale price and the forward price for the future purchase, as well as by the interest earned on the cash proceeds of the initial sale. Although the particular TBA securities must meet industry-accepted “good delivery” standards, there can be no assurance that a security purchased on a forward commitment basis will ultimately be issued or delivered by the counterparty. During the settlement period, a Fund will still bear the risk of any decline in the value of the security to be delivered. Dollar roll transactions involve the simultaneous purchase and sale of substantially similar TBA securities for different settlement dates. Because these transactions do not require the purchase and sale of identical securities, the characteristics of the security delivered to the fund may be less favorable than the security delivered to the dealer.

Temporary Investments

For temporary defensive purposes, during periods when a Sub-adviser of a Fund, in consultation with the Adviser, believes that pursuing a Fund’s basic investment strategy may be inconsistent with the best interests of its shareholders, that Fund may invest its assets in the following money market instruments: U.S. government securities (including those purchased in the form of custodial receipts), repurchase agreements, CD and bankers’ acceptances issued by U.S. banks or savings and loan associations having assets of at least $500 million as of the end of their most recent fiscal year and high quality commercial

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paper. A Fund also may hold a portion of its assets in money market instruments or cash in amounts designed to pay expenses, to meet anticipated redemptions or pending investment in accordance with its objectives and policies. Any temporary investments may be purchased on a when-issued basis. A Fund’s investment in any other short-term debt instruments would be subject to the Fund’s investment objectives and policies, and to approval by the Board. For further discussion regarding money market instruments, see the section entitled, “Money Market Instruments” above.

U.S. Government Securities

U.S. government securities are subject to market and interest rate risk, and may be subject to varying degrees of credit risk. The U.S. government securities in which the Fund may invest include debt obligations of varying maturities issued by the U.S. Treasury or issued or guaranteed by an agency or instrumentality of the U.S. government, including the Federal Housing Administration, Federal Financing Bank, Farmers Home Administration, Export-Import Bank of the U.S., Small Business Administration, GNMA, General Services Administration, Central Bank for Cooperatives, Federal Farm Credit Banks, Federal Home Loan Banks, FHLMC, FNMA, Maritime Administration, Tennessee Valley Authority, District of Columbia Armory Board, Student Loan Marketing Association, Resolution Trust Corporation and various institutions that previously were or currently are part of the Farm Credit System. Some U.S. government securities, such as U.S. Treasury bills, Treasury notes and Treasury bonds, which differ only in their interest rates, maturities and times of issuance, are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Others are supported by: (i) the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury, such as securities of the Federal Home Loan Banks; (ii) the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase the agency’s obligations, such as securities of FNMA; or (iii) only the credit of the issuer, such as securities of FHLMC. No assurance can be given that the U.S. government will provide financial support in the future to U.S. government agencies, authorities or instrumentalities that are not supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Securities guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. government, its agencies, authorities or instrumentalities (“U.S. government securities”) include: (i) securities for which the payment of principal and interest is backed by an irrevocable letter of credit issued by the U.S. government or any of its agencies, authorities or instrumentalities; and (ii) participations in loans made to foreign governments or other entities that are so guaranteed. The secondary market for certain of these participations is limited and, therefore, may be regarded as illiquid.

U.S. government securities may include zero coupon securities, which tend to be subject to greater market risk than interest-paying securities of similar maturities, that may be purchased when yields are attractive and/or to enhance Fund liquidity. Zero coupon U.S. government securities are debt obligations that are issued or purchased at a significant discount from face value. The discount approximates the total amount of interest the security will accrue and compound over the period until maturity or the particular interest payment date at a rate of interest reflecting the market rate of the security at the time of issuance. Zero coupon U.S. government securities do not require the periodic payment of interest. These investments benefit the issuer by mitigating its need for cash to meet debt service, but also require a higher rate of return to attract investors who are willing to defer receipt of cash. These investments may experience greater volatility in market value than U.S. government securities that make regular payments of interest. A Fund accrues income on these investments for tax and accounting purposes that is distributable to shareholders and which, because no cash is received at the time of accrual, may require the liquidation of other portfolio securities to satisfy the Fund’s distribution obligations, in which case the Fund will forgo the purchase of additional income producing assets with these funds. Zero coupon U.S. government securities include Separately Traded Registered Interest and Principal Securities (“STRIPS”) and Coupons Under Book-Entry Safekeeping (“CUBES”), which are issued by the U.S. Treasury as component parts of U.S. Treasury bonds and represent scheduled interest and principal payments on the bonds.

If the total public debt of the U.S. Government as a percentage of gross domestic product reaches high levels as a result of combating financial downturn or otherwise, such high levels of debt may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented. A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may increase borrowing costs and cause a government to issue additional debt, thereby increasing the risk of refinancing. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government may be unable or unwilling to repay the principal or interest on its debt. Unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy during economic downturns.

An increase in national debt levels may also necessitate the need for the U.S. Congress to negotiate adjustments to the statutory debt ceiling to increase the cap on the amount the U.S. Government is permitted to borrow to meet its existing obligations and finance current budget deficits. Future downgrades could increase volatility in domestic and foreign financial markets, result in higher interest rates, lower prices of U.S. Treasury securities and increase the costs of different kinds of debt. Any controversy or ongoing uncertainty regarding statutory debt ceiling negotiations may impact the U.S. long-term

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sovereign credit rating and may cause market uncertainty. As a result, market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government may be adversely affected. Although remote, it is at least theoretically possible that under certain scenarios the U.S. Government could default on its debt, including U.S. Treasury securities.

Exchange Rate-Related U.S. Government Securities.   The Funds may invest up to 5% of their assets in U.S. government securities for which the principal repayment at maturity, while paid in U.S. dollars, is determined by reference to the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the currency of one or more foreign countries (“Exchange Rate-Related Securities”). The interest payable on these securities is denominated in U.S. dollars, is not subject to foreign currency risk and, in most cases, is paid at rates higher than most other U.S. government securities in recognition of the foreign currency risk component of Exchange Rate-Related Securities.

Exchange Rate-Related Securities are issued in a variety of forms, depending on the structure of the principal repayment formula. The principal repayment formula may be structured so that the security holder will benefit if a particular foreign currency to which the security is linked is stable or appreciates against the U.S. dollar. In the alternative, the principal repayment formula may be structured so that the security holder benefits if the U.S. dollar is stable or appreciates against the linked foreign currency. Finally, the principal repayment formula can be a function of more than one currency and, therefore, be designed as a combination of those forms.

Investments in Exchange Rate-Related Securities entail special risks. There is the possibility of significant changes in rates of exchange between the U.S. dollar and any foreign currency to which an Exchange Rate-Related Security is linked. If currency exchange rates do not move in the direction or to the extent anticipated by the Sub-adviser at the time of purchase of the security, the amount of principal repaid at maturity might be significantly below the par value of the security, which might not be offset by the interest earned by the Fund over the term of the security. The rate of exchange between the U.S. dollar and other currencies is determined by the forces of supply and demand in the foreign exchange markets. These forces are affected by the international balance of payments and other economic and financial conditions, government intervention, speculation and other factors. The imposition or modification of foreign exchange controls by the U.S. or foreign governments or intervention by central banks could also affect exchange rates. Finally, there is no assurance that sufficient trading interest to create a liquid secondary market will exist for a particular Exchange Rate-Related Security because of conditions in the debt and foreign currency markets. Illiquidity in the forward foreign exchange market and the high volatility of the foreign exchange market may from time to time combine to make it difficult to sell an Exchange Rate-Related Security prior to maturity without incurring a significant price loss.

When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities

The Funds may purchase securities, including U.S. government securities, on a when-issued basis or may purchase or sell securities for delayed delivery. When-issued and delayed delivery basis, including “TBA” ​(to be announced) basis, transactions involve the purchase of an instrument with payment and delivery taking place in the future. In such transactions, delivery of the securities occurs beyond the normal settlement period, but no payment or delivery is made by a Fund prior to the actual delivery or payment by the other party to the transaction. The purchase of securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis involves the risk that the value of the securities purchased will decline prior to the settlement date. The sale of securities for delayed delivery involves the risk that the prices available in the market on the delivery date may be greater than those obtained in the sale transaction.

Rule 18f-4 under 1940 Act permits a Fund to enter into when-issued or delayed delivery basis securities notwithstanding the limitation on the issuance of senior securities in Section 18 of the 1940 Act, provided that the Fund intends to physically settle the transaction and the transaction will settle within 35 days of its trade date. If a when-issued or delayed delivery basis security does not satisfy those requirements, the Fund would need to comply with Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act with respect to its when issued or delayed delivery transactions, which are considered Derivative Transactions under the Rule. See “Derivatives” above.

INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS

The following investment restrictions have been adopted by the Trust as fundamental policies of each of the Funds. Each Fund’s investment objective, stated in the Prospectus, is not fundamental, meaning that each may be changed by a vote of a majority of the Board at any time upon at least 60 days’ prior notice to shareholders. Under the 1940 Act, a fundamental policy may not be changed without the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of a Fund, which is defined in the 1940 Act as the lesser of  (i) 67% or more of the shares present at a Fund meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the

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outstanding shares of the Fund are present or represented by proxy, or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund.

Each Fund may comply with its investment policies by investing a portion of its assets in the interests of other pooled investment vehicles, in which case the Fund’s investments in such entity shall be deemed to be an investment in the underlying securities in the same proportion as such entity’s investment in such securities bears to its net assets.

Fundamental Investment Restrictions

1.   The Funds will not invest more than 25% of its total assets in securities, the issuers of which conduct their principal business activities in the same industry. For purposes of this limitation, U.S. government securities and securities of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions are not considered to be issued by members of any industry.

2.   The Funds will not issue “senior securities” as defined in the 1940 Act, and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder, except as permitted under the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder, as such statute, rules, regulations or orders may be amended or interpreted from time to time.

3.   The Funds will not borrow money, except that (a) the Funds may borrow from banks for temporary or emergency (not leveraging) purposes, including the meeting of redemption requests which might otherwise require the untimely disposition of securities, in an amount not exceeding 331∕3% of the value of a Fund’s total assets (including the amount borrowed) valued at the lesser of cost or market, less liabilities (not including the amount borrowed) and (b) the Funds may, to the extent consistent with its investment policies, enter into reverse repurchase agreements, forward roll transactions and similar investment strategies and techniques.

4.   The Funds will not make loans. This restriction does not apply to: (a) the purchase of debt obligations in which the Funds may invest consistent with its investment objectives and policies (including participation interests in such obligations); (b) repurchase agreements; and (c) loans of its portfolio securities.

5.   The Funds will not purchase or sell real estate, real estate mortgages, commodities or commodity contracts, but this restriction shall not prevent the Funds from: (a) investing in and selling securities of issuers engaged in the real estate business and securities which are secured by real estate or interests therein; (b) holding or selling real estate received in connection with securities it holds; (c) trading in futures contracts and options on futures contracts or (d) investing in or purchasing real estate investment trust securities.

6.   The Funds will not engage in the business of underwriting securities issued by other persons, except to the extent that the Funds may technically be deemed to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act in disposing of portfolio securities.

7.   The Funds will not purchase any securities on margin (except for such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of purchases and sales of portfolio securities). For purposes of this restriction, the deposit or payment by the Funds of underlying securities and other assets in escrow and collateral agreements with respect to initial or maintenance margin in connection with futures contracts and related options and options on securities, indexes or similar items is not considered to be the purchase of a security on margin.

8.   With respect to the Destinations Municipal Fixed Income Fund, the Fund will invest, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowing for investment purposes) in debt instruments that pay interest that is exempt from regular federal income tax.

The Funds’ fundamental policies are written and will be interpreted broadly. For example, the policies will be interpreted to refer to the 1940 Act and the related rules as they are in effect from time to time, and to interpretations and modifications of or relating to the 1940 Act by the SEC and others as they are given from time to time. When a policy provides that an investment practice may be conducted as permitted by the 1940 Act, the policy will be interpreted to mean either that the 1940 Act expressly permits the practice or that the 1940 Act does not prohibit the practice.

Additional Information About Concentration

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to concentration set forth in (1) above, the 1940 Act does not define what constitutes “concentration” in an industry. The SEC staff has taken the position that investment of 25% or more of a Fund’s total assets in one or more issuers conducting their principal activities in the same industry or group of industries constitutes concentration. It is possible that interpretations of concentration could change in the future. In general, a fund that invests a significant percentage of its total assets in a single industry or group of industries may be particularly susceptible to adverse

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events affecting that industry or group of industries and may be more risky than a fund that does not concentrate in an industry.

The policy in (1) above will be interpreted to refer to concentration as that term may be interpreted from time to time. The policy also will be interpreted to permit investment without limit in the following: securities of the U.S. government and its agencies or instrumentalities; with respect to tax-exempt funds that invest 80% of their assets in tax-exempt securities, securities of state, territory, possession or municipal governments and their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions; and repurchase agreements collateralized by any such obligations. Accordingly, issuers of the foregoing securities will not be considered to be members of any industry.

The policy also will be interpreted to give broad authority to the Funds as to how to classify issuers within or among industry groups, industries or sub-industries. When identifying sectors, industry groups, industries or sub-industries for purposes of its concentration policy, a Fund may rely upon available industry and sub-industry classifications. As of the date of the SAI, the Funds rely on the MSCI Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) classifications. For purposes of the Funds’ concentration policy, the Funds may classify and re-classify companies in a particular industry or sub-industry and define and re- define industries and sub-industries in any reasonable manner, consistent with SEC and SEC staff guidance.

For purposes of the investment limitation on concentration in a particular industry, (i) each foreign government is deemed to be its own industry, (ii) loan participations will be considered investments in the industry or sub-industry of the underlying borrower, rather than that of the seller of the loan participation, (iii) municipal obligations are not considered a separate industry, (iv) finance companies will be considered a part of the industry they finance; and (v) each sub-industry of the GICS “Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts” industry will be considered a separate industry.

The following are non-fundamental investment restrictions and may be changed by a vote of a majority of the Board at any time upon at least 60 days’ prior notice to shareholders. Each Fund’s investment objective, stated in the Prospectus, is not fundamental.

Non-Fundamental Investment Restrictions

Unless otherwise explicitly stated herein, the investment policies, strategies and restrictions of the Funds are not fundamental and may be changed by the Board, without shareholder approval. Further, the investment objectives of the Funds are not fundamental and may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval.

1.   The Funds will not invest in oil, gas or other mineral leases or exploration or development programs.

2.   The Funds will not make short sales of securities, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold and provided that transactions in futures contracts and options are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.

3.   The Funds will not make investments for the purpose of exercising control or management.

4.   The Funds will not purchase securities of other investment companies, except as permitted by the 1940 Act, the rules or regulations thereunder or any exemption therefrom, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended or interpreted from time to time.

5.   The Funds will not purchase or otherwise acquire any security if, as a result, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are illiquid.

6.   The Destinations Large Cap Equity Fund will invest, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in the equity securities of large capitalization companies.

7.   The Destinations Small-Mid Cap Equity Fund will invest, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in the equity securities of small-mid capitalization companies.

8.   The Destinations International Equity Fund will invest, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowing for investment purposes) in equity securities.

9.   The Destinations Equity Income Fund will invest, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in dividend-paying equity securities of both U.S.-based and foreign companies.

10.   The Destinations Core Fixed Income Fund will invest, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowing for investment purposes) in fixed income instruments.

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11.   The Destinations Low Duration Fixed Income Fund will invest, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its total assets in a diversified portfolio of fixed income securities.

12.   The Destinations Global Fixed Income Opportunities Fund will invest, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowing for investment purposes) in fixed income securities.

Any percentage limitations contained in the restrictions listed above or in a Fund’s investment policies, strategies and restrictions (other than with the fundamental investment restriction regarding borrowing described above) apply at the time of purchase of securities. With respect to the limitation on illiquid securities, in the event that a subsequent change in net assets or other circumstances causes a Fund to exceed its limitation, the Fund will take steps to bring the aggregate amount of illiquid instruments back within the limitations as soon as reasonably practicable. For purposes of the Funds’ investments in illiquid instruments, the term “illiquid investment” shall be defined in reference to Rule 22e-4 under the 1940 Act, as it may be interpreted, amended or supplemented by the SEC and its staff from time to time.

The Funds will, for the purpose of determining whether a Fund’s portfolio is concentrated in a particular industry, consider the investment policies and/or concentration of its underlying investment companies when determining the Fund’s compliance with its concentration policies.

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TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS OF THE TRUST

The Trust’s Board of Trustees (“Board” or “Trustees”) is responsible for overseeing the Trust’s management and operations. The Board approves all significant agreements between the Trust and the companies that furnish services to the Funds, including agreements with the Trust’s distributor, the Adviser, the Sub-advisers, custodian, transfer agent and administrator. The Board elects officers who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Trust and the Funds and who execute policies authorized by the Board.

Orion Portfolio Solutions, LLC d.b.a. Brinker Capital Investments (the “Adviser”), serves as the investment adviser for the Funds. The Funds employ a “multi-manager” strategy. The Adviser selects and oversees professional money managers (each a “Sub-adviser”) who are responsible for investing the assets of the Funds allocated to them. In addition to investment advisory services, the Adviser monitors and supervises the services provided to the Trust by its administrator. The Adviser also is responsible for conducting all operations of the Trust, except those operations contracted to the Sub-advisers, the custodian, the transfer agent and the administrator.

The names of the Trustees and officers of the Trust, their addresses, and years of birth, together with information as to their principal business occupations and, for the Trustees, other board memberships they have held during the past five years, are set forth below. There is no stated term of office for the Trustees of the Trust. However, a Trustee must retire from the Board by the end of the calendar year in which the Trustee turns 78 provided that, although there shall be a presumption that each Trustee attaining such age shall retire, the Board may, if it deems doing so to be consistent with the best interest of the Trust, and with the consent of any Trustee that is eligible for retirement, by unanimous vote of the Governance Committee and majority vote of the full Board, extend the term of such Trustee for successive periods of one year. Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each Trustee is 1055 Westlakes Drive, Suite 250, Berwyn, PA 19312.

The executive officers of the Trust are employees of organizations that provide services to the Funds. Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each officer is 1055 Westlakes Drive, Suite 250, Berwyn, PA 19312.

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*

Each Trustee remains in office until he or she resigns, retires or is removed.

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​

*

Each Trustee remains in office until he or she resigns, retires or is removed.

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**

Mr. Del Raso became an “interested” Trustee (as such term is defined under Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act) as of April 1, 2018. The law firm at which Mr. Del Raso is a partner provides legal services to a current Sub-Adviser of the Funds, making Mr. Del Raso an interested person with respect to the Trust, as a technical matter, pursuant to paragraphs (A)(iii) and (B)(iv) of Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act.

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​

***

The President, Treasurer and Secretary hold office until their respective successors are chosen and qualified or until he or she sooner dies, resigns, is removed or becomes disqualified. Each of the other officers serves at the pleasure of the Board.

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Board Composition and Leadership Structure

Three of the five Trustees on the Board (60%) are not “interested persons” ​(as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust and are not affiliated with the Adviser or any Sub-adviser (“Independent Trustees”). Ms. Beaman, an Interested Trustee, serves as Chair of the Board. There are two primary committees of the Board: the Audit Committee and the Governance Committee. The Audit Committee is chaired by Mr. Marsini and includes all of the Independent Trustees. The Governance Committee is

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chaired by Mr. Del Raso and includes all of the Trustees. The Board has determined that this leadership structure is appropriate given (i) the specific characteristics and circumstances of the Trust, (ii) the services that the Adviser and its affiliates and the Sub-advisers provide to the Trust, and (iii) the potential conflicts of interest that could arise from these relationships. The Board believes that the existing Board structure is appropriate because, among other things, it allows the Independent Trustees to exercise independent business judgment in evaluating the Trust’s management and service providers.

Board Oversight of Risk Management

The Board considers risk management as part of its general oversight responsibilities. As is the case with virtually all mutual funds, service providers to the Trust, primarily the Adviser and its affiliates and the Sub-advisers, have responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Funds, which includes responsibility for risk management (including management of investment performance and investment risk, valuation risk, issuer and counterparty credit risk, compliance risk and operational risk). As part of its oversight, the Board, acting at its scheduled meetings, or the Chair of the Board or the appropriate Committees, acting between Board meetings, regularly interacts with and receives reports from senior personnel of service providers, including the Adviser’s investment officers, the Trust’s and the Adviser’s Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) and the Sub- advisers’ portfolio management personnel. The Board’s Audit Committee meets during its scheduled meetings, and between meetings the Audit Committee Chair maintains contact, with the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm and the Trust’s Chief Financial Officer. The Board receives periodic presentations from senior personnel of the Adviser or its affiliates regarding investment performance of the Funds and the applicable investment risk management process. The Board also receives periodic presentations from senior personnel of the Adviser or its affiliates and the Sub-advisers regarding risk management, as well as periodic presentations regarding specific operational, compliance or investment areas, such as business continuity, anti-money laundering, cybersecurity, personal trading, valuation, credit, investment research, portfolio trading and transactions, and securities lending. The Board has adopted policies and procedures designed to address certain risks to the Funds. In addition, the Adviser and other service providers to the Trust have adopted a variety of policies, procedures and controls designed to address particular risks to the Funds, many of which are reviewed by the Board. Different processes, procedures and controls are employed with respect to different types of risks. However, it is not possible to eliminate all risks applicable to the Funds. The Board also receives reports from counsel to the Trust, also counsel to the Adviser and the Independent Trustees’ own independent legal counsel regarding regulatory compliance and governance matters. The Board’s oversight role does not make the Board a guarantor of the Funds’ investments or activities.

Individual Trustee Qualifications

The Board believes that each Trustee’s experience, qualifications, attributes or skills individually and in combination with those of the other Trustees support the conclusion that the Board possesses the requisite attributes and skills to effectively oversee the management of the Trust and protect the interests of Fund shareholders. The Board believes that the significance of each Trustee’s experience, qualifications, attributes or skills is an individual matter (meaning that experience that is important for one Trustee may not have the same value for another) and that these factors are best evaluated at the Board level, with no single Trustee, or particular factor, being indicative of Board effectiveness. The Board also believes that Trustees must have the ability to critically review, evaluate, question and discuss information provided to them, and to interact effectively with each other and with Trust management, service providers and counsel, in order to exercise effective business judgment in the performance of their duties. The Board believes that the Trustees satisfy this standard. Experience relevant to this ability may be achieved through a Trustee’s educational background; business, professional training or practice (e.g., accounting or law), public service or academic positions; experience from service as a board member (including the Board of the Trust) or as an executive of investment funds, public companies or significant private or not-for profit entities or other organizations; or other life experiences. The Board noted that most of the Trustees had experience serving as directors on the boards of operating companies and/or other investment companies. The Board considered that the various Trustees have or had careers in the financial services or investment management industries, including holding executive positions in companies engaged in these industries, which allows these Trustees to bring valuable, relevant experience as members of the Board.

Board Committees

The Trust has an Audit Committee. The members of the Audit Committee consist of all the Independent Trustees of the Trust, namely, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Marsini Jr. and Mr. McGowan. The Trust also has a Governance Committee composed of all of the Trustees.

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The Audit Committee oversees each Fund’s audit, accounting and financial reporting policies and practices and its internal controls. The Audit Committee approves, and recommends to the Board for its ratification, the selection, appointment, retention or termination of the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm and reviews the compensation of the independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee also pre-approves all audit and permissible non-audit services provided to each Fund by the independent registered public accounting firm and all permissible non-audit services provided by the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm to the Adviser and any advisory affiliates. The Audit Committee met three times during the Trust’s most recent fiscal year.

The primary responsibility of the Governance Committee is to support the Board in providing effective and efficient governance of the Trust. The Governance Committee reviews and considers, on behalf of all of the Trustees, the Trust’s Advisory Agreement (defined below), Sub-advisory Agreements (defined below), and agreements with the Trust’s distributor, and assists the Trustees in fulfilling their responsibilities relating to the Board’s evaluation and consideration of these arrangements. The Governance Committee also reviews the compensation to be paid to the Board and coordinates the Board’s annual self-assessment for the purposes of evaluating the performance and effectiveness of the Board. The Governance Committee met five times during the Trust’s most recent fiscal year.

Securities Beneficially Owned by Each Trustee

The following table shows the dollar amount range of each Trustee’s “beneficial ownership” of shares of the Funds as of the end of the most recently completed calendar year. Dollar amount ranges disclosed are established by the SEC. “Beneficial ownership” is determined in accordance with Rule 16a-1(a)(2) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”). The Trustees and officers of the Funds, together as a group, beneficially owned less than 1% of each class of each Fund’s outstanding shares.

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Trustee Compensation

The following table shows the compensation paid by the Trust to each Independent Trustee during the last fiscal year of the Trust. Trustees who are “interested persons” of the Trust (as defined in the 1940 Act) and officers of the Trust do not receive compensation directly from the Trust. The Funds may bear a portion of the CCO’s annual compensation.

Independent Trustees each receive an annual retainer and fees for Board meeting attendance. In addition, the Chair of the Board, Audit Committee Chair and Governance Committee Chair receive an additional annual retainer. This compensation will be allocated among the various series comprising the Trust based on the net assets of each series. Independent Trustees may receive additional fees from the applicable series for any special meetings at rates assessed by the Trustees depending on

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whether in-person attendance is required. All Trustees are reimbursed for expenses in connection with each board meeting attended, which reimbursement is allocated among applicable series of the Trust. The Trust has no pension or retirement plan. Set forth below is the expected rate of compensation earned by the following Independent Trustees. The Trust and the Fund Complex paid the following fees to the Trustees during its most recently completed fiscal year:

*

Excludes reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred to attend meetings of the Board.

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CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES

A control person is one who owns beneficially or through controlled companies more than 25% of the voting securities of a company or has acknowledged the existence of control. Persons who owned of record of beneficially more than 25% of a Fund’s outstanding shares may be deemed to control the Fund within the meaning of the 1940 Act. A shareholder who controls a Fund could have the ability to vote a majority of the shares of the Fund on any matter requiring the approval of shareholders of the Fund, including changes to the Fund’s fundamental policies or terms of the advisory agreement with the Adviser.

As of June 21, 2024, the following persons were the only persons who were record owners (or to the best knowledge of the Trust, beneficial owners) of 5% or more of any class of a Fund’s outstanding shares (Principal Holders). Principal Holders typically hold shares in accounts for their fiduciary, agency or custodial customers.

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PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

Decisions to buy and sell securities for a Fund are made by the Sub-adviser(s), subject to the overall review of the Adviser and the Board. Although investment decisions for the Funds are made independently from those of the other accounts managed by a Sub-adviser, investments of the type that the Funds may make also may be made by those other accounts. When a Fund and one or more other accounts managed by a Sub-adviser are prepared to invest in, or desire to dispose of, the same security, available investments or opportunities for sales will be allocated in a manner believed by the Sub-adviser to be equitable to each. In some cases, this procedure may adversely affect the price paid or received by a Fund or the size of the position obtained or disposed of by a Fund.

The Board has approved procedures in conformity with Rule 10f-3 under the 1940 Act whereby the Funds may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate participates. These procedures prohibit the Fund from directly or indirectly benefiting an affiliate in connection with such underwritings. In addition, for underwritings where an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the Fund could purchase in the underwritings.

Transactions on U.S. stock exchanges and some foreign stock exchanges involve the payment of negotiated brokerage commissions. On exchanges on which commissions are negotiated, the cost of transactions may vary among different brokers. On most foreign exchanges, commissions are generally fixed. No stated commission is generally applicable to securities traded in the U.S. over-the-counter markets, but the underwriters include an underwriting commission or concession and the prices at which securities are purchased from and sold to dealers include a dealer’s mark-up or mark-down. U.S. government securities generally are purchased from underwriters or dealers, although certain newly issued U.S. government securities may be purchased directly from the U.S. Treasury or from the issuing agency or instrumentality.

In selecting brokers or dealers to execute securities transactions on behalf of a Fund, its Sub-adviser seeks the best overall terms available. In assessing the best overall terms available for any transaction, the Sub-adviser will consider the factors it deems relevant, including, but not limited to, the breadth of the market in the security, the price of the security, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer and the reasonableness of the commission, if any, for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. In addition, each Advisory Agreement (as defined below) between the Adviser and the Sub-adviser authorizes the Sub-adviser, in selecting brokers or dealers to execute a particular transaction, and in evaluating the best overall terms available, to consider the brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act) provided to the Fund and/or other accounts over which the Sub-adviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. In doing so, a Fund may pay higher commission rates than the lowest available when the Sub-adviser believes it is reasonable to do so in light of the value of the brokerage and research services provided by the broker effecting the transaction, as discussed below. It has for many years been a common practice in the investment advisory business for advisers of investment companies and other institutional investors to receive research services from broker-dealers which execute portfolio transactions for the clients of such advisers. Consistent with this practice, a Sub-adviser receives research services from many broker-dealers with which the Sub-adviser places portfolio trades. The Sub-adviser may also receive research or research credits from brokers, which are generated from underwriting commissions when purchasing new issues of fixed income securities or other assets for a Fund. These services, which in some cases may also be purchased for cash, include such matters as general economic and security market reviews, industry and company reviews, evaluations of securities and recommendations as to the purchase and sale of securities. Some of these services are of value to a Sub-adviser in advising its clients (including the Funds), although not all of these services are necessarily useful and of value in managing the Fund. The fees under the Advisory Agreement and the Sub-Advisory Agreements, respectively, are not reduced by reason of a Fund’s Sub-adviser receiving brokerage and research services. As noted above, a Sub-adviser may purchase new issues of securities for a Fund in underwritten fixed price offerings. In these situations, the underwriter or selling group member may provide the Sub-adviser with research in addition to selling the securities (at the fixed public offering price) to the Fund or other advisory clients. Because the offerings are conducted at a fixed price, the ability to obtain research from a broker-dealer in this situation provides knowledge that may benefit the Fund, other Sub-adviser clients, and the Sub-adviser without incurring additional costs. These arrangements may not fall within the safe harbor of Section 28(e) because the broker-dealer is considered to be acting in a principal capacity in underwritten transactions. However, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has adopted rules expressly permitting broker-dealers to provide bona fide research to advisers in connection with fixed price offerings under certain circumstances. As a general matter in these situations, the underwriter or selling group member will provide research credits at a rate that is higher than that which is available for secondary market transactions.

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The research services received from a broker-dealer may be complicated by MiFID II, which places restrictions on the receipt of research services by EU authorized investment firms and certain affiliated US asset managers.

The Board will periodically review the commissions paid by a Fund to determine if the commissions paid over representative periods of time were reasonable in relation to the benefits inuring to the Fund. Over-the-counter purchases and sales by a Fund are transacted directly with principal market makers except in those cases in which better prices and executions may be obtained elsewhere.

To the extent consistent with applicable provisions of the 1940 Act and the rules and exemptions adopted by the SEC under the 1940 Act, the Board has determined that transactions for a Fund may be executed through an affiliated broker-dealer if, in the judgment of its Sub-adviser, the use of an affiliated broker-dealer is likely to result in price and execution at least as favorable as those of other qualified broker-dealers, and if, in the transaction, the affiliated broker-dealer charges the Fund a fair and reasonable rate.

The Funds will not purchase any security, including U.S. government securities, during the existence of any underwriting or selling group relating thereto of which any affiliate of the Funds thereof, is a member, except to the extent permitted by the SEC.

The Funds may use an affiliated broker-dealer as a commodities broker in connection with entering into futures contracts and options on futures contracts if, in the judgment of the Sub-adviser, the use of an affiliated broker-dealer is likely to result in price and execution at least as favorable as those of other qualified broker-dealers, and if, in the transaction, the affiliated broker-dealer charges the Fund a fair and reasonable rate.

The Funds do not direct brokerage to brokers in recognition of, or as compensation for, the promotion or sale of Fund shares.

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BROKERAGE COMMISSIONS PAID

The following table sets forth certain information regarding each Fund’s payment of brokerage commissions for the fiscal years ended February 28, 2022, and February 28, 2023 and February 29, 2024, including payments to brokers who are affiliated persons of the Funds: