2022-07-27MunicipalFixedIncomeFunds-A2
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|
|
Prospectus
November
1, 2022 |
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
Fund |
Administrator
Class |
Allspring
California Limited-Term Tax-Free Fund |
SCTIX |
Allspring
California Tax-Free Fund |
SGCAX |
Allspring
High Yield Municipal Bond Fund |
WHYDX |
Allspring
Intermediate Tax/AMT-Free Fund |
WFITX |
Allspring
Minnesota Tax-Free Fund |
NWMIX |
Allspring
Municipal Bond Fund |
WMFDX |
Allspring
Municipal Sustainability Fund |
WMSDX |
Allspring
Short-Term Municipal Bond Fund |
WSTMX |
Allspring
Strategic Municipal Bond Fund |
VMPYX |
Allspring
Ultra Short-Term Municipal Income Fund |
WUSMX |
The U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has not approved or disapproved these
securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Anyone
who tells you
otherwise is committing a crime.
California
Limited-Term Tax-Free Fund Summary
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks current income exempt from federal income tax and California individual
income tax, consistent with capital
preservation.
Fees
and Expenses
These
tables are intended to help you understand the various costs and expenses you
will pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of
the Fund.
|
|
Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
|
|
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
|
|
Annual
Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage
of the value of your investment)
|
Management
Fees |
0.40% |
Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other
Expenses |
0.39% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
0.79% |
Fee
Waivers |
(0.19)% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers1
|
% |
1. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through October
31, 2023, to
waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary
to cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at
0.60%
for Administrator
Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp
duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and
extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense
cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be
increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may
be terminated only with the approval of the Board of
Trustees. |
Example
of Expenses
The example
below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund with
the costs of investing in other
funds. The example assumes a $10,000 initial investment, 5% annual total return,
and that fees and expenses remain the
same as in the tables above. To the extent that the Manager is waiving fees or
reimbursing expenses, the example
assumes that such waiver or reimbursement will only be in place through the date
noted above. Although your actual
costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would
be:
|
|
After:
|
|
1
Year |
$61 |
3
Years |
$233 |
5
Years |
$420 |
10
Years |
$960 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The Fund
pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities
(or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund shares are held in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating
expenses or in the example,
affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate was 32% of the
average value of its portfolio.
2 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal
securities whose interest is exempt from federal income tax,
including
federal alternative minimum tax (AMT), and California individual income
tax; |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s net assets in securities whose interest is subject to
federal income tax, including federal AMT; |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in below investment-grade municipal
securities; and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse
floaters. |
We invest
principally in municipal securities whose interest is exempt from federal income
tax, including federal AMT, and
California individual income tax. Our investment holdings may include municipal
securities issued by the state of California
and its subdivisions, authorities, instrumentalities and corporations, as well
as municipal securities issued by the
territories and possessions of the United States. Some of the securities may be
below investment grade or may be unrated and
deemed by us to be of comparable quality. We may also invest a portion of the
Fund’s net assets in securities
whose interest is subject to federal income tax, including federal
AMT. We may use futures for duration and yield curve
management. While we may purchase securities of any maturity, under normal
circumstances, we expect the Fund’s
dollar-weighted average effective maturity to be between 2 and 7
years.
We may
invest up to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse floaters to seek enhanced
returns. Inverse floaters are derivative
debt instruments created by depositing a municipal security in a trust. Inverse
floaters pay interest at rates that
generally vary inversely with specified short-term interest rates and involve
leverage. We intend to limit leverage created by
the Fund’s investment in inverse floaters to an amount equal to 10% of the
Fund’s total assets.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, and specific demographic
trends. Securities may be sold based on relative value considerations and could
be replaced with a security
that presents a better value or risk/reward profile. A security may also be sold
due to changes in credit characteristics
or outlook, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
Principal
Investment Risks
An
investment in the Fund may lose money, is
not a deposit of a bank or its affiliates, is not insured or guaranteed by
the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental
agency, and is
primarily subject to the risks briefly
summarized below.
Market
Risk. The values
of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may decline due
to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments.
Debt
Securities Risk. Debt
securities are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the
possibility that the issuer or
guarantor of a debt security may be unable, or perceived to be unable, to pay
interest or repay principal when they become
due. In these instances, the value of an investment could decline and the Fund
could lose money. Credit risk
increases as an issuer’s credit quality or financial strength declines. Interest
rate risk is the possibility that interest rates will
change over time. When interest rates rise, the value of debt securities tends
to fall. The longer the terms of the debt
securities held by a Fund, the more the Fund is subject to this risk. If
interest rates decline, interest that the Fund is
able to earn on its investments in debt securities may also decline, which could
cause the Fund to reduce the dividends
it pays to shareholders, but the value of those securities may increase. Very
low or negative interest rates may magnify
interest rate risk.
Municipal
Securities Risk. Municipal
securities may be fully or partially backed or enhanced by the taxing authority
of a local
government, by the current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or
specific assets, or by the credit of, or
liquidity enhancement provided by, a private issuer. Various types of municipal
securities are often related in such a way that
political, economic or business developments affecting one obligation could
affect other municipal securities held by a
Fund.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
3 |
State
Emphasis Risk. Securities
issued by a particular state and its subdivisions, authorities,
instrumentalities and corporations
are subject to the risk of unfavorable developments occurring in such state.
Such developments may adversely
impact the liquidity and value of the municipal securities in which a Fund
invests and, in turn, adversely impact the
value of the Fund’s shares.
Derivatives
Risk. The use of
derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, can lead to losses,
including those
magnified by leverage, particularly when derivatives are used to enhance return
rather than mitigate risk. Certain derivative
instruments may be difficult to sell when the portfolio manager believes it
would be appropriate to do so, or the other
party to a derivative contract may be unwilling or unable to fulfill its
contractual obligations.
Futures
Contracts Risk. A Fund
that uses futures contracts, which are a type of derivative, is subject to the
risk of loss caused by
unanticipated market movements. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect
correlation between the movement in
the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or
indexes, and there may at times not
be a liquid secondary market for certain futures
contracts.
High
Yield Securities Risk. High
yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly
known as “junk
bonds”) are considered speculative and have a much greater risk of default or of
not returning principal and their values tend
to be more volatile than higher-rated securities with similar
maturities.
Inverse
Floater Risk. The holder
of an inverse floater, which is a type of derivative, could lose more than its
principal investment.
An inverse floater produces less income and may decline in value when market
rates and the rate payable on the
floater rises. An inverse floater typically involves leverage, which may magnify
a Fund’s losses, and exhibits greater
price and income volatility than an unleveraged bond with a similar
maturity.
Management
Risk. Investment
decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a Fund’s
manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective may not produce expected
returns, may cause the Fund’s
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
Performance
The
following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s
performance from year to year. The Fund’s
average annual total returns are compared to the performance of one or more
indices. Past
performance before and after taxes is no guarantee of future
results. Current
month-end performance
is available on the Fund’s website at allspringglobal.com.
|
|
|
Calendar
Year Total Returns for Administrator Class as of 12/31 each
year |
|
Highest
Quarter: June
30,
2020 |
|
Lowest
Quarter: December
31, 2016 |
|
Year-to-date
total return
as of September
30, 2022 is
-6.75% |
|
4 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
|
|
|
|
|
Average
Annual Total Returns for the periods ended
12/31/2021 |
|
Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
Administrator
Class (before taxes) |
9/6/1996
|
0.41% |
1.88% |
1.96% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions) |
9/6/1996
|
0.36% |
1.85% |
1.95% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions and the
sale of Fund Shares) |
9/6/1996
|
0.86% |
1.86% |
1.94% |
Bloomberg
Municipal Bond 1-5 Year Blend Index (reflects
no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
|
0.35% |
2.23% |
1.74% |
Bloomberg
California Municipal 1-5 Year Blend Index
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
|
|
0.05% |
1.97% |
1.65% |
After-tax
returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal
income tax rates and do not reflect the
impact of state, local or foreign taxes. Actual
after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from
those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt
investors or investors who hold their Fund
shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) Plans or Individual
Retirement Accounts.
Fund
Management
|
|
|
Manager |
Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Manager, Title/Managed Since |
Allspring
Funds Management,
LLC |
Allspring
Global Investments,
LLC |
Terry
J. Goode,
Portfolio Manager / 2011 Kim
Nakahara,
Portfolio Manager / 2020 Adrian
Van Poppel,
Portfolio Manager / 2009 |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Administrator
Class shares are generally available through intermediaries for the
accounts of their customers and directly to
institutional investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include
corporations; private banks and trust
companies; endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and
other employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
In general, you can buy or sell shares of the Fund online or by mail, phone or
wire, on any day the New York Stock
Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for regular trading. You also may buy and sell shares
through a financial professional.
|
|
Minimum
Investments |
To
Buy or Sell Shares |
Minimum
Initial Investment Administrator
Class: $1 million (this amount may be reduced
or eliminated for certain eligible investors)
Minimum
Additional Investment Administrator
Class: None |
Mail:
Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967 Online:
allspringglobal.com Phone
or Wire:
1-800-222-8222 Contact
your financial professional. |
Tax
Information
The Fund’s
distributions normally consist of exempt-interest dividends, which are generally
not taxable to you for federal
income tax purposes, but may be subject to federal AMT. A portion of
the Fund’s distributions may not qualify as exempt-interest
dividends; such distributions will generally be taxable to you as ordinary
income or capital gains, unless you
are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an
individual retirement account. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax advantaged investment plan may be subject
to federal income tax. You should
consult your tax adviser about your specific situation.
Payments
to Intermediaries
If you
purchase a Fund through an intermediary, the Fund and its related companies may
pay the intermediary for the sale of
Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of
interest by influencing the intermediary
and your financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Consult your financial professional
or visit your intermediary’s website for more information.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
5 |
California
Tax-Free Fund Summary
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks current income exempt from federal income tax and California individual
income tax.
Fees
and Expenses
These
tables are intended to help you understand the various costs and expenses you
will pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of
the Fund.
|
|
Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
|
|
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
|
|
Annual
Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage
of the value of your investment)
|
Management
Fees |
0.38% |
Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other
Expenses |
0.37% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
0.75% |
Fee
Waivers |
(0.20)% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers1
|
% |
1. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through October
31, 2023, to
waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary
to cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at
0.55%
for Administrator
Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp
duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and
extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense
cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be
increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may
be terminated only with the approval of the Board of
Trustees. |
Example
of Expenses
The example
below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund with
the costs of investing in other
funds. The example assumes a $10,000 initial investment, 5% annual total return,
and that fees and expenses remain the
same as in the tables above. To the extent that the Manager is waiving fees or
reimbursing expenses, the example
assumes that such waiver or reimbursement will only be in place through the date
noted above. Although your actual
costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would
be:
|
|
After:
|
|
1
Year |
$56 |
3
Years |
$220 |
5
Years |
$397 |
10
Years |
$912 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The Fund
pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities
(or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund shares are held in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating
expenses or in the example,
affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate was 17% of the
average value of its portfolio.
6 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal securities whose interest
is exempt from federal income tax, including
federal alternative minimum tax (AMT), and California individual income
tax; |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s net assets in securities whose interest is subject to
federal income tax, including federal AMT; |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in below investment-grade municipal
securities; and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse
floaters. |
We invest
principally in municipal securities whose interest is exempt from federal income
tax, including federal AMT, and
California individual income tax. Our investment holdings may include municipal
securities issued by the state of California
and its subdivisions, authorities, instrumentalities and corporations, as well
as municipal securities issued by the
territories and possessions of the United States. Some of the securities may be
below investment grade or may be unrated and
deemed by us to be of comparable quality. We may also invest a portion of the
Fund’s net assets in securities
whose interest is subject to federal income tax, including federal
AMT. We may use futures for duration and yield curve
management. While we may purchase securities of any maturity, under normal
circumstances, we expect the Fund’s
dollar-weighted average effective maturity to be between 3 and 20
years.
We may
invest up to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse floaters to seek enhanced
returns. Inverse floaters are derivative
debt instruments created by depositing a municipal security in a trust. Inverse
floaters pay interest at rates that
generally vary inversely with specified short-term interest rates and involve
leverage. We intend to limit leverage created by
the Fund’s investment in inverse floaters to an amount equal to 10% of the
Fund’s total assets.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, and specific demographic
trends. Securities may be sold based on relative value considerations and could
be replaced with a security
that presents a better value or risk/reward profile. A security may also be sold
due to changes in credit characteristics
or outlook, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
The Fund is
considered to be non-diversified.
Principal
Investment Risks
An
investment in the Fund may lose money, is
not a deposit of a bank or its affiliates, is not insured or guaranteed by
the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental
agency, and is
primarily subject to the risks briefly
summarized below.
Market
Risk. The values
of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may decline due
to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments.
Debt
Securities Risk. Debt
securities are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the
possibility that the issuer or
guarantor of a debt security may be unable, or perceived to be unable, to pay
interest or repay principal when they become
due. In these instances, the value of an investment could decline and the Fund
could lose money. Credit risk
increases as an issuer’s credit quality or financial strength declines. Interest
rate risk is the possibility that interest rates will
change over time. When interest rates rise, the value of debt securities tends
to fall. The longer the terms of the debt
securities held by a Fund, the more the Fund is subject to this risk. If
interest rates decline, interest that the Fund is
able to earn on its investments in debt securities may also decline, which could
cause the Fund to reduce the dividends
it pays to shareholders, but the value of those securities may increase. Very
low or negative interest rates may magnify
interest rate risk.
Municipal
Securities Risk. Municipal
securities may be fully or partially backed or enhanced by the taxing authority
of a local
government, by the current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or
specific assets, or by the credit of, or
liquidity enhancement provided by, a private issuer. Various types of municipal
securities are often related in such a way that
political, economic or business developments affecting one obligation could
affect other municipal securities held by a
Fund.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
7 |
State
Emphasis Risk. Securities
issued by a particular state and its subdivisions, authorities,
instrumentalities and corporations
are subject to the risk of unfavorable developments occurring in such state.
Such developments may adversely
impact the liquidity and value of the municipal securities in which a Fund
invests and, in turn, adversely impact the
value of the Fund’s shares.
Non-Diversification
Risk. A Fund
that is considered “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act is more vulnerable to
market or economic
events impacting issuers of individual portfolio securities than a “diversified”
fund. Default by the issuer of an
individual security in such a Fund’s portfolio may have a greater negative
effect on the Fund’s return or net asset value than
it would on the return or net asset value of a “diversified”
fund.
Derivatives
Risk. The use of
derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, can lead to losses,
including those
magnified by leverage, particularly when derivatives are used to enhance return
rather than mitigate risk. Certain derivative
instruments may be difficult to sell when the portfolio manager believes it
would be appropriate to do so, or the other
party to a derivative contract may be unwilling or unable to fulfill its
contractual obligations.
Futures
Contracts Risk. A Fund
that uses futures contracts, which are a type of derivative, is subject to the
risk of loss caused by
unanticipated market movements. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect
correlation between the movement in
the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or
indexes, and there may at times not
be a liquid secondary market for certain futures
contracts.
High
Yield Securities Risk. High
yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly
known as “junk
bonds”) are considered speculative and have a much greater risk of default or of
not returning principal and their values tend
to be more volatile than higher-rated securities with similar
maturities.
Inverse
Floater Risk. The holder
of an inverse floater, which is a type of derivative, could lose more than its
principal investment.
An inverse floater produces less income and may decline in value when market
rates and the rate payable on the
floater rises. An inverse floater typically involves leverage, which may magnify
a Fund’s losses, and exhibits greater
price and income volatility than an unleveraged bond with a similar
maturity.
Management
Risk. Investment
decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a Fund’s
manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective may not produce expected
returns, may cause the Fund’s
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
8 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Performance
The
following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s
performance from year to year. The Fund’s
average annual total returns are compared to the performance of one or more
indices. Past
performance before and after taxes is no guarantee of future
results. Current
month-end performance
is available on the Fund’s website at allspringglobal.com.
|
|
|
Calendar
Year Total Returns for Administrator Class as of 12/31 each
year |
|
Highest
Quarter: March
31,
2014 |
|
Lowest
Quarter: December
31, 2016 |
|
Year-to-date
total return
as of September
30, 2022 is
-12.92% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average
Annual Total Returns for the periods ended
12/31/2021 |
|
Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
Administrator
Class (before taxes) |
12/15/1997
|
1.93% |
3.86% |
4.30% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions) |
12/15/1997
|
1.84% |
3.82% |
4.28% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions and the
sale of Fund Shares) |
12/15/1997
|
2.18% |
3.67% |
4.11% |
Bloomberg
California Municipal Bond Index (reflects no
deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
|
1.22% |
4.12% |
3.98% |
Bloomberg
Municipal Bond Index (reflects no deduction
for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
|
1.52% |
4.17% |
3.72% |
After-tax
returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal
income tax rates and do not reflect the
impact of state, local or foreign taxes. Actual
after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from
those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt
investors or investors who hold their Fund
shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) Plans or Individual
Retirement Accounts.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
9 |
Fund
Management
|
|
|
Manager |
Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Manager, Title/Managed Since |
Allspring
Funds Management,
LLC |
Allspring
Global Investments,
LLC |
Terry
J. Goode,
Portfolio Manager / 2011 Kim
Nakahara,
Portfolio Manager / 2020 Adrian
Van Poppel,
Portfolio Manager / 2009 |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Administrator
Class shares are generally available through intermediaries for the
accounts of their customers and directly to
institutional investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include
corporations; private banks and trust
companies; endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and
other employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
In general, you can buy or sell shares of the Fund online or by mail, phone or
wire, on any day the New York Stock
Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for regular trading. You also may buy and sell shares
through a financial professional.
|
|
Minimum
Investments |
To
Buy or Sell Shares |
Minimum
Initial Investment Administrator
Class: $1 million (this amount may be reduced
or eliminated for certain eligible investors)
Minimum
Additional Investment Administrator
Class: None |
Mail:
Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967 Online:
allspringglobal.com Phone
or Wire:
1-800-222-8222 Contact
your financial professional. |
Tax
Information
The Fund’s
distributions normally consist of exempt-interest dividends, which are generally
not taxable to you for federal
income tax purposes, but may be subject to federal AMT. A portion of
the Fund’s distributions may not qualify as exempt-interest
dividends; such distributions will generally be taxable to you as ordinary
income or capital gains, unless you
are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an
individual retirement account. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax advantaged investment plan may be subject
to federal income tax. You should
consult your tax adviser about your specific situation.
Payments
to Intermediaries
If you
purchase a Fund through an intermediary, the Fund and its related companies may
pay the intermediary for the sale of
Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of
interest by influencing the intermediary
and your financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Consult your financial professional
or visit your intermediary’s website for more information.
10 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
High
Yield Municipal Bond Fund Summary
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks high current income exempt from federal income tax, and capital
appreciation.
Fees
and Expenses
These
tables are intended to help you understand the various costs and expenses you
will pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of
the Fund.
|
|
Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
|
|
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
|
|
|
Management
Fees |
0.50% |
Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other
Expenses |
0.55% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.05% |
Fee
Waivers |
(0.35)% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers2
|
% |
1. |
Expenses
have been adjusted as necessary from amounts incurred during the Fund’s
most recent fiscal year to reflect current fees and
expenses.
|
2. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through October
31, 2023, to
waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary
to cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at
0.70%
for Administrator
Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp
duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and
extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense
cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be
increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may
be terminated only with the approval of the Board of
Trustees. |
Example
of Expenses
The example
below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund with
the costs of investing in other
funds. The example assumes a $10,000 initial investment, 5% annual total return,
and that fees and expenses remain the
same as in the tables above. To the extent that the Manager is waiving fees or
reimbursing expenses, the example
assumes that such waiver or reimbursement will only be in place through the date
noted above. Although your actual
costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would
be:
|
|
After:
|
|
1
Year |
$72 |
3
Years |
$299 |
5
Years |
$545 |
10
Years |
$1,251 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The Fund
pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities
(or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund shares are held in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating
expenses or in the example,
affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate was 30% of the
average value of its portfolio.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
11 |
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal securities whose interest
is exempt from federal income tax, but not
necessarily federal alternative minimum tax
(“AMT”); |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s total assets in securities whose interest is subject
to federal
AMT; |
■ |
at
least 50% of the Fund’s total assets in municipal securities rated BBB and
below or comparable unrated municipal securities;
and |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse
floaters. |
We invest
principally in municipal securities of states, territories and possessions of
the United States whose interest is exempt from
federal income tax, but not necessarily federal AMT. A substantial portion of
the securities will be rated BBB and
below or unrated and deemed by us to be of comparable quality. Securities rated
BB and below are often called
“high yield” securities or “junk bonds”. We may invest in municipal debt of any
credit quality. We may also invest a portion
of the Fund’s total assets in securities whose interest is subject to federal
AMT. We may use futures for duration
and yield curve management. While we may purchase securities of any
maturity, under normal circumstances, we
expect the Fund’s dollar-weighted average effective maturity to be between 3 and
20 years. “Dollar-weighted
average effective maturity” is a measure of the average time until the final
payment of principal and interest is
due on fixed income securities in the Fund’s
portfolio.
We may
invest up to 20% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse floaters to seek enhanced
returns. Inverse floaters are derivative
debt instruments created by depositing a municipal security in a trust. Inverse
floaters pay interest at rates that
generally vary inversely with specified short-term interest rates and involve
leverage. We intend to limit leverage created by
the Fund’s investments in inverse floaters to an amount equal to 20% of the
Fund’s total assets.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, and specific demographic
trends. Securities may be sold based on relative value considerations and could
be replaced with a security
that presents a better value or risk/reward profile. A security may also be sold
due to changes in credit characteristics
or outlook, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
Principal
Investment Risks
An
investment in the Fund may lose money, is
not a deposit of a bank or its affiliates, is not insured or guaranteed by
the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental
agency, and is
primarily subject to the risks briefly
summarized below.
Market
Risk. The values
of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may decline due
to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments.
Debt
Securities Risk. Debt
securities are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the
possibility that the issuer or
guarantor of a debt security may be unable, or perceived to be unable, to pay
interest or repay principal when they become
due. In these instances, the value of an investment could decline and the Fund
could lose money. Credit risk
increases as an issuer’s credit quality or financial strength declines. Interest
rate risk is the possibility that interest rates will
change over time. When interest rates rise, the value of debt securities tends
to fall. The longer the terms of the debt
securities held by a Fund, the more the Fund is subject to this risk. If
interest rates decline, interest that the Fund is
able to earn on its investments in debt securities may also decline, which could
cause the Fund to reduce the dividends
it pays to shareholders, but the value of those securities may increase. Very
low or negative interest rates may magnify
interest rate risk.
Municipal
Securities Risk. Municipal
securities may be fully or partially backed or enhanced by the taxing authority
of a local
government, by the current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or
specific assets, or by the credit of, or
liquidity enhancement provided by, a private issuer. Various types of municipal
securities are often related in such a way that
political, economic or business developments affecting one obligation could
affect other municipal securities held by a
Fund.
12 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
High
Yield Securities Risk. High
yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly
known as “junk
bonds”) are considered speculative and have a much greater risk of default or of
not returning principal and their values tend
to be more volatile than higher-rated securities with similar
maturities.
Derivatives
Risk. The use of
derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, can lead to losses,
including those
magnified by leverage, particularly when derivatives are used to enhance return
rather than mitigate risk. Certain derivative
instruments may be difficult to sell when the portfolio manager believes it
would be appropriate to do so, or the other
party to a derivative contract may be unwilling or unable to fulfill its
contractual obligations.
Futures
Contracts Risk. A Fund
that uses futures contracts, which are a type of derivative, is subject to the
risk of loss caused by
unanticipated market movements. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect
correlation between the movement in
the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or
indexes, and there may at times not
be a liquid secondary market for certain futures
contracts.
Inverse
Floater Risk. The holder
of an inverse floater, which is a type of derivative, could lose more than its
principal investment.
An inverse floater produces less income and may decline in value when market
rates and the rate payable on the
floater rises. An inverse floater typically involves leverage, which may magnify
a Fund’s losses, and exhibits greater
price and income volatility than an unleveraged bond with a similar
maturity.
Management
Risk. Investment
decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a Fund’s
manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective may not produce expected
returns, may cause the Fund’s
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
13 |
Performance
The
following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s
performance from year to year. The Fund’s
average annual total returns are compared to the performance of one or more
indices. Past
performance before and after taxes is no guarantee of future
results. Current
month-end performance
is available on the Fund’s website at allspringglobal.com.
|
|
|
Calendar
Year Total Returns for Administrator Class as of 12/31 each
year |
|
Highest
Quarter: March
31,
2014 |
|
Lowest
Quarter: March
31,
2020 |
|
Year-to-date
total return
as of September
30, 2022 is
-14.13% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average
Annual Total Returns for the periods ended
12/31/2021 |
|
Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
Since
Inception |
Administrator
Class (before taxes) |
1/31/2013
|
5.20% |
5.79% |
5.21% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions) |
1/31/2013
|
4.92% |
5.70% |
5.05% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions and the
sale of Fund Shares) |
1/31/2013
|
4.47% |
5.34% |
4.84% |
High
Yield Municipal Bond Blended Index (reflects no
deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)1
|
|
% |
% |
% |
Bloomberg
High Yield Municipal Bond Index (reflects
no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
|
7.77% |
7.53% |
5.44% |
Bloomberg
Municipal Bond Index (reflects no deduction
for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
|
1.52% |
4.17% |
3.37% |
1. |
Source:
Allspring
Funds Management, LLC. The High Yield Municipal Bond Blended Index is
composed 60% of the Bloomberg High Yield
Municipal Bond Index and 40% of the Bloomberg Municipal Bond
Index. You cannot invest directly in an
index. |
After-tax
returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal
income tax rates and do not reflect the
impact of state, local or foreign taxes. Actual
after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from
those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt
investors or investors who hold their Fund
shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) Plans or Individual
Retirement Accounts.
14 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Fund
Management
|
|
|
Manager
|
Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Managers, Title/Managed Since |
Allspring
Funds Management,
LLC |
Allspring
Global Investments,
LLC |
Dennis
Derby,
Portfolio Manager / 2013 Terry
J. Goode,
Portfolio Manager / 2013 Kerry
Laurin,
Portfolio Manager / 2020 |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Administrator
Class shares are generally available through intermediaries for the
accounts of their customers and directly to
institutional investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include
corporations; private banks and trust
companies; endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and
other employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
In general, you can buy or sell shares of the Fund online or by mail, phone or
wire, on any day the New York Stock
Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for regular trading. You also may buy and sell shares
through a financial professional.
|
|
Minimum
Investments |
To
Buy or Sell Shares |
Minimum
Initial Investment Administrator
Class: $1 million (this amount may be reduced
or eliminated for certain eligible investors)
Minimum
Additional Investment Administrator
Class: None |
Mail:
Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967 Online:
allspringglobal.com Phone
or Wire:
1-800-222-8222 Contact
your financial professional. |
Tax
Information
The Fund’s
distributions normally consist of exempt-interest dividends, which are generally
not taxable to you for federal
income tax purposes, but may be subject to federal AMT. A portion of
the Fund’s distributions may not qualify as exempt-interest
dividends; such distributions will generally be taxable to you as ordinary
income or capital gains, unless you
are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an
individual retirement account. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax advantaged investment plan may be subject
to federal income tax. You should
consult your tax adviser about your specific situation.
Payments
to Intermediaries
If you
purchase a Fund through an intermediary, the Fund and its related companies may
pay the intermediary for the sale of
Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of
interest by influencing the intermediary
and your financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Consult your financial professional
or visit your intermediary’s website for more information.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
15 |
Intermediate
Tax/AMT-Free Fund Summary
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks current income exempt from federal income
tax.
Fees
and Expenses
These
tables are intended to help you understand the various costs and expenses you
will pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of
the Fund.
|
|
Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
|
|
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
|
|
|
Management
Fees |
0.37% |
Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other
Expenses |
0.38% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
0.75% |
Fee
Waivers |
(0.15)% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers2
|
% |
1. |
Expenses
have been adjusted as necessary from amounts incurred during the Fund’s
most recent fiscal year to reflect current fees and
expenses.
|
2. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through October
31, 2023, to
waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary
to cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at
0.60%
for Administrator
Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp
duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and
extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense
cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be
increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may
be terminated only with the approval of the Board of
Trustees. |
Example
of Expenses
The example
below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund with
the costs of investing in other
funds. The example assumes a $10,000 initial investment, 5% annual total return,
and that fees and expenses remain the
same as in the tables above. To the extent that the Manager is waiving fees or
reimbursing expenses, the example
assumes that such waiver or reimbursement will only be in place through the date
noted above. Although your actual
costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would
be:
|
|
After:
|
|
1
Year |
$61 |
3
Years |
$225 |
5
Years |
$402 |
10
Years |
$916 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The Fund
pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities
(or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund shares are held in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating
expenses or in the example,
affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate was 7% of the average
value of its portfolio.
16 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal securities whose interest
is exempt from federal income tax, including
federal alternative minimum tax
(AMT); |
■ |
up to
15% of the Fund’s total assets in below investment-grade municipal
securities; and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse
floaters. |
We invest
principally in municipal securities of states, territories
and possessions of the United States whose interest is exempt from
federal income tax, including federal AMT. Some of the securities may be below
investment grade or unrated and
deemed by us to be of comparable quality. Under normal circumstances, we do not
invest in securities whose
interest is subject to federal income tax, including federal AMT. We may use
futures for duration and yield curve management.
While we may purchase securities of any maturity, under normal circumstances, we
expect the Fund’s dollar-weighted
average effective maturity to be between 3 and 10
years.
We may
invest up to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse floaters to seek enhanced
returns. Inverse floaters are derivative
debt instruments created by depositing a municipal security in a trust. Inverse
floaters pay interest at rates that
generally vary inversely with specified short-term interest rates and involve
leverage. We intend to limit leverage created by
the Fund’s investment in inverse floaters to an amount equal to 10% of the
Fund’s total assets.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, and specific demographic
trends. Securities may be sold based on relative value considerations and could
be replaced with a security
that presents a better value or risk/reward profile. A security may also be sold
due to changes in credit characteristics
or outlook, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
Principal
Investment Risks
An
investment in the Fund may lose money, is
not a deposit of a bank or its affiliates, is not insured or guaranteed by
the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental
agency, and is
primarily subject to the risks briefly
summarized below.
Market
Risk. The values
of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may decline due
to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments.
Debt
Securities Risk. Debt
securities are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the
possibility that the issuer or
guarantor of a debt security may be unable, or perceived to be unable, to pay
interest or repay principal when they become
due. In these instances, the value of an investment could decline and the Fund
could lose money. Credit risk
increases as an issuer’s credit quality or financial strength declines. Interest
rate risk is the possibility that interest rates will
change over time. When interest rates rise, the value of debt securities tends
to fall. The longer the terms of the debt
securities held by a Fund, the more the Fund is subject to this risk. If
interest rates decline, interest that the Fund is
able to earn on its investments in debt securities may also decline, which could
cause the Fund to reduce the dividends
it pays to shareholders, but the value of those securities may increase. Very
low or negative interest rates may magnify
interest rate risk.
Municipal
Securities Risk. Municipal
securities may be fully or partially backed or enhanced by the taxing authority
of a local
government, by the current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or
specific assets, or by the credit of, or
liquidity enhancement provided by, a private issuer. Various types of municipal
securities are often related in such a way that
political, economic or business developments affecting one obligation could
affect other municipal securities held by a
Fund.
Derivatives
Risk. The use of
derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, can lead to losses,
including those
magnified by leverage, particularly when derivatives are used to enhance return
rather than mitigate risk. Certain derivative
instruments may be difficult to sell when the portfolio manager believes it
would be appropriate to do so, or the other
party to a derivative contract may be unwilling or unable to fulfill its
contractual obligations.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
17 |
Futures
Contracts Risk. A Fund
that uses futures contracts, which are a type of derivative, is subject to the
risk of loss caused by
unanticipated market movements. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect
correlation between the movement in
the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or
indexes, and there may at times not
be a liquid secondary market for certain futures
contracts.
High
Yield Securities Risk. High
yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly
known as “junk
bonds”) are considered speculative and have a much greater risk of default or of
not returning principal and their values tend
to be more volatile than higher-rated securities with similar
maturities.
Inverse
Floater Risk. The holder
of an inverse floater, which is a type of derivative, could lose more than its
principal investment.
An inverse floater produces less income and may decline in value when market
rates and the rate payable on the
floater rises. An inverse floater typically involves leverage, which may magnify
a Fund’s losses, and exhibits greater
price and income volatility than an unleveraged bond with a similar
maturity.
Management
Risk. Investment
decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a Fund’s
manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective may not produce expected
returns, may cause the Fund’s
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
Performance
The
following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s
performance from year to year. The Fund’s
average annual total returns are compared to the performance of one or more
indices. Past
performance before and after taxes is no guarantee of future
results. Current
month-end performance
is available on the Fund’s website at allspringglobal.com.
|
|
|
Calendar
Year Total Returns for Administrator Class as of 12/31 each
year |
|
Highest
Quarter: March
31,
2014 |
|
Lowest
Quarter: December
31, 2016 |
|
Year-to-date
total return
as of September
30, 2022 is
-9.21% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average
Annual Total Returns for the periods ended
12/31/2021 |
|
Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
Administrator
Class (before taxes) |
3/31/2008
|
1.31% |
3.36% |
3.03% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions) |
3/31/2008
|
1.23% |
2.93% |
2.78% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions and the
sale of Fund Shares) |
3/31/2008
|
1.61% |
2.72% |
2.69% |
Bloomberg
Municipal Bond 1-15 Year Blend Index (reflects
no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
|
0.86% |
3.57% |
3.05% |
18 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
After-tax
returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal
income tax rates and do not reflect the
impact of state, local or foreign taxes. Actual
after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from
those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt
investors or investors who hold their Fund
shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) Plans or Individual
Retirement Accounts.
Fund
Management
|
|
|
Manager |
Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Manager, Title/Managed Since |
Allspring
Funds Management,
LLC |
Allspring
Global Investments,
LLC |
Bruce
R. Johns,
Portfolio Manager / 2019 Robert
J. Miller,
Portfolio Manager / 2008 Adrian
Van Poppel,
Portfolio Manager / 2019 Nicholos
Venditti,
Portfolio Manager / 2020 |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Administrator
Class shares are generally available through intermediaries for the
accounts of their customers and directly to
institutional investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include
corporations; private banks and trust
companies; endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and
other employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
In general, you can buy or sell shares of the Fund online or by mail, phone or
wire, on any day the New York Stock
Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for regular trading. You also may buy and sell shares
through a financial professional.
|
|
Minimum
Investments |
To
Buy or Sell Shares |
Minimum
Initial Investment Administrator
Class: $1 million (this amount may be reduced
or eliminated for certain eligible investors)
Minimum
Additional Investment Administrator
Class: None |
Mail:
Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967 Online:
allspringglobal.com Phone
or Wire:
1-800-222-8222 Contact
your financial professional. |
Tax
Information
The Fund’s
distributions normally consist of exempt-interest dividends, which are generally
not taxable to you for federal
income tax purposes, but may be subject to federal AMT. A portion of
the Fund’s distributions may not qualify as exempt-interest
dividends; such distributions will generally be taxable to you as ordinary
income or capital gains, unless you
are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an
individual retirement account. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax advantaged investment plan may be subject
to federal income tax. You should
consult your tax adviser about your specific situation.
Payments
to Intermediaries
If you
purchase a Fund through an intermediary, the Fund and its related companies may
pay the intermediary for the sale of
Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of
interest by influencing the intermediary
and your financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Consult your financial professional
or visit your intermediary’s website for more information.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
19 |
Minnesota
Tax-Free Fund Summary
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks current income exempt from federal income tax and Minnesota individual
income tax.
Fees
and Expenses
These
tables are intended to help you understand the various costs and expenses you
will pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of
the Fund.
|
|
Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
|
|
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
|
|
Annual
Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage
of the value of your investment)
|
Management
Fees |
0.40% |
Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other
Expenses |
0.45% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
0.85% |
Fee
Waivers |
(0.25)% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers1
|
% |
1. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through October
31, 2023, to
waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary
to cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at
0.60%
for Administrator
Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp
duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and
extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense
cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be
increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may
be terminated only with the approval of the Board of
Trustees. |
Example
of Expenses
The example
below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund with
the costs of investing in other
funds. The example assumes a $10,000 initial investment, 5% annual total return,
and that fees and expenses remain the
same as in the tables above. To the extent that the Manager is waiving fees or
reimbursing expenses, the example
assumes that such waiver or reimbursement will only be in place through the date
noted above. Although your actual
costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would
be:
|
|
After:
|
|
1
Year |
$61 |
3
Years |
$246 |
5
Years |
$447 |
10
Years |
$1,026 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The Fund
pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities
(or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund shares are held in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating
expenses or in the example,
affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate was 11% of the
average value of its portfolio.
20 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal securities whose interest
is exempt from federal income tax, including
federal alternative minimum tax (AMT), and Minnesota individual income
tax; |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s net assets in securities whose interest is subject to
federal income tax, including federal AMT; |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in below investment-grade municipal
securities; and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse
floaters. |
We invest
principally in municipal securities whose interest is exempt from
federal income tax, including federal AMT, and
Minnesota individual income tax. Our investment holdings may include municipal
securities issued by the state of Minnesota
and its subdivisions, authorities, instrumentalities and corporations, as well
as municipal securities issued by the
territories and possessions of the United States. Some of the securities may be
below investment grade or may be unrated and
deemed by us to be of comparable quality. We may also invest a portion of the
Fund’s net assets in securities
whose interest is subject to federal income tax, including federal
AMT. While the Fund is required, under normal
circumstances, to invest at least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal
securities whose interest is exempt from
Minnesota individual income tax, we currently intend to manage the portfolio so
that at least 95% of the income generated
by the Fund is exempt from Minnesota individual income tax. We may use futures
for duration and yield curve
management. While we may purchase securities of any maturity, under normal
circumstances, we expect the Fund’s
dollar-weighted average effective maturity to be between 3 and 20
years.
We may
invest up to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse floaters to seek enhanced
returns. Inverse floaters are derivative
debt instruments created by depositing a municipal security in a trust. Inverse
floaters pay interest at rates that
generally vary inversely with specified short-term interest rates and involve
leverage. We intend to limit leverage created by
the Fund’s investment in inverse floaters to an amount equal to 10% of the
Fund’s total assets.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, and specific demographic
trends. Securities may be sold based on relative value considerations and could
be replaced with a security
that presents a better value or risk/reward profile. A security may also be sold
due to changes in credit characteristics
or outlook, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
Principal
Investment Risks
An
investment in the Fund may lose money, is
not a deposit of a bank or its affiliates, is not insured or guaranteed by
the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental
agency, and is
primarily subject to the risks briefly
summarized below.
Market
Risk. The values
of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may decline due
to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments.
Debt
Securities Risk. Debt
securities are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the
possibility that the issuer or
guarantor of a debt security may be unable, or perceived to be unable, to pay
interest or repay principal when they become
due. In these instances, the value of an investment could decline and the Fund
could lose money. Credit risk
increases as an issuer’s credit quality or financial strength declines. Interest
rate risk is the possibility that interest rates will
change over time. When interest rates rise, the value of debt securities tends
to fall. The longer the terms of the debt
securities held by a Fund, the more the Fund is subject to this risk. If
interest rates decline, interest that the Fund is
able to earn on its investments in debt securities may also decline, which could
cause the Fund to reduce the dividends
it pays to shareholders, but the value of those securities may increase. Very
low or negative interest rates may magnify
interest rate risk.
Municipal
Securities Risk. Municipal
securities may be fully or partially backed or enhanced by the taxing authority
of a local
government, by the current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or
specific assets, or by the credit of, or
liquidity enhancement provided by, a private issuer. Various types of municipal
securities are often related in such a
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
21 |
way that
political, economic or business developments affecting one obligation could
affect other municipal securities held by a
Fund.
State
Emphasis Risk. Securities
issued by a particular state and its subdivisions, authorities,
instrumentalities and corporations
are subject to the risk of unfavorable developments occurring in such state.
Such developments may adversely
impact the liquidity and value of the municipal securities in which a Fund
invests and, in turn, adversely impact the
value of the Fund’s shares.
Derivatives
Risk. The use of
derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, can lead to losses,
including those
magnified by leverage, particularly when derivatives are used to enhance return
rather than mitigate risk. Certain derivative
instruments may be difficult to sell when the portfolio manager believes it
would be appropriate to do so, or the other
party to a derivative contract may be unwilling or unable to fulfill its
contractual obligations.
Futures
Contracts Risk. A Fund
that uses futures contracts, which are a type of derivative, is subject to the
risk of loss caused by
unanticipated market movements. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect
correlation between the movement in
the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or
indexes, and there may at times not
be a liquid secondary market for certain futures
contracts.
High
Yield Securities Risk. High
yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly
known as “junk
bonds”) are considered speculative and have a much greater risk of default or of
not returning principal and their values tend
to be more volatile than higher-rated securities with similar
maturities.
Inverse
Floater Risk. The holder
of an inverse floater, which is a type of derivative, could lose more than its
principal investment.
An inverse floater produces less income and may decline in value when market
rates and the rate payable on the
floater rises. An inverse floater typically involves leverage, which may magnify
a Fund’s losses, and exhibits greater
price and income volatility than an unleveraged bond with a similar
maturity.
Management
Risk. Investment
decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a Fund’s
manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective may not produce expected
returns, may cause the Fund’s
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
Performance
The
following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s
performance from year to year. The Fund’s
average annual total returns are compared to the performance of one or more
indices. Past
performance before and after taxes is no guarantee of future
results. Current
month-end performance
is available on the Fund’s website at allspringglobal.com.
|
|
|
Calendar
Year Total Returns for Administrator Class as of 12/31 each
year |
|
Highest
Quarter: March
31,
2014 |
|
Lowest
Quarter: June
30,
2013 |
|
Year-to-date
total return
as of September
30, 2022 is
-8.76% |
|
22 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
|
|
|
|
|
Average
Annual Total Returns for the periods ended
12/31/2021 |
|
Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
Administrator
Class (before taxes) |
8/2/1993
|
1.06% |
3.25% |
3.16% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions) |
8/2/1993
|
0.95% |
3.20% |
3.09% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions and the
sale of Fund Shares) |
8/2/1993
|
1.36% |
3.05% |
3.08% |
Bloomberg
Municipal Bond Index (reflects no deduction
for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
|
1.52% |
4.17% |
3.72% |
Bloomberg
Minnesota Municipal Bond Index (reflects
no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
|
0.85% |
3.68% |
3.18% |
After-tax
returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal
income tax rates and do not reflect the
impact of state, local or foreign taxes. Actual
after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from
those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt
investors or investors who hold their Fund
shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) Plans or Individual
Retirement Accounts.
Fund
Management
|
|
|
Manager |
Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Manager, Title/Managed Since |
Allspring
Funds Management,
LLC |
Allspring
Global Investments,
LLC |
Bruce
R. Johns,
Portfolio Manager / 2012 Kerry
Laurin,
Portfolio Manager / 2020 |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Administrator
Class shares are generally available through intermediaries for the
accounts of their customers and directly to
institutional investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include
corporations; private banks and trust
companies; endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and
other employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
In general, you can buy or sell shares of the Fund online or by mail, phone or
wire, on any day the New York Stock
Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for regular trading. You also may buy and sell shares
through a financial professional.
|
|
Minimum
Investments |
To
Buy or Sell Shares |
Minimum
Initial Investment Administrator
Class: $1 million (this amount may be reduced
or eliminated for certain eligible investors)
Minimum
Additional Investment Administrator
Class: None |
Mail:
Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967 Online:
allspringglobal.com Phone
or Wire:
1-800-222-8222 Contact
your financial professional. |
Tax
Information
The Fund’s
distributions normally consist of exempt-interest dividends, which are generally
not taxable to you for federal
income tax purposes, but may be subject to federal AMT. A portion of
the Fund’s distributions may not qualify as exempt-interest
dividends; such distributions will generally be taxable to you as ordinary
income or capital gains, unless you
are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an
individual retirement account. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax advantaged investment plan may be subject
to federal income tax. You should
consult your tax adviser about your specific situation.
Payments
to Intermediaries
If you
purchase a Fund through an intermediary, the Fund and its related companies may
pay the intermediary for the sale of
Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of
interest by influencing the intermediary
and your financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Consult your financial professional
or visit your intermediary’s website for more information.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
23 |
Municipal
Bond Fund Summary
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks current income exempt from federal income
tax.
Fees
and Expenses
These
tables are intended to help you understand the various costs and expenses you
will pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of
the Fund.
|
|
Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
|
|
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
|
|
Annual
Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage
of the value of your investment)
|
Management
Fees |
0.34% |
Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other
Expenses |
0.37% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
0.71% |
Fee
Waivers |
(0.11)% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers1
|
% |
1. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through October
31, 2023, to
waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary
to cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at
0.60%
for Administrator
Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp
duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and
extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense
cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be
increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may
be terminated only with the approval of the Board of
Trustees. |
Example
of Expenses
The example
below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund with
the costs of investing in other
funds. The example assumes a $10,000 initial investment, 5% annual total return,
and that fees and expenses remain the
same as in the tables above. To the extent that the Manager is waiving fees or
reimbursing expenses, the example
assumes that such waiver or reimbursement will only be in place through the date
noted above. Although your actual
costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would
be:
|
|
After:
|
|
1
Year |
$61 |
3
Years |
$216 |
5
Years |
$384 |
10
Years |
$872 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The Fund
pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities
(or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund shares are held in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating
expenses or in the example,
affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate was 18% of the
average value of its portfolio.
24 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal securities whose interest
is exempt from federal income tax, but not
necessarily federal alternative minimum tax
(AMT); |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s total assets in securities whose interest is
subject to federal
AMT; |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s total assets in below investment-grade municipal
securities; and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse
floaters. |
We invest
principally in municipal securities of states, territories and possessions of
the United States whose interest is exempt from
federal income tax, but not necessarily federal AMT. Some of the securities may
be below investment grade or
may be unrated and deemed by us to be of comparable quality. We may also invest
a portion of the Fund’s assets
in securities whose interest is subject to federal AMT. We may use
futures for duration and yield curve management.
While we may purchase securities of any maturity, under normal circumstances, we
expect the Fund’s dollar-weighted
average effective maturity to be between 3 and 20
years.
We may
invest up to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse floaters to seek enhanced
returns. Inverse floaters are derivative
debt instruments created by depositing a municipal security in a trust. Inverse
floaters pay interest at rates that
generally vary inversely with specified short-term interest rates and involve
leverage. We intend to limit leverage created by
the Fund’s investment in inverse floaters to an amount equal to 10% of the
Fund’s total assets.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, and specific demographic
trends. Securities may be sold based on relative value considerations and could
be replaced with a security
that presents a better value or risk/reward profile. A security may also be sold
due to changes in credit characteristics
or outlook, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
Principal
Investment Risks
An
investment in the Fund may lose money, is
not a deposit of a bank or its affiliates, is not insured or guaranteed by
the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental
agency, and is
primarily subject to the risks briefly
summarized below.
Market
Risk. The values
of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may decline due
to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments.
Debt
Securities Risk. Debt
securities are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the
possibility that the issuer or
guarantor of a debt security may be unable, or perceived to be unable, to pay
interest or repay principal when they become
due. In these instances, the value of an investment could decline and the Fund
could lose money. Credit risk
increases as an issuer’s credit quality or financial strength declines. Interest
rate risk is the possibility that interest rates will
change over time. When interest rates rise, the value of debt securities tends
to fall. The longer the terms of the debt
securities held by a Fund, the more the Fund is subject to this risk. If
interest rates decline, interest that the Fund is
able to earn on its investments in debt securities may also decline, which could
cause the Fund to reduce the dividends
it pays to shareholders, but the value of those securities may increase. Very
low or negative interest rates may magnify
interest rate risk.
Municipal
Securities Risk. Municipal
securities may be fully or partially backed or enhanced by the taxing authority
of a local
government, by the current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or
specific assets, or by the credit of, or
liquidity enhancement provided by, a private issuer. Various types of municipal
securities are often related in such a way that
political, economic or business developments affecting one obligation could
affect other municipal securities held by a
Fund.
Derivatives
Risk. The use of
derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, can lead to losses,
including those
magnified by leverage, particularly when derivatives are used to enhance return
rather than mitigate risk. Certain derivative
instruments may be difficult to sell when the portfolio manager believes it
would be appropriate to do so, or the other
party to a derivative contract may be unwilling or unable to fulfill its
contractual obligations.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
25 |
Futures
Contracts Risk. A Fund
that uses futures contracts, which are a type of derivative, is subject to the
risk of loss caused by
unanticipated market movements. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect
correlation between the movement in
the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or
indexes, and there may at times not
be a liquid secondary market for certain futures
contracts.
High
Yield Securities Risk. High
yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly
known as “junk
bonds”) are considered speculative and have a much greater risk of default or of
not returning principal and their values tend
to be more volatile than higher-rated securities with similar
maturities.
Inverse
Floater Risk. The holder
of an inverse floater, which is a type of derivative, could lose more than its
principal investment.
An inverse floater produces less income and may decline in value when market
rates and the rate payable on the
floater rises. An inverse floater typically involves leverage, which may magnify
a Fund’s losses, and exhibits greater
price and income volatility than an unleveraged bond with a similar
maturity.
Management
Risk. Investment
decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a Fund’s
manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective may not produce expected
returns, may cause the Fund’s
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
Performance
The
following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s
performance from year to year. The Fund’s
average annual total returns are compared to the performance of one or more
indices. Past
performance before and after taxes is no guarantee of future
results. Current
month-end performance
is available on the Fund’s website at allspringglobal.com.
|
|
|
Calendar
Year Total Returns for Administrator Class as of 12/31 each
year |
|
Highest
Quarter: March
31,
2014 |
|
Lowest
Quarter: December
31, 2016 |
|
Year-to-date
total return
as of September
30, 2022 is
-11.39% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average
Annual Total Returns for the periods ended
12/31/2021 |
|
Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
Administrator
Class (before taxes) |
4/8/2005
|
1.94% |
4.26% |
4.42% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions) |
4/8/2005
|
1.86% |
4.20% |
4.28% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions and the
sale of Fund Shares) |
4/8/2005
|
2.01% |
3.91% |
4.09% |
Bloomberg
Municipal Bond Index (reflects no deduction
for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
|
1.52% |
4.17% |
3.72% |
After-tax
returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal
income tax rates and do not reflect the
impact of state, local or foreign taxes. Actual
after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from
those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt
investors or investors who hold their Fund
shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) Plans or Individual
Retirement Accounts.
26 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Fund
Management
|
|
|
Manager |
Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Manager, Title/Managed Since |
Allspring
Funds Management,
LLC |
Allspring
Global Investments,
LLC |
Terry
J. Goode,
Portfolio Manager / 2019 Robert
J. Miller,
Portfolio Manager / 2008 Nicholos
Venditti,
Portfolio Manager / 2020 |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Administrator
Class shares are generally available through intermediaries for the
accounts of their customers and directly to
institutional investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include
corporations; private banks and trust
companies; endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and
other employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
In general, you can buy or sell shares of the Fund online or by mail, phone or
wire, on any day the New York Stock
Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for regular trading. You also may buy and sell shares
through a financial professional.
|
|
Minimum
Investments |
To
Buy or Sell Shares |
Minimum
Initial Investment Administrator
Class: $1 million (this amount may be reduced
or eliminated for certain eligible investors)
Minimum
Additional Investment Administrator
Class: None |
Mail:
Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967 Online:
allspringglobal.com Phone
or Wire:
1-800-222-8222 Contact
your financial professional. |
Tax
Information
The Fund’s
distributions normally consist of exempt-interest dividends, which are generally
not taxable to you for federal
income tax purposes, but may be subject to federal AMT. A portion of
the Fund’s distributions may not qualify as exempt-interest
dividends; such distributions will generally be taxable to you as ordinary
income or capital gains, unless you
are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an
individual retirement account. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax advantaged investment plan may be subject
to federal income tax. You should
consult your tax adviser about your specific situation.
Payments
to Intermediaries
If you
purchase a Fund through an intermediary, the Fund and its related companies may
pay the intermediary for the sale of
Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of
interest by influencing the intermediary
and your financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Consult your financial professional
or visit your intermediary’s website for more information.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
27 |
Municipal
Sustainability Fund Summary
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks current income exempt from federal income
tax.
Fees
and Expenses
These
tables are intended to help you understand the various costs and expenses you
will pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of
the Fund.
|
|
Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
|
|
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
|
|
Annual
Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage
of the value of your investment)
|
Management
Fees |
0.40% |
Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other
Expenses |
0.88% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.28% |
Fee
Waivers |
(0.68)% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers1
|
% |
1. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through October
31, 2023, to
waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary
to cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at
0.60%
for Administrator
Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp
duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and
extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense
cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be
increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may
be terminated only with the approval of the Board of
Trustees. |
Example
of Expenses
The example
below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund with
the costs of investing in other
funds. The example assumes a $10,000 initial investment, 5% annual total return,
and that fees and expenses remain the
same as in the tables above. To the extent that the Manager is waiving fees or
reimbursing expenses, the example
assumes that such waiver or reimbursement will only be in place through the date
noted above. Although your actual
costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would
be:
|
|
After:
|
|
1
Year |
$61 |
3
Years |
$339 |
5
Years |
$637 |
10
Years |
$1,485 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The Fund
pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities
(or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund shares are held in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating
expenses or in the example,
affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate was 31% of the
average value of its portfolio.
28 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal securities whose interest
is exempt from federal income tax, but not
necessarily federal alternative minimum tax
(AMT); |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s total assets in securities whose interest is
subject to federal
AMT; |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s total assets in below investment-grade municipal
securities; and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse
floaters. |
We invest
principally in municipal securities of states, territories and possessions of
the United States whose interest is exempt from
federal income tax, but not necessarily federal AMT. Some of the securities may
be below investment grade or
may be unrated and deemed by us to be of comparable quality. We may also invest
a portion of the Fund’s assets in
securities whose interest is subject to federal AMT. We may use futures for
duration and yield curve management.
While we may purchase securities of any maturity, under normal circumstances, we
expect the Fund’s dollar-weighted
average effective maturity to be between 3 and 20
years.
We may
invest up to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse floaters to seek enhanced
returns. Inverse floaters are derivative
debt instruments created by depositing a municipal security in a trust. Inverse
floaters pay interest at rates that
generally vary inversely with specified short-term interest rates and involve
leverage. We intend to limit leverage created by
the Fund’s investment in inverse floaters to an amount equal to 10% of the
Fund’s total assets.
We evaluate
each security in which the Fund invests using both a traditional municipal bond
credit analysis and a consideration
of the security’s environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) impacts. Using
our ESG impact framework,
securities that we determine to have a positive ESG impact are generally deemed
eligible for purchase. In making this
determination, we consider the following, where available: an issuer’s history
of positive ESG practices, a security’s
use-of-proceeds information, an issuer’s impact on underserved populations (such
as low socio-economic communities),
and a third-party issuer/security ESG rating. A security’s positive ESG impact
can be determined under any of the
four factors described above. Our ESG impact framework is conducted on an
industry sector basis and includes
the use of key ESG indicators that vary by sector. In assessing a security’s use
of proceeds and an issuer’s history of
positive ESG practices, we consider factors such as energy efficiency, pollution
control, and environmentally sustainable
management. In assessing a security’s use of proceeds and an issuer’s impact on
underserved populations, we consider
factors such as access to essential services and affordable housing. Municipal
securities that we have determined
to have a positive ESG impact may include securities issued to fund education
(K-12, post-secondary), affordable
housing, water treatment, public transportation, healthcare, and energy
efficiency projects, among many others.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, specific demographic
trends, the degree of a security’s positive ESG impact and consideration of ESG
risks. Securities may be sold based
on relative value considerations and could be replaced with a security that
presents a better value or risk/reward
profile. A security may also be sold due to changes in credit characteristics,
outlook, change in our evaluation of ESG
impact or ESG risk, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
Principal
Investment Risks
An
investment in the Fund may lose money, is
not a deposit of a bank or its affiliates, is not insured or guaranteed by
the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental
agency, and is
primarily subject to the risks briefly
summarized below.
Market
Risk. The values
of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may decline due
to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments.
Debt
Securities Risk. Debt
securities are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the
possibility that the issuer or
guarantor of a debt security may be unable, or perceived to be unable, to pay
interest or repay principal when they become
due. In these instances, the value of an investment could decline and the Fund
could lose money. Credit
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
29 |
risk
increases as an issuer’s credit quality or financial strength declines. Interest
rate risk is the possibility that interest rates will
change over time. When interest rates rise, the value of debt securities tends
to fall. The longer the terms of the debt
securities held by a Fund, the more the Fund is subject to this risk. If
interest rates decline, interest that the Fund is
able to earn on its investments in debt securities may also decline, which could
cause the Fund to reduce the dividends
it pays to shareholders, but the value of those securities may increase. Very
low or negative interest rates may magnify
interest rate risk.
Municipal
Securities Risk. Municipal
securities may be fully or partially backed or enhanced by the taxing authority
of a local
government, by the current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or
specific assets, or by the credit of, or
liquidity enhancement provided by, a private issuer. Various types of municipal
securities are often related in such a way that
political, economic or business developments affecting one obligation could
affect other municipal securities held by a
Fund.
Derivatives
Risk. The use of
derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, can lead to losses,
including those
magnified by leverage, particularly when derivatives are used to enhance return
rather than mitigate risk. Certain derivative
instruments may be difficult to sell when the portfolio manager believes it
would be appropriate to do so, or the other
party to a derivative contract may be unwilling or unable to fulfill its
contractual obligations.
ESG/Sustainable
Investment Style Risk. A Fund
that uses ESG or sustainability criteria to select investments may forgo
opportunities
in individual securities and/or sectors of securities for non-investment
reasons, which could cause the Fund to
underperform funds that do not use ESG or sustainability criteria. ESG-focused
investments and strategies may, at
times, be subject to a higher degree of volatility than non-ESG-focused
investments and strategies. ESG information
and data, including that provided by third parties, may be incomplete,
inaccurate or unavailable, which could
adversely affect the analysis of the ESG factors relevant to a particular
investment. Our assessment of an investment’s
ESG impact may change over time, which may cause the Fund to hold a security
that does not meet our ESG
criteria or sell a security when it might otherwise be disadvantageous to do so.
Views on ESG, sustainability and positive
social and environmental outcomes may differ by fund, adviser and investor.
Certain bonds in which the Fund invests may
be dependent on government incentives and subsidies, and lack of political
support for the financing of projects
with a positive environmental or social impact could negatively impact the
performance of the Fund. There is no
guarantee that our efforts to select investments based on ESG practices will be
successful.
Futures
Contracts Risk. A Fund
that uses futures contracts, which are a type of derivative, is subject to the
risk of loss caused by
unanticipated market movements. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect
correlation between the movement in
the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or
indexes, and there may at times not
be a liquid secondary market for certain futures
contracts.
High
Yield Securities Risk. High
yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly
known as “junk
bonds”) are considered speculative and have a much greater risk of default or of
not returning principal and their values tend
to be more volatile than higher-rated securities with similar
maturities.
Inverse
Floater Risk. The holder
of an inverse floater, which is a type of derivative, could lose more than its
principal investment.
An inverse floater produces less income and may decline in value when market
rates and the rate payable on the
floater rises. An inverse floater typically involves leverage, which may magnify
a Fund’s losses, and exhibits greater
price and income volatility than an unleveraged bond with a similar
maturity.
Management
Risk. Investment
decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a Fund’s
manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective may not produce expected
returns, may cause the Fund’s
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
New Fund
Risk. The Fund
is a new fund, with a limited or no operating history and a small asset base.
There can be no assurance
that the Fund will grow to or maintain a viable size. Due to the Fund’s small
asset base, certain of the Fund’s expenses
and its portfolio transaction costs may be higher than those of a fund with a
larger asset base. To the extent that the
Fund does not grow to or maintain a viable size, it may be liquidated, and the
expenses, timing and tax consequences
of such liquidation may not be favorable to some
shareholders.
Performance
The
following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s
performance from year to year. The Fund’s
average annual total returns are compared to the performance of one or more
indices. Past
performance before and after taxes is no guarantee of future
results. Current
month-end performance
is available on the Fund’s website at allspringglobal.com.
30 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
|
|
|
Calendar
Year Total Returns for Administrator Class as of 12/31 each
year |
|
Highest
Quarter: June
30,
2021 |
|
Lowest
Quarter: September
30, 2021 |
|
Year-to-date
total return
as of September
30, 2022 is
-12.42% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average
Annual Total Returns for the periods ended
12/31/2021 |
|
Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
Since
Inception |
Administrator
Class (before taxes) |
2/28/2020
|
2.19% |
-- |
4.19% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions) |
2/28/2020
|
2.13% |
-- |
4.13% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions and the
sale of Fund Shares) |
2/28/2020
|
1.97% |
-- |
3.56% |
Bloomberg
Municipal Bond Index (reflects no deduction
for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
|
1.52% |
-- |
1.93% |
Fund
Management
|
|
|
Manager |
Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Manager, Title/Managed Since |
Allspring
Funds Management,
LLC |
Allspring
Global Investments,
LLC |
Terry
J. Goode,
Portfolio Manager / 2020 Robert
J. Miller,
Portfolio Manager / 2020 Nicholos
Venditti,
Portfolio Manager / 2020 |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Administrator
Class shares are generally available through intermediaries for the
accounts of their customers and directly to
institutional investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include
corporations; private banks and trust
companies; endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and
other employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
In general, you can buy or sell shares of the Fund online or by mail, phone or
wire, on any day the New York Stock
Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for regular trading. You also may buy and sell shares
through a financial professional.
|
|
Minimum
Investments |
To
Buy or Sell Shares |
Minimum
Initial Investment Administrator
Class: $1 million (this amount may be reduced
or eliminated for certain eligible investors)
Minimum
Additional Investment Administrator
Class: None |
Mail:
Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967 Online:
allspringglobal.com Phone
or Wire:
1-800-222-8222 Contact
your financial professional. |
Tax
Information
The Fund’s
distributions normally consist of exempt-interest dividends, which are generally
not taxable to you for federal
income tax purposes, but may be subject to federal AMT. A portion of
the Fund’s distributions may not qualify as exempt-interest
dividends; such distributions will generally be taxable to you as ordinary
income or capital gains,
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
31 |
unless you
are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an
individual retirement account. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax advantaged investment plan may be subject
to federal income tax. You should
consult your tax adviser about your specific situation.
Payments
to Intermediaries
If you
purchase a Fund through an intermediary, the Fund and its related companies may
pay the intermediary for the sale of
Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of
interest by influencing the intermediary
and your financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Consult your financial professional
or visit your intermediary’s website for more information.
32 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Short-Term
Municipal Bond Fund Summary
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks current income exempt from federal income tax consistent with capital
preservation.
Fees
and Expenses
These
tables are intended to help you understand the various costs and expenses you
will pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of
the Fund.
|
|
Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
|
|
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
|
|
Annual
Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage
of the value of your investment)
|
Management
Fees |
0.34% |
Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other
Expenses |
0.36% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
0.70% |
Fee
Waivers |
(0.10)% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers1
|
% |
1. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through October
31, 2023, to
waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary
to cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at
0.60%
for Administrator
Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp
duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and
extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense
cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be
increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may
be terminated only with the approval of the Board of
Trustees. |
Example
of Expenses
The example
below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund with
the costs of investing in other
funds. The example assumes a $10,000 initial investment, 5% annual total return,
and that fees and expenses remain the
same as in the tables above. To the extent that the Manager is waiving fees or
reimbursing expenses, the example
assumes that such waiver or reimbursement will only be in place through the date
noted above. Although your actual
costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would
be:
|
|
After:
|
|
1
Year |
$61 |
3
Years |
$214 |
5
Years |
$380 |
10
Years |
$861 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The Fund
pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities
(or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund shares are held in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating
expenses or in the example,
affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate was 28% of the
average value of its portfolio.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
33 |
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal securities whose interest
is exempt from federal income tax, but not
necessarily federal alternative minimum tax
(AMT); |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s total assets in securities whose interest is
subject to federal
AMT; |
■ |
up to
15% of the Fund’s total assets in below investment-grade municipal
securities; and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse
floaters. |
We invest
principally in short-term municipal securities of states, territories and
possessions of the United States whose interest is
exempt from federal income tax, but not necessarily federal AMT. Some of the
securities may be below investment
grade or may be unrated and deemed by us to be of comparable quality. We may
also invest a portion of the Fund’s
assets in securities whose interest is subject to federal AMT. We may use
futures for duration and yield curve management.
While we may purchase securities of any maturity, under normal circumstances, we
expect the Fund’s dollar-weighted
average effective maturity to be 3 years or
less.
We may
invest up to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse floaters to seek enhanced
returns. Inverse floaters are derivative
debt instruments created by depositing a municipal security in a trust. Inverse
floaters pay interest at rates that
generally vary inversely with specified short-term interest rates and involve
leverage. We intend to limit leverage created by
the Fund’s investment in inverse floaters to an amount equal to 10% of the
Fund’s total assets.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, and specific demographic
trends. Securities may be sold based on relative value considerations and could
be replaced with a security
that presents a better value or risk/reward profile. A security may also be sold
due to changes in credit characteristics
or outlook, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
Principal
Investment Risks
An
investment in the Fund may lose money, is
not a deposit of a bank or its affiliates, is not insured or guaranteed by
the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental
agency, and is
primarily subject to the risks briefly
summarized below.
Market
Risk. The values
of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may decline due
to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments.
Debt
Securities Risk. Debt
securities are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the
possibility that the issuer or
guarantor of a debt security may be unable, or perceived to be unable, to pay
interest or repay principal when they become
due. In these instances, the value of an investment could decline and the Fund
could lose money. Credit risk
increases as an issuer’s credit quality or financial strength declines. Interest
rate risk is the possibility that interest rates will
change over time. When interest rates rise, the value of debt securities tends
to fall. The longer the terms of the debt
securities held by a Fund, the more the Fund is subject to this risk. If
interest rates decline, interest that the Fund is
able to earn on its investments in debt securities may also decline, which could
cause the Fund to reduce the dividends
it pays to shareholders, but the value of those securities may increase. Very
low or negative interest rates may magnify
interest rate risk.
Municipal
Securities Risk. Municipal
securities may be fully or partially backed or enhanced by the taxing authority
of a local
government, by the current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or
specific assets, or by the credit of, or
liquidity enhancement provided by, a private issuer. Various types of municipal
securities are often related in such a way that
political, economic or business developments affecting one obligation could
affect other municipal securities held by a
Fund.
Derivatives
Risk. The use of
derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, can lead to losses,
including those
magnified by leverage, particularly when derivatives are used to enhance return
rather than mitigate risk. Certain derivative
instruments may be difficult to sell when the portfolio manager believes it
would be appropriate to do so, or the other
party to a derivative contract may be unwilling or unable to fulfill its
contractual obligations.
34 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Futures
Contracts Risk. A Fund
that uses futures contracts, which are a type of derivative, is subject to the
risk of loss caused by
unanticipated market movements. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect
correlation between the movement in
the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or
indexes, and there may at times not
be a liquid secondary market for certain futures
contracts.
High
Yield Securities Risk. High
yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly
known as “junk
bonds”) are considered speculative and have a much greater risk of default or of
not returning principal and their values tend
to be more volatile than higher-rated securities with similar
maturities.
Inverse
Floater Risk. The holder
of an inverse floater, which is a type of derivative, could lose more than its
principal investment.
An inverse floater produces less income and may decline in value when market
rates and the rate payable on the
floater rises. An inverse floater typically involves leverage, which may magnify
a Fund’s losses, and exhibits greater
price and income volatility than an unleveraged bond with a similar
maturity.
Management
Risk. Investment
decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a Fund’s
manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective may not produce expected
returns, may cause the Fund’s
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
Performance
The
following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s
performance from year to year. The Fund’s
average annual total returns are compared to the performance of one or more
indices. Past
performance before and after taxes is no guarantee of future
results. Current
month-end performance
is available on the Fund’s website at allspringglobal.com.
|
|
|
Calendar
Year Total Returns for Administrator Class as of 12/31 each
year |
|
Highest
Quarter: June
30,
2020 |
|
Lowest
Quarter: December
31, 2016 |
|
Year-to-date
total return
as of September
30, 2022 is
-4.12% |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
35 |
|
|
|
|
|
Average
Annual Total Returns for the periods ended
12/31/2021 |
|
Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
Administrator
Class (before taxes) |
7/30/2010
|
0.16% |
1.58% |
1.27% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions) |
7/30/2010
|
0.12% |
1.42% |
1.17% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions and the
sale of Fund Shares) |
7/30/2010
|
0.53% |
1.39% |
1.19% |
Bloomberg
1-3 Year Composite Municipal Bond Index
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
|
|
0.36% |
1.75% |
1.31% |
After-tax
returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal
income tax rates and do not reflect the
impact of state, local or foreign taxes. Actual
after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from
those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt
investors or investors who hold their Fund
shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) Plans or Individual
Retirement Accounts.
Fund
Management
|
|
|
Manager |
Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Manager, Title/Managed Since |
Allspring
Funds Management,
LLC |
Allspring
Global Investments,
LLC |
Bruce
R. Johns,
Portfolio Manager / 2019 Nicholos
Venditti,
Portfolio Manager / 2020 |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Administrator
Class shares are generally available through intermediaries for the
accounts of their customers and directly to
institutional investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include
corporations; private banks and trust
companies; endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and
other employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
In general, you can buy or sell shares of the Fund online or by mail, phone or
wire, on any day the New York Stock
Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for regular trading. You also may buy and sell shares
through a financial professional.
|
|
Minimum
Investments |
To
Buy or Sell Shares |
Minimum
Initial Investment Administrator
Class: $1 million (this amount may be reduced
or eliminated for certain eligible investors)
Minimum
Additional Investment Administrator
Class: None |
Mail:
Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967 Online:
allspringglobal.com Phone
or Wire:
1-800-222-8222 Contact
your financial professional. |
Tax
Information
The Fund’s
distributions normally consist of exempt-interest dividends, which are generally
not taxable to you for federal
income tax purposes, but may be subject to federal AMT. A portion of
the Fund’s distributions may not qualify as exempt-interest
dividends; such distributions will generally be taxable to you as ordinary
income or capital gains, unless you
are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an
individual retirement account. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax advantaged investment plan may be subject
to federal income tax. You should
consult your tax adviser about your specific situation.
Payments
to Intermediaries
If you
purchase a Fund through an intermediary, the Fund and its related companies may
pay the intermediary for the sale of
Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of
interest by influencing the intermediary
and your financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Consult your financial professional
or visit your intermediary’s website for more information.
36 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Strategic
Municipal Bond Fund Summary
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks current income exempt from regular federal income
tax.
Fees
and Expenses
These
tables are intended to help you understand the various costs and expenses you
will pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of
the Fund.
|
|
Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
|
|
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
|
|
Annual
Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage
of the value of your investment)
|
Management
Fees |
0.36% |
Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other
Expenses |
0.37% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
0.73% |
Fee
Waivers |
(0.05)% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers1
|
% |
1. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through October
31, 2023, to
waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary
to cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at
0.68%
for Administrator
Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp
duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and
extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense
cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be
increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may
be terminated only with the approval of the Board of
Trustees. |
Example
of Expenses
The example
below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund with
the costs of investing in other
funds. The example assumes a $10,000 initial investment, 5% annual total return,
and that fees and expenses remain the
same as in the tables above. To the extent that the Manager is waiving fees or
reimbursing expenses, the example
assumes that such waiver or reimbursement will only be in place through the date
noted above. Although your actual
costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would
be:
|
|
After:
|
|
1
Year |
$69 |
3
Years |
$228 |
5
Years |
$401 |
10
Years |
$902 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The Fund
pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities
(or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund shares are held in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating
expenses or in the example,
affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate was 24% of the
average value of its portfolio.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
37 |
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal securities whose interest
is exempt from regular federal income tax,
but not necessarily the federal alternative minimum tax
(AMT); |
■ |
up to
35% of the Fund’s total assets in below investment-grade municipal
securities; and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse
floaters. |
■ |
any
amount in securities whose interest is subject to federal
AMT. |
We invest
principally in municipal securities of states, territories and possessions of
the United States whose interest is exempt
from regular federal income tax, but not necessarily federal AMT. Some of the
securities may be below investment
grade or may be unrated and deemed by us to be of comparable quality. We may
also invest any amount of the Fund’s
total assets in securities whose interest is subject to federal AMT. We may use
futures for duration and yield curve
management.
We may
invest up to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse floaters to seek enhanced
returns. Inverse floaters are derivative
debt instruments created by depositing a municipal security in a trust. Inverse
floaters pay interest at rates that
generally vary inversely with specified short-term interest rates and involve
leverage. We intend to limit leverage created by
the Fund’s investment in inverse floaters to an amount equal to 10% of the
Fund’s total assets.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, and specific demographic
trends. Securities may be sold based on relative value considerations and could
be replaced with a security
that presents a better value or risk/reward profile. A security may also be sold
due to changes in credit characteristics
or outlook, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
While we
may purchase securities of any maturity or duration, under normal circumstances,
we expect the Fund’s overall
dollar-weighted average effective duration to be 6 years or
less.
Principal
Investment Risks
An
investment in the Fund may lose money, is
not a deposit of a bank or its affiliates, is not insured or guaranteed by
the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental
agency, and is
primarily subject to the risks briefly
summarized below.
Market
Risk. The values
of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may decline due
to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments.
Debt
Securities Risk. Debt
securities are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the
possibility that the issuer or
guarantor of a debt security may be unable, or perceived to be unable, to pay
interest or repay principal when they become
due. In these instances, the value of an investment could decline and the Fund
could lose money. Credit risk
increases as an issuer’s credit quality or financial strength declines. Interest
rate risk is the possibility that interest rates will
change over time. When interest rates rise, the value of debt securities tends
to fall. The longer the terms of the debt
securities held by a Fund, the more the Fund is subject to this risk. If
interest rates decline, interest that the Fund is
able to earn on its investments in debt securities may also decline, which could
cause the Fund to reduce the dividends
it pays to shareholders, but the value of those securities may increase. Very
low or negative interest rates may magnify
interest rate risk.
Municipal
Securities Risk. Municipal
securities may be fully or partially backed or enhanced by the taxing authority
of a local
government, by the current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or
specific assets, or by the credit of, or
liquidity enhancement provided by, a private issuer. Various types of municipal
securities are often related in such a way that
political, economic or business developments affecting one obligation could
affect other municipal securities held by a
Fund.
38 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Derivatives
Risk. The use of
derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, can lead to losses,
including those
magnified by leverage, particularly when derivatives are used to enhance return
rather than mitigate risk. Certain derivative
instruments may be difficult to sell when the portfolio manager believes it
would be appropriate to do so, or the other
party to a derivative contract may be unwilling or unable to fulfill its
contractual obligations.
Futures
Contracts Risk. A Fund
that uses futures contracts, which are a type of derivative, is subject to the
risk of loss caused by
unanticipated market movements. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect
correlation between the movement in
the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or
indexes, and there may at times not
be a liquid secondary market for certain futures
contracts.
High
Yield Securities Risk. High
yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly
known as “junk
bonds”) are considered speculative and have a much greater risk of default or of
not returning principal and their values tend
to be more volatile than higher-rated securities with similar
maturities.
Inverse
Floater Risk. The holder
of an inverse floater, which is a type of derivative, could lose more than its
principal investment.
An inverse floater produces less income and may decline in value when market
rates and the rate payable on the
floater rises. An inverse floater typically involves leverage, which may magnify
a Fund’s losses, and exhibits greater
price and income volatility than an unleveraged bond with a similar
maturity.
Management
Risk. Investment
decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a Fund’s
manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective may not produce expected
returns, may cause the Fund’s
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
Performance
The
following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s
performance from year to year. The Fund’s
average annual total returns are compared to the performance of one or more
indices. Past
performance before and after taxes is no guarantee of future
results. Current
month-end performance
is available on the Fund’s website at allspringglobal.com.
|
|
|
Calendar
Year Total Returns for Administrator Class as of 12/31 each
year |
|
Highest
Quarter: June
30,
2020 |
|
Lowest
Quarter: March
31,
2020 |
|
Year-to-date
total return
as of September
30, 2022 is
-7.33% |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
39 |
|
|
|
|
|
Average
Annual Total Returns for the periods ended
12/31/2021 |
|
Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
Administrator
Class (before taxes) |
10/6/1997
|
1.01% |
2.88% |
2.63% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions) |
10/6/1997
|
0.95% |
2.82% |
2.47% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions and the
sale of Fund Shares) |
10/6/1997
|
1.13% |
2.60% |
2.36% |
Bloomberg
Short-Intermediate Municipal Bond Index
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
|
|
0.43% |
2.86% |
2.32% |
After-tax
returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal
income tax rates and do not reflect the
impact of state, local or foreign taxes. Actual
after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from
those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt
investors or investors who hold their Fund
shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) Plans or Individual
Retirement Accounts.
Fund
Management
|
|
|
Manager |
Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Manager, Title/Managed Since |
Allspring
Funds Management,
LLC |
Allspring
Global Investments,
LLC |
Terry
J. Goode,
Portfolio Manager / 2019 Robert
J. Miller,
Portfolio Manager / 2010 Nicholos
Venditti,
Portfolio Manager / 2020 |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Administrator
Class shares are generally available through intermediaries for the
accounts of their customers and directly to
institutional investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include
corporations; private banks and trust
companies; endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and
other employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
In general, you can buy or sell shares of the Fund online or by mail, phone or
wire, on any day the New York Stock
Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for regular trading. You also may buy and sell shares
through a financial professional.
|
|
Minimum
Investments |
To
Buy or Sell Shares |
Minimum
Initial Investment Administrator
Class: $1 million (this amount may be reduced
or eliminated for certain eligible investors)
Minimum
Additional Investment Administrator
Class: None |
Mail:
Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967 Online:
allspringglobal.com Phone
or Wire:
1-800-222-8222 Contact
your financial professional. |
Tax
Information
The Fund’s
distributions normally consist of exempt-interest dividends, which are generally
not taxable to you for federal
income tax purposes, but may be subject to federal AMT. A portion of
the Fund’s distributions may not qualify as exempt-interest
dividends; such distributions will generally be taxable to you as ordinary
income or capital gains, unless you
are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an
individual retirement account. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax advantaged investment plan may be subject
to federal income tax. You should
consult your tax adviser about your specific situation.
Payments
to Intermediaries
If you
purchase a Fund through an intermediary, the Fund and its related companies may
pay the intermediary for the sale of
Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of
interest by influencing the intermediary
and your financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Consult your financial professional
or visit your intermediary’s website for more information.
40 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Ultra
Short-Term Municipal Income Fund Summary
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks current income exempt from federal income tax, consistent with capital
preservation.
Fees
and Expenses
These
tables are intended to help you understand the various costs and expenses you
will pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of
the Fund.
|
|
Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
|
|
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
|
|
Annual
Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage
of the value of your investment)
|
Management
Fees |
0.24% |
Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other
Expenses |
0.36% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
0.60% |
Fee
Waivers |
(0.10)% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers1
|
% |
1. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through October
31, 2023, to
waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary
to cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at
0.50%
for Administrator
Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp
duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and
extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense
cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be
increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may
be terminated only with the approval of the Board of
Trustees. |
Example
of Expenses
The example
below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund with
the costs of investing in other
funds. The example assumes a $10,000 initial investment, 5% annual total return,
and that fees and expenses remain the
same as in the tables above. To the extent that the Manager is waiving fees or
reimbursing expenses, the example
assumes that such waiver or reimbursement will only be in place through the date
noted above. Although your actual
costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would
be:
|
|
After:
|
|
1
Year |
$51 |
3
Years |
$182 |
5
Years |
$325 |
10
Years |
$740 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The Fund
pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities
(or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund shares are held in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating
expenses or in the example,
affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate was 46% of the
average value of its portfolio.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
41 |
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal securities whose interest
is exempt from federal income tax, but not
necessarily federal alternative minimum tax
(AMT); |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s total assets in securities whose interest is
subject to federal AMT;
and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in below investment-grade municipal
securities. |
We invest
principally in short-term municipal securities of states, territories and
possessions of the United States whose interest is
exempt from federal income tax, but not necessarily federal AMT. Some of the
securities may be below investment
grade or may be unrated and deemed by us to be of comparable quality. We may
also invest a portion of the
Fund’s assets in securities whose interest is subject to federal AMT.
We may use futures for duration and yield curve management.
While we may purchase securities of any maturity, under normal circumstances, we
expect the Fund’s dollar-weighted
average effective maturity to be 1 year or
less.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, and specific demographic
trends. Securities may be sold based on relative value considerations and could
be replaced with a security
that presents a better value or risk/reward profile. A security may also be sold
due to changes in credit characteristics
or outlook, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
Principal
Investment Risks
An
investment in the Fund may lose money, is
not a deposit of a bank or its affiliates, is not insured or guaranteed by
the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental
agency, and is
primarily subject to the risks briefly
summarized below.
Market
Risk. The values
of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may decline due
to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments.
Debt
Securities Risk. Debt
securities are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the
possibility that the issuer or
guarantor of a debt security may be unable, or perceived to be unable, to pay
interest or repay principal when they become
due. In these instances, the value of an investment could decline and the Fund
could lose money. Credit risk
increases as an issuer’s credit quality or financial strength declines. Interest
rate risk is the possibility that interest rates will
change over time. When interest rates rise, the value of debt securities tends
to fall. The longer the terms of the debt
securities held by a Fund, the more the Fund is subject to this risk. If
interest rates decline, interest that the Fund is
able to earn on its investments in debt securities may also decline, which could
cause the Fund to reduce the dividends
it pays to shareholders, but the value of those securities may increase. Very
low or negative interest rates may magnify
interest rate risk.
Municipal
Securities Risk. Municipal
securities may be fully or partially backed or enhanced by the taxing authority
of a local
government, by the current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or
specific assets, or by the credit of, or
liquidity enhancement provided by, a private issuer. Various types of municipal
securities are often related in such a way that
political, economic or business developments affecting one obligation could
affect other municipal securities held by a
Fund.
Derivatives
Risk. The use of
derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, can lead to losses,
including those
magnified by leverage, particularly when derivatives are used to enhance return
rather than mitigate risk. Certain derivative
instruments may be difficult to sell when the portfolio manager believes it
would be appropriate to do so, or the other
party to a derivative contract may be unwilling or unable to fulfill its
contractual obligations.
Futures
Contracts Risk. A Fund
that uses futures contracts, which are a type of derivative, is subject to the
risk of loss caused by
unanticipated market movements. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect
correlation between the movement in
the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or
indexes, and there may at times not
be a liquid secondary market for certain futures
contracts.
42 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
High
Yield Securities Risk. High
yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly
known as “junk
bonds”) are considered speculative and have a much greater risk of default or of
not returning principal and their values tend
to be more volatile than higher-rated securities with similar
maturities.
Management
Risk. Investment
decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a Fund’s
manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective may not produce expected
returns, may cause the Fund’s
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
Performance
The
following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s
performance from year to year. The Fund’s
average annual total returns are compared to the performance of one or more
indices. Past
performance before and after taxes is no guarantee of future
results. Current
month-end performance
is available on the Fund’s website at allspringglobal.com.
|
|
|
Calendar
Year Total Returns for Administrator Class as of 12/31 each
year |
|
Highest
Quarter: June
30,
2020 |
|
Lowest
Quarter: December
31, 2016 |
|
Year-to-date
total return
as of September
30, 2022 is
-1.75% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average
Annual Total Returns for the periods ended
12/31/2021 |
|
Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
Administrator
Class (before taxes) |
7/30/2010
|
0.02% |
0.98% |
0.64% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions) |
7/30/2010
|
0.01% |
0.85% |
0.57% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions and the
sale of Fund Shares) |
7/30/2010
|
0.10% |
0.83% |
0.58% |
Ultra
Short-Term Municipal Income Blended Index (reflects
no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)1
|
|
% |
% |
% |
Bloomberg
1 Year Municipal Bond Index (reflects no deduction
for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
|
0.31% |
1.44% |
1.03% |
iMoneyNet
Tax-Free National Institutional Money Market
Funds Average (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses, or taxes) |
|
0.01% |
0.79% |
0.42% |
1. |
Source:
Allspring
Funds Management, LLC. The Ultra Short-Term Municipal Income Blended Index
is composed 50% of the Bloomberg 1
Year Municipal Bond Index and 50% of the iMoneyNet Tax-Free National
Institutional Money Market Funds Average. You
cannot invest directly in an
index. |
After-tax
returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal
income tax rates and do not reflect the
impact of state, local or foreign taxes. Actual
after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from
those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt
investors or investors who hold their Fund
shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) Plans or Individual
Retirement Accounts.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
43 |
Fund
Management
|
|
|
Manager |
Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Manager, Title/Managed Since |
Allspring
Funds Management,
LLC |
Allspring
Global Investments,
LLC |
Bruce
R. Johns,
Portfolio Manager / 2017 James
Randazzo,
Portfolio Manager / 2019 Nicholos
Venditti,
Portfolio Manager / 2020 |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Administrator
Class shares are generally available through intermediaries for the
accounts of their customers and directly to
institutional investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include
corporations; private banks and trust
companies; endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and
other employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
In general, you can buy or sell shares of the Fund online or by mail, phone or
wire, on any day the New York Stock
Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for regular trading. You also may buy and sell shares
through a financial professional.
|
|
Minimum
Investments |
To
Buy or Sell Shares |
Minimum
Initial Investment Administrator
Class: $1 million (this amount may be reduced
or eliminated for certain eligible investors)
Minimum
Additional Investment Administrator
Class: None |
Mail:
Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967 Online:
allspringglobal.com Phone
or Wire:
1-800-222-8222 Contact
your financial professional. |
Tax
Information
The Fund’s
distributions normally consist of exempt-interest dividends, which are generally
not taxable to you for federal
income tax purposes, but may be subject to federal AMT. A portion of
the Fund’s distributions may not qualify as exempt-interest
dividends; such distributions will generally be taxable to you as ordinary
income or capital gains, unless you
are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an
individual retirement account. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax advantaged investment plan may be subject
to federal income tax. You should
consult your tax adviser about your specific situation.
Payments
to Intermediaries
If you
purchase a Fund through an intermediary, the Fund and its related companies may
pay the intermediary for the sale of
Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of
interest by influencing the intermediary
and your financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Consult your financial professional
or visit your intermediary’s website for more information.
44 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Details
About the Funds
California
Limited-Term Tax-Free Fund
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks current income exempt from federal income tax and California individual
income tax, consistent with capital
preservation.
The Fund’s
Board of Trustees can change this investment objective without a shareholder
vote.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal
securities whose interest is exempt from federal income tax,
including
federal alternative minimum tax (AMT), and California individual income
tax; |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s net assets in securities whose interest is subject to
federal income tax, including federal AMT; |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in below investment-grade municipal
securities; and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse
floaters. |
We invest
principally in municipal securities whose interest is exempt from federal income
tax, including federal AMT, and
California individual income tax. Our investment holdings may include municipal
securities issued by the state of California
and its subdivisions, authorities, instrumentalities and corporations, as well
as municipal securities issued by the
territories and possessions of the United States. Some of the securities may be
below investment grade or may be unrated and
deemed by us to be of comparable quality. We may also invest a portion of the
Fund’s net assets in securities
whose interest is subject to federal income tax, including federal
AMT. We may use futures for duration and yield curve
management. While we may purchase securities of any maturity, under normal
circumstances, we expect the Fund’s
dollar-weighted average effective maturity to be between 2 and 7
years.
We may
invest up to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse floaters to seek enhanced
returns. Inverse floaters are derivative
debt instruments created by depositing a municipal security in a trust. Inverse
floaters pay interest at rates that
generally vary inversely with specified short-term interest rates and involve
leverage. We intend to limit leverage created by
the Fund’s investment in inverse floaters to an amount equal to 10% of the
Fund’s total assets.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, and specific demographic
trends. Securities may be sold based on relative value considerations and could
be replaced with a security
that presents a better value or risk/reward profile. A security may also be sold
due to changes in credit characteristics
or outlook, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
We may
actively trade portfolio securities, which may lead to higher transaction costs
that may affect the Fund’s performance.
In addition, active trading of portfolio securities may lead to higher taxes if
your shares are held in a taxable
account.
The Fund
may hold some of its assets in cash or in money market instruments, including
U.S. Government obligations, shares of
other funds and repurchase agreements, or make other short-term investments for
purposes of maintaining liquidity
or for short-term defensive purposes when we believe it is in the best interests
of the shareholders to do so. During such
periods, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
45 |
Principal
Investment Risks
The Fund is
primarily subject to the risks mentioned below.
These and
other risks could cause you to lose money in your investment in the Fund and
could adversely affect the Fund’s net
asset value, yield and total return. These risks are described in the
“Description of Principal Investment Risks”
section.
46 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
California
Tax-Free Fund
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks current income exempt from federal income tax and California individual
income tax.
The Fund’s
Board of Trustees can change this investment objective without a shareholder
vote.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal securities whose interest
is exempt from federal income tax, including
federal alternative minimum tax (AMT), and California individual income
tax; |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s net assets in securities whose interest is subject to
federal income tax, including federal AMT; |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in below investment-grade municipal
securities; and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse
floaters. |
We invest
principally in municipal securities whose interest is exempt from federal income
tax, including federal AMT, and
California individual income tax. Our investment holdings may include municipal
securities issued by the state of California
and its subdivisions, authorities, instrumentalities and corporations, as well
as municipal securities issued by the
territories and possessions of the United States. Some of the securities may be
below investment grade or may be unrated and
deemed by us to be of comparable quality. We may also invest a portion of the
Fund’s net assets in securities
whose interest is subject to federal income tax, including federal
AMT. We may use futures for duration and yield curve
management. While we may purchase securities of any maturity, under normal
circumstances, we expect the Fund’s
dollar-weighted average effective maturity to be between 3 and 20
years.
We may
invest up to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse floaters to seek enhanced
returns. Inverse floaters are derivative
debt instruments created by depositing a municipal security in a trust. Inverse
floaters pay interest at rates that
generally vary inversely with specified short-term interest rates and involve
leverage. We intend to limit leverage created by
the Fund’s investment in inverse floaters to an amount equal to 10% of the
Fund’s total assets.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, and specific demographic
trends. Securities may be sold based on relative value considerations and could
be replaced with a security
that presents a better value or risk/reward profile. A security may also be sold
due to changes in credit characteristics
or outlook, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
The Fund is
considered to be non-diversified.
We may
actively trade portfolio securities, which may lead to higher transaction costs
that may affect the Fund’s performance.
In addition, active trading of portfolio securities may lead to higher taxes if
your shares are held in a taxable
account.
The Fund
may hold some of its assets in cash or in money market instruments, including
U.S. Government obligations, shares of
other funds and repurchase agreements, or make other short-term investments for
purposes of maintaining liquidity
or for short-term defensive purposes when we believe it is in the best interests
of the shareholders to do so. During such
periods, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
47 |
Principal
Investment Risks
The Fund is
primarily subject to the risks mentioned below.
These and
other risks could cause you to lose money in your investment in the Fund and
could adversely affect the Fund’s net
asset value, yield and total return. These risks are described in the
“Description of Principal Investment Risks”
section.
48 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
High
Yield Municipal Bond Fund
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks high current income exempt from federal income tax, and capital
appreciation.
The Fund’s
Board of Trustees can change this investment objective without a shareholder
vote.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal securities whose interest
is exempt from federal income tax, but not
necessarily federal alternative minimum tax
(“AMT”); |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s total assets in securities whose interest is subject
to federal AMT; |
■ |
at
least 50% of the Fund’s total assets in municipal securities rated BBB and
below or comparable unrated municipal securities;
and |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse
floaters. |
We invest
principally in municipal securities of states, territories and possessions of
the United States whose interest is exempt from
federal income tax, but not necessarily federal AMT. A substantial portion of
the securities will be rated BBB and
below or unrated and deemed by us to be of comparable quality. Securities rated
BB and below are often called
“high yield” securities or “junk bonds”. We may invest in municipal debt of any
credit quality. We may also invest a portion
of the Fund’s total assets in securities whose interest is subject to federal
AMT. We may use futures for duration
and yield curve management. While we may purchase securities of any
maturity, under normal circumstances, we
expect the Fund’s dollar-weighted average effective maturity to be between 3 and
20 years. “Dollar-weighted
average effective maturity” is a measure of the average time until the final
payment of principal and interest is
due on fixed income securities in the Fund’s portfolio.
We may
invest up to 20% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse floaters to seek enhanced
returns. Inverse floaters are derivative
debt instruments created by depositing a municipal security in a trust. Inverse
floaters pay interest at rates that
generally vary inversely with specified short-term interest rates and involve
leverage. We intend to limit leverage created by
the Fund’s investments in inverse floaters to an amount equal to 20% of the
Fund’s total assets.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, and specific demographic
trends. Securities may be sold based on relative value considerations and could
be replaced with a security
that presents a better value or risk/reward profile. A security may also be sold
due to changes in credit characteristics
or outlook, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
We may
actively trade portfolio securities, which may lead to higher transaction costs
that may affect the Fund’s performance.
In addition, active trading of portfolio securities may lead to higher taxes if
your shares are held in a taxable
account.
The Fund
may hold some of its assets in cash or in money market instruments, including
U.S. Government obligations, shares of
other funds and repurchase agreements, or make other short-term investments for
purposes of maintaining liquidity
or for short-term defensive purposes when we believe it is in the best interests
of the shareholders to do so. During such
periods, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
49 |
Principal
Investment Risks
The Fund is
primarily subject to the risks mentioned below.
These and
other risks could cause you to lose money in your investment in the Fund and
could adversely affect the Fund’s net
asset value, yield and total return. These risks are described in the
“Description of Principal Investment Risks”
section.
50 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Intermediate
Tax/AMT-Free Fund
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks current income exempt from federal income tax.
The Fund’s
Board of Trustees can change this investment objective without a shareholder
vote.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal securities whose interest
is exempt from federal income tax, including
federal alternative minimum tax (AMT); |
■ |
up to
15% of the Fund’s total assets in below investment-grade municipal
securities; and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse
floaters. |
We invest
principally in municipal securities of states, territories
and possessions of the United States whose interest is exempt from
federal income tax, including federal AMT. Some of the securities may be below
investment grade or unrated and
deemed by us to be of comparable quality. Under normal circumstances, we do not
invest in securities whose
interest is subject to federal income tax, including federal AMT. We may use
futures for duration and yield curve management.
While we may purchase securities of any maturity, under normal circumstances, we
expect the Fund’s dollar-weighted
average effective maturity to be between 3 and 10 years.
We may
invest up to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse floaters to seek enhanced
returns. Inverse floaters are derivative
debt instruments created by depositing a municipal security in a trust. Inverse
floaters pay interest at rates that
generally vary inversely with specified short-term interest rates and involve
leverage. We intend to limit leverage created by
the Fund’s investment in inverse floaters to an amount equal to 10% of the
Fund’s total assets.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, and specific demographic
trends. Securities may be sold based on relative value considerations and could
be replaced with a security
that presents a better value or risk/reward profile. A security may also be sold
due to changes in credit characteristics
or outlook, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
We may
actively trade portfolio securities, which may lead to higher transaction costs
that may affect the Fund’s performance.
In addition, active trading of portfolio securities may lead to higher taxes if
your shares are held in a taxable
account.
The Fund
may hold some of its assets in cash or in money market instruments, including
U.S. Government obligations, shares of
other funds and repurchase agreements, or make other short-term investments for
purposes of maintaining liquidity
or for short-term defensive purposes when we believe it is in the best interests
of the shareholders to do so. During such
periods, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Principal
Investment Risks
The Fund is
primarily subject to the risks mentioned below.
These and
other risks could cause you to lose money in your investment in the Fund and
could adversely affect the Fund’s net
asset value, yield and total return. These risks are described in the
“Description of Principal Investment Risks”
section.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
51 |
Minnesota
Tax-Free Fund
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks current income exempt from federal income tax and Minnesota individual
income tax.
The Fund’s
Board of Trustees can change this investment objective without a shareholder
vote.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal securities whose interest
is exempt from federal income tax, including
federal alternative minimum tax (AMT), and Minnesota individual income
tax; |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s net assets in securities whose interest is subject to
federal income tax, including federal AMT; |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in below investment-grade municipal
securities; and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse
floaters. |
We invest
principally in municipal securities whose interest is exempt from
federal income tax, including federal AMT, and
Minnesota individual income tax. Our investment holdings may include municipal
securities issued by the state of Minnesota
and its subdivisions, authorities, instrumentalities and corporations, as well
as municipal securities issued by the
territories and possessions of the United States. Some of the securities may be
below investment grade or may be unrated and
deemed by us to be of comparable quality. We may also invest a portion of the
Fund’s net assets in securities
whose interest is subject to federal income tax, including federal
AMT. While the Fund is required, under normal
circumstances, to invest at least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal
securities whose interest is exempt from
Minnesota individual income tax, we currently intend to manage the portfolio so
that at least 95% of the income generated
by the Fund is exempt from Minnesota individual income tax. We may use futures
for duration and yield curve
management. While we may purchase securities of any maturity, under normal
circumstances, we expect the Fund’s
dollar-weighted average effective maturity to be between 3 and 20
years.
We may
invest up to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse floaters to seek enhanced
returns. Inverse floaters are derivative
debt instruments created by depositing a municipal security in a trust. Inverse
floaters pay interest at rates that
generally vary inversely with specified short-term interest rates and involve
leverage. We intend to limit leverage created by
the Fund’s investment in inverse floaters to an amount equal to 10% of the
Fund’s total assets.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, and specific demographic
trends. Securities may be sold based on relative value considerations and could
be replaced with a security
that presents a better value or risk/reward profile. A security may also be sold
due to changes in credit characteristics
or outlook, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
We may
actively trade portfolio securities, which may lead to higher transaction costs
that may affect the Fund’s performance.
In addition, active trading of portfolio securities may lead to higher taxes if
your shares are held in a taxable
account.
The Fund
may hold some of its assets in cash or in money market instruments, including
U.S. Government obligations, shares of
other funds and repurchase agreements, or make other short-term investments for
purposes of maintaining liquidity
or for short-term defensive purposes when we believe it is in the best interests
of the shareholders to do so. During such
periods, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
52 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Principal
Investment Risks
The Fund is
primarily subject to the risks mentioned below.
These and
other risks could cause you to lose money in your investment in the Fund and
could adversely affect the Fund’s net
asset value, yield and total return. These risks are described in the
“Description of Principal Investment Risks”
section.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
53 |
Municipal
Bond Fund
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks current income exempt from federal income tax.
The Fund’s
Board of Trustees can change this investment objective without a shareholder
vote.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal securities whose interest
is exempt from federal income tax, but not
necessarily federal alternative minimum tax
(AMT); |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s total assets in securities whose interest is
subject to federal AMT; |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s total assets in below investment-grade municipal
securities; and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse
floaters. |
We invest
principally in municipal securities of states, territories and possessions of
the United States whose interest is exempt from
federal income tax, but not necessarily federal AMT. Some of the securities may
be below investment grade or
may be unrated and deemed by us to be of comparable quality. We may also invest
a portion of the Fund’s assets
in securities whose interest is subject to federal AMT. We may use
futures for duration and yield curve management.
While we may purchase securities of any maturity, under normal circumstances, we
expect the Fund’s dollar-weighted
average effective maturity to be between 3 and 20 years.
We may
invest up to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse floaters to seek enhanced
returns. Inverse floaters are derivative
debt instruments created by depositing a municipal security in a trust. Inverse
floaters pay interest at rates that
generally vary inversely with specified short-term interest rates and involve
leverage. We intend to limit leverage created by
the Fund’s investment in inverse floaters to an amount equal to 10% of the
Fund’s total assets.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, and specific demographic
trends. Securities may be sold based on relative value considerations and could
be replaced with a security
that presents a better value or risk/reward profile. A security may also be sold
due to changes in credit characteristics
or outlook, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
We may
actively trade portfolio securities, which may lead to higher transaction costs
that may affect the Fund’s performance.
In addition, active trading of portfolio securities may lead to higher taxes if
your shares are held in a taxable
account.
The Fund
may hold some of its assets in cash or in money market instruments, including
U.S. Government obligations, shares of
other funds and repurchase agreements, or make other short-term investments for
purposes of maintaining liquidity
or for short-term defensive purposes when we believe it is in the best interests
of the shareholders to do so. During such
periods, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Principal
Investment Risks
The Fund is
primarily subject to the risks mentioned below.
These and
other risks could cause you to lose money in your investment in the Fund and
could adversely affect the Fund’s net
asset value, yield and total return. These risks are described in the
“Description of Principal Investment Risks”
section.
54 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Municipal
Sustainability Fund
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks current income exempt from federal income tax.
The Fund’s
Board of Trustees can change this investment objective without a shareholder
vote.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal securities whose interest
is exempt from federal income tax, but not
necessarily federal alternative minimum tax
(AMT); |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s total assets in securities whose interest is
subject to federal AMT; |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s total assets in below investment-grade municipal
securities; and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse
floaters. |
We invest
principally in municipal securities of states, territories and possessions of
the United States whose interest is exempt from
federal income tax, but not necessarily federal AMT. Some of the securities may
be below investment grade or
may be unrated and deemed by us to be of comparable quality. We may also invest
a portion of the Fund’s assets in
securities whose interest is subject to federal AMT. We may use futures for
duration and yield curve management.
While we may purchase securities of any maturity, under normal circumstances, we
expect the Fund’s dollar-weighted
average effective maturity to be between 3 and 20 years.
We may
invest up to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse floaters to seek enhanced
returns. Inverse floaters are derivative
debt instruments created by depositing a municipal security in a trust. Inverse
floaters pay interest at rates that
generally vary inversely with specified short-term interest rates and involve
leverage. We intend to limit leverage created by
the Fund’s investment in inverse floaters to an amount equal to 10% of the
Fund’s total assets.
We evaluate
each security in which the Fund invests using both a traditional municipal bond
credit analysis and a consideration
of the security’s environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) impacts. Using
our ESG impact framework,
securities that we determine to have a positive ESG impact are generally deemed
eligible for purchase. In making this
determination, we consider the following, where available: an issuer’s history
of positive ESG practices, a security’s
use-of-proceeds information, an issuer’s impact on underserved populations (such
as low socio-economic communities),
and a third-party issuer/security ESG rating. A security’s positive ESG impact
can be determined under any of the
four factors described above. Our ESG impact framework is conducted on an
industry sector basis and includes
the use of key ESG indicators that vary by sector. In assessing a security’s use
of proceeds and an issuer’s history of
positive ESG practices, we consider factors such as energy efficiency, pollution
control, and environmentally sustainable
management. In assessing a security’s use of proceeds and an issuer’s impact on
underserved populations, we consider
factors such as access to essential services and affordable housing. Municipal
securities that we have determined
to have a positive ESG impact may include securities issued to fund education
(K-12, post-secondary), affordable
housing, water treatment, public transportation, healthcare, and energy
efficiency projects, among many others.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, specific demographic
trends, the degree of a security’s positive ESG impact and consideration of ESG
risks. Securities may be sold based
on relative value considerations and could be replaced with a security that
presents a better value or risk/reward
profile. A security may also be sold due to changes in credit characteristics,
outlook, change in our evaluation of ESG
impact or ESG risk, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
We may
actively trade portfolio securities, which may lead to higher transaction costs
that may affect the Fund’s performance.
In addition, active trading of portfolio securities may lead to higher taxes if
your shares are held in a taxable
account.
The Fund
may temporarily hold a greater portion of assets in uninvested cash for purposes
of maintaining liquidity or for
short-term defensive purposes when we believe it is in the best interest of
shareholders to do so. During these periods,
the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
55 |
Principal
Investment Risks
The Fund is
primarily subject to the risks mentioned below.
These and
other risks could cause you to lose money in your investment in the Fund and
could adversely affect the Fund’s net
asset value, yield and total return. These risks are described in the
“Description of Principal Investment Risks”
section.
56 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Short-Term
Municipal Bond Fund
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks current income exempt from federal income tax consistent with capital
preservation.
The Fund’s
Board of Trustees can change this investment objective without a shareholder
vote.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal securities whose interest
is exempt from federal income tax, but not
necessarily federal alternative minimum tax
(AMT); |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s total assets in securities whose interest is
subject to federal AMT; |
■ |
up to
15% of the Fund’s total assets in below investment-grade municipal
securities; and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse
floaters. |
We invest
principally in short-term municipal securities of states, territories and
possessions of the United States whose interest is
exempt from federal income tax, but not necessarily federal AMT. Some of the
securities may be below investment
grade or may be unrated and deemed by us to be of comparable quality. We may
also invest a portion of the Fund’s
assets in securities whose interest is subject to federal AMT. We may use
futures for duration and yield curve management.
While we may purchase securities of any maturity, under normal circumstances, we
expect the Fund’s dollar-weighted
average effective maturity to be 3 years or less.
We may
invest up to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse floaters to seek enhanced
returns. Inverse floaters are derivative
debt instruments created by depositing a municipal security in a trust. Inverse
floaters pay interest at rates that
generally vary inversely with specified short-term interest rates and involve
leverage. We intend to limit leverage created by
the Fund’s investment in inverse floaters to an amount equal to 10% of the
Fund’s total assets.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, and specific demographic
trends. Securities may be sold based on relative value considerations and could
be replaced with a security
that presents a better value or risk/reward profile. A security may also be sold
due to changes in credit characteristics
or outlook, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
We may
actively trade portfolio securities, which may lead to higher transaction costs
that may affect the Fund’s performance.
In addition, active trading of portfolio securities may lead to higher taxes if
your shares are held in a taxable
account.
The Fund
may hold some of its assets in cash or in money market instruments, including
U.S. Government obligations, shares of
other funds and repurchase agreements, or make other short-term investments for
purposes of maintaining liquidity
or for short-term defensive purposes when we believe it is in the best interests
of the shareholders to do so. During such
periods, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Principal
Investment Risks
The Fund is
primarily subject to the risks mentioned below.
These and
other risks could cause you to lose money in your investment in the Fund and
could adversely affect the Fund’s net
asset value, yield and total return. These risks are described in the
“Description of Principal Investment Risks”
section.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
57 |
Strategic
Municipal Bond Fund
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks current income exempt from regular federal income tax.
The Fund’s
Board of Trustees can change this investment objective without a shareholder
vote.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal securities whose interest
is exempt from regular federal income tax,
but not necessarily the federal alternative minimum tax
(AMT); |
■ |
up to
35% of the Fund’s total assets in below investment-grade municipal
securities; and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse
floaters. |
We may also
invest:
■ |
any
amount in securities whose interest is subject to federal
AMT. |
We invest
principally in municipal securities of states, territories and possessions of
the United States whose interest is exempt
from regular federal income tax, but not necessarily federal AMT. Some of the
securities may be below investment
grade or may be unrated and deemed by us to be of comparable quality. We may
also invest any amount of the Fund’s
total assets in securities whose interest is subject to federal AMT. We may use
futures for duration and yield curve
management.
We may
invest up to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in inverse floaters to seek enhanced
returns. Inverse floaters are derivative
debt instruments created by depositing a municipal security in a trust. Inverse
floaters pay interest at rates that
generally vary inversely with specified short-term interest rates and involve
leverage. We intend to limit leverage created by
the Fund’s investment in inverse floaters to an amount equal to 10% of the
Fund’s total assets.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, and specific demographic
trends. Securities may be sold based on relative value considerations and could
be replaced with a security
that presents a better value or risk/reward profile. A security may also be sold
due to changes in credit characteristics
or outlook, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
While we
may purchase securities of any maturity or duration, under normal circumstances,
we expect the Fund’s overall
dollar-weighted average effective duration to be 6 years or less.
We may
actively trade portfolio securities, which may lead to higher transaction costs
that may affect the Fund’s performance.
In addition, active trading of portfolio securities may lead to higher taxes if
your shares are held in a taxable
account.
The Fund
may hold some of its assets in cash or in money market instruments, including
U.S. Government obligations, shares of
other funds and repurchase agreements, or make other short-term investments for
purposes of maintaining liquidity
or for short-term defensive purposes when we believe it is in the best interests
of the shareholders to do so. During such
periods, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
58 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Principal
Investment Risks
The Fund is
primarily subject to the risks mentioned below.
These and
other risks could cause you to lose money in your investment in the Fund and
could adversely affect the Fund’s net
asset value, yield and total return. These risks are described in the
“Description of Principal Investment Risks”
section.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
59 |
Ultra
Short-Term Municipal Income Fund
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks current income exempt from federal income tax, consistent with capital
preservation.
The Fund’s
Board of Trustees can change this investment objective without a shareholder
vote.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in municipal securities whose interest
is exempt from federal income tax, but not
necessarily federal alternative minimum tax
(AMT); |
■ |
up to
20% of the Fund’s total assets in securities whose interest is
subject to federal AMT; and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund’s total assets in below investment-grade municipal
securities. |
We invest
principally in short-term municipal securities of states, territories and
possessions of the United States whose interest is
exempt from federal income tax, but not necessarily federal AMT. Some of the
securities may be below investment
grade or may be unrated and deemed by us to be of comparable quality. We may
also invest a portion of the
Fund’s assets in securities whose interest is subject to federal AMT.
We may use futures for duration and yield curve management.
While we may purchase securities of any maturity, under normal circumstances, we
expect the Fund’s dollar-weighted
average effective maturity to be 1 year or less.
We use a
combination of top-down and bottom-up research to cover the four main elements
of total return: duration management,
yield curve positioning, sector and credit quality allocation, and security
selection. Our top-down analysis
involves an evaluation of macroeconomic factors that may include, among others,
the pace of economic growth,
employment conditions, inflation, and monetary and fiscal policy. Our bottom-up
analysis, which involves intensive
research into the credit fundamentals of individual issuers and the relative
value of individual issues, is used to uncover
solid investment opportunities. Securities are selected based on several
factors, including, among others, improving
financial trends, positive industry and sector dynamics, improving economic
conditions, and specific demographic
trends. Securities may be sold based on relative value considerations and could
be replaced with a security
that presents a better value or risk/reward profile. A security may also be sold
due to changes in credit characteristics
or outlook, as well as changes in portfolio strategy or cash flow
needs.
We may
actively trade portfolio securities, which may lead to higher transaction costs
that may affect the Fund’s performance.
In addition, active trading of portfolio securities may lead to higher taxes if
your shares are held in a taxable
account.
The Fund
may hold some of its assets in cash or in money market instruments, including
U.S. Government obligations, shares of
other funds and repurchase agreements, or make other short-term investments for
purposes of maintaining liquidity
or for short-term defensive purposes when we believe it is in the best interests
of the shareholders to do so. During such
periods, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Principal
Investment Risks
The Fund is
primarily subject to the risks mentioned below.
These and
other risks could cause you to lose money in your investment in the Fund and
could adversely affect the Fund’s net
asset value, yield and total return. These risks are described in the
“Description of Principal Investment Risks”
section.
60 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Description
of Principal Investment Risks
Understanding
the risks involved in fund investing will help you make an informed decision
that takes into account your risk
tolerance and preferences. The risks that are most likely to have a material
effect on a particular Fund as
a whole are called
“principal risks.” The principal risks for each Fund have
been previously identified and are described below (in alphabetical
order). Additional information about the principal risks is included in the
Statement of Additional Information.
Debt
Securities Risk. Debt
securities are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the
possibility that the issuer or
guarantor of a debt security may be unable, or perceived to be unable, to pay
interest or repay principal when they become
due. In these instances, the value of an investment could decline and the Fund
could lose money. Credit risk
increases as an issuer’s credit quality or financial strength declines. The
credit quality of a debt security may deteriorate
rapidly and cause significant deterioration in the Fund’s net asset value.
Interest rate risk is the possibility that
interest rates will change over time. When interest rates rise, the value of
debt securities tends to fall. The longer the terms
of the debt securities held by a Fund, the more the Fund is subject to this
risk. If interest rates decline, interest
that the Fund is able to earn on its investments in debt securities may also
decline, which could cause the Fund to reduce
the dividends it pays to shareholders, but the value of those securities may
increase. Some debt securities give the
issuers the option to call, redeem or prepay the securities before their
maturity dates. If an issuer calls, redeems or
prepays a debt security during a time of declining interest rates, the Fund
might have to reinvest the proceeds in
a security offering a lower yield, and therefore might not benefit from any
increase in value as a result of declining
interest rates. Very low or negative interest rates may magnify interest rate
risk. Changing interest rates, including
rates that fall below zero, may have unpredictable effects on markets, may
result in heightened market volatility
and may detract from Fund performance to the extent the Fund is exposed to such
interest rates. Interest rate changes and
their impact on the Fund and its share price can be sudden and unpredictable.
Changes in market conditions
and government policies may lead to periods of heightened volatility in the debt
securities market, reduced liquidity
Fund investments and an increase in Fund redemptions.
Derivatives
Risk. The use of
derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, presents risks
different from, and
possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in
traditional securities. The use of derivatives can lead to
losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the derivatives’
underlying assets, indexes or rates and
the derivatives themselves, which may be magnified by certain features of the
derivatives. These risks are heightened
when derivatives are used to enhance a Fund’s return or as a substitute for a
position or security, rather than solely
to hedge (or mitigate) the risk of a position or security held by the Fund. The
success of a derivative strategy will be
affected by the portfolio manager’s ability to assess and predict market or
economic developments and their impact on
the derivatives’ underlying assets, indexes or reference rates, as well as the
derivatives themselves. Certain derivative
instruments may become illiquid and, as a result, may be difficult to sell when
the portfolio manager believes it would be
appropriate to do so. Certain derivatives create leverage, which can magnify the
impact of a decline in the value of
their underlying assets, indexes or reference rates, and increase the volatility
of the Fund’s net asset value. Certain
derivatives (e.g., over-the-counter swaps) are also subject to the risk that the
counterparty to the derivative contract
will be unwilling or unable to fulfill its contractual obligations, which may
cause a Fund to lose money, suffer delays or
incur costs arising from holding or selling an underlying asset. Changes in laws
or regulations may make the use of
derivatives more costly, may limit the availability of derivatives, or may
otherwise adversely affect the use, value or
performance of derivatives.
ESG/Sustainable
Investment Style Risk. A Fund
that uses ESG or sustainability criteria to select investments may forgo
opportunities
in individual securities and/or sectors of securities for non-investment
reasons, which could cause the Fund to
underperform funds that do not use ESG or sustainability criteria. ESG-focused
investments and strategies may, at
times, be subject to a higher degree of volatility than non-ESG-focused
investments and strategies. ESG information
and data, including that provided by third parties, may be incomplete,
inaccurate or unavailable, which could
adversely affect the analysis of the ESG factors relevant to a particular
investment. Our assessment of an investment’s
ESG impact may change over time, which may cause the Fund to hold a security
that does not meet our ESG
criteria or sell a security when it might otherwise be disadvantageous to do so.
Views on ESG, sustainability and positive
social and environmental outcomes may differ by fund, adviser and investor.
Certain bonds in which the Fund invests may
be dependent on government incentives and subsidies, and lack of political
support for the financing of projects
with a positive environmental or social impact could negatively impact the
performance of the Fund. There is no
guarantee that our efforts to select investments based on ESG practices will be
successful.
Futures Contracts
Risk. A Fund
that uses futures contracts, which are a type of derivative, is subject to the
risk of loss caused by
unanticipated market movements. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect
correlation between the
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
61 |
movement in
the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or
indexes, and there may at times not
be a liquid secondary market for certain futures contracts.
High
Yield Securities Risk. High yield
securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly known as
“junk
bonds”) are considered speculative and have a much greater risk of default (or
in the case of bonds currently in default, of
not returning principal) and their values tend to be more volatile than
higher-rated securities with similar maturities.
Additionally, these securities tend to be less liquid and more difficult to
value than higher-rated securities.
Inverse
Floater Risk. The holder
of an inverse floater, which is a type of derivative, could lose more than its
principal investment.
An inverse floater produces less income (and may produce no income) and may
decline in value when market
rates and the rate payable on the floater rises, and produces more income and
may increase in value when market
rates and the rate payable on the floater falls. An inverse floater typically
involves leverage, which may magnify a Fund’s
losses, and exhibits greater price and income volatility than an unleveraged
bond with a similar maturity. The tender of a
floater, the failure of a remarketing agent to sell a floater or certain other
events may require the dissolution of the
trust or the liquidation of the underlying municipal security. In that event,
the Fund, as a holder of an inverse floater,
and thus a residual interest in the underlying municipal security, may lose some
or all of its investment.
Management
Risk. Investment
decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a Fund’s manager or
sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective may not produce the
returns expected, may cause the Fund’s
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
Market
Risk. The values
of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by a Fund may decline due to
general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments. Political,
geopolitical, natural and other events, including war, terrorism, trade
disputes, government shutdowns, market
closures, natural and environmental disasters, epidemics, pandemics and other
public health crises and related events have
led, and in the future may lead, to economic uncertainty, decreased economic
activity, increased market volatility
and other disruptive effects on U.S. and global economies and markets. Such
events may have significant adverse
direct or indirect effects on a Fund and its investments. In addition, economies
and financial markets throughout
the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the
likelihood that events or conditions
in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other
countries or regions.
Municipal
Securities Risk. Municipal
securities may be fully or partially backed or enhanced by the taxing authority
of a local
government, by the current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or
specific assets, or by the credit of, or
liquidity enhancement provided by, a private issuer. Municipal securities may be
difficult to obtain because of limited
supply, which may increase the cost to a Fund of purchasing such securities and
effectively reduce the Fund’s yield.
Typically, less information is available about a municipal issuer than is
available about other types of issuers. Various
types of municipal securities are often related in such a way that political,
economic or business developments affecting
one obligation could affect other municipal securities held by the Fund. The
value and liquidity of municipal securities
backed by the revenue from a particular project or other source may decline if
the project or other source fails to
generate expected revenue. Although the Fund may strive to invest in municipal
securities and other securities that pay
interest that is exempt from certain taxes (such as federal taxes, federal
alternative minimum tax and/or state taxes as
applicable), some income earned by Fund investments may be subject to such
taxes. Certain issuers of municipal
securities may have the ability to call or redeem a security prior to its
maturity date, which could impair Fund performance.
New Fund
Risk. The Fund
is a new fund, with a limited or no operating history and a small asset base.
There can be no assurance
that the Fund will grow to or maintain a viable size. Due to the Fund’s small
asset base, certain of the Fund’s expenses
and its portfolio transaction costs may be higher than those of a fund with a
larger asset base. To the extent that the
Fund does not grow to or maintain a viable size, it may be liquidated, and the
expenses, timing and tax consequences
of such liquidation may not be favorable to some shareholders.
Non-Diversification
Risk. A Fund
that is considered “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act may invest a greater
percentage
of its assets in the securities of a single issuer than a fund that is
considered “diversified” (a “diversified” investment
company, with respect to 75% of its total assets, is not generally permitted to
invest more than 5% of such assets in
the securities of a single issuer or own more than 10% of an issuer’s
outstanding voting securities). A non-diversified
fund is therefore more vulnerable to market or economic events impacting issuers
of individual portfolio
securities than a “diversified” fund. Default by the issuer of an individual
security in such a Fund’s portfolio may have a
greater negative effect on the Fund’s returns or net asset value than a similar
default in a diversified
62 |
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Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
portfolio.
A non-diversified fund’s performance may be disproportionately impacted by the
performance of relatively few
securities.
State
Emphasis Risk. Securities
issued by a particular state and its subdivisions, authorities,
instrumentalities and corporations
are subject to the risk of unfavorable developments occurring in such state.
Such developments may adversely
impact the liquidity and value of the municipal securities in which a Fund
invests and, in turn, adversely impact the
value of the Fund’s shares.
Portfolio
Holdings Information
A
description of the Allspring
Funds’ policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of the Allspring
Funds’ portfolio
holdings is available in the Funds’
Statement of Additional Information.
Pricing Fund
Shares
A Fund’s NAV
is the value of a single share. The NAV is calculated as of the close of regular
trading on the New York Stock
Exchange (“NYSE”) (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day that the NYSE
is open, although a Fund may
deviate
from this calculation time under unusual or unexpected circumstances. The NAV
is calculated separately for each class
of shares of a multiple-class Fund. The most recent NAV for each class of a Fund
is available at allspringglobal.com.
To calculate the NAV of a Fund’s
shares, the Fund’s
assets are valued and totaled, liabilities are subtracted,
and the balance, called net assets, is divided by the number of shares
outstanding. The price at which a purchase or
redemption request is processed is based on the next NAV calculated after the
request is received in good order.
Generally, NAV is not calculated, and purchase and redemption requests are not
processed, on days that the NYSE is
closed for trading; however, under unusual or unexpected circumstances,
a Fund may
elect to remain open even on
days that the NYSE is closed or closes early. To the extent
that a Fund’s
assets are traded in various markets on days when
the Fund is
closed, the value of the Fund’s
assets may be affected on days when you are unable to buy or sell Fund
shares. Conversely, trading in some of a Fund’s
assets may not occur on days when the Fund is
open.
With
respect to any portion of a Fund’s
assets that may be invested in other mutual funds, the value of
the Fund’s
shares is based on
the NAV of the shares of the other mutual funds in which
the Fund
invests. The valuation methods used by mutual
funds in pricing their shares, including the circumstances under which they will
use fair value pricing and the effects of
using fair value pricing, are included in the prospectuses of such funds. To the
extent a Fund
invests a portion of its
assets in non-registered investment vehicles, the Fund’s
interests in the non-registered vehicles are fair valued at NAV.
With
respect to a Fund’s
assets invested directly in securities, the Fund’s
investments are generally valued at current market
prices. Equity securities, options and futures are generally valued at the
official closing price or, if none, the last reported
sales price on the primary exchange or market on which they are listed (closing
price). Equity securities that are not
traded primarily on an exchange are generally valued at the quoted bid price
obtained from a broker-dealer.
Debt
securities are valued at the evaluated bid price provided by an independent
pricing service or, if a reliable price is not
available, the quoted bid price from an independent broker-dealer.
We are
required to depart from these general valuation methods and use fair value
pricing methods to determine the values of
certain investments if we believe that the closing price or the quoted bid price
of a security, including a security
that trades primarily on a foreign exchange, does not accurately reflect its
current market value as of the time a Fund
calculates its NAV. The closing price or the quoted bid price of a security may
not reflect its current market value if,
among other things, a significant event occurs after the closing price or quoted
bid price are made available, but before
the time as of which a Fund
calculates its NAV, that materially affects the value of the security. We use
various
criteria, including a systemic evaluation of U.S. market moves after the close
of foreign markets, in deciding whether a
foreign security’s market price is still reliable and, if not, what fair market
value to assign to the security. In addition,
we use fair value pricing to determine the value of investments in securities
and other assets, including illiquid
securities, for which current market quotations or evaluated prices from a
pricing service or broker-dealer are not readily
available.
The fair
value of a Fund’s
securities and other assets is determined in good faith pursuant to policies and
procedures adopted by
the Fund’s
Board of Trustees. In light of the judgment involved in making fair value
decisions, there can be no
assurance that a fair value assigned to a particular security is accurate or
that it reflects the price that the Fund could
obtain for such security if it were to sell the security at the time as of which
fair value pricing is determined. Such fair
value pricing may result in NAVs that are higher or lower than NAVs based on the
closing price or quoted bid
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
63 |
price. See
the Statement of Additional Information for additional details regarding the
determination of NAVs.
64 |
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Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Management
of the Funds
The
Manager
Allspring
Funds Management, LLC (“Allspring
Funds Management”), headquartered at 525 Market Street, San Francisco,
CA 94105, provides advisory
and Fund-level administrative services to the Funds
pursuant to an investment
management
agreement (the “Management Agreement”). Allspring
Funds Management is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Allspring Global Investments Holdings, LLC, a holding company indirectly owned
by certain private funds of GTCR LLC and
Reverence Capital Partners, L.P. Allspring Funds Management is a registered
investment adviser that provides advisory
services for registered mutual funds, closed-end funds and other funds and
accounts.
Allspring
Funds Management is responsible for implementing the investment objectives and
strategies of the Funds.
Allspring
Funds Management’s investment professionals review and analyze the Funds’
performance, including relative to peer
funds, and monitor the Funds’
compliance with their
investment objectives and strategies. Allspring
Funds Management
is responsible for reporting to the Board on investment performance and other
matters affecting the Funds. When
appropriate, Allspring
Funds Management recommends to the Board enhancements to Fund features,
including
changes to Fund investment objectives, strategies and policies. Allspring
Funds Management also communicates
with shareholders
and intermediaries about Fund performance and features.
Allspring
Funds Management is also responsible for providing Fund-level
administrative services to the Funds,
which include,
among others, providing such services in connection with the Funds’
operations; developing and implementing
procedures for monitoring compliance with regulatory requirements and compliance
with the Funds’
investment
objectives, policies and restrictions; and providing any
other Fund-level
administrative services reasonably necessary
for the operation of the Funds,
other than those services that are provided by the Funds’ transfer
and dividend
disbursing agent, custodian and fund accountant.
To assist
Allspring
Funds Management in implementing the investment objectives and strategies of the
Funds,
Allspring
Funds
Management may contract with one or more sub-advisers to provide day-to-day
portfolio management services to the
Funds.
Allspring
Funds Management employs a team of investment professionals who identify and
recommend the initial
hiring of any sub-adviser and oversee and monitor the activities of any
sub-adviser on an ongoing basis. Allspring
Funds Management retains overall responsibility for the investment activities of
the Funds.
A
discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of
the Management
Agreement and any applicable sub-advisory
agreements for each Fund is
available in the Fund’s annual
report for the period ended June
30.
For each Fund’s most
recent fiscal year end, the management
fee paid to Allspring
Funds Management pursuant to the Management
Agreement, net of any applicable waivers and reimbursements, was as
follows:
|
|
Management
Fees Paid |
|
As
a % of average daily net assets |
California
Limited-Term Tax-Free Fund |
0.38% |
California
Tax-Free Fund |
0.38% |
High
Yield Municipal Bond Fund |
0.28% |
Intermediate
Tax/AMT-Free Fund |
0.35% |
Minnesota
Tax-Free Fund |
0.34% |
Municipal
Bond Fund |
0.34% |
Municipal
Sustainability Fund |
0.00% |
Short-Term
Municipal Bond Fund |
0.30% |
Strategic
Municipal Bond Fund |
0.36% |
Ultra
Short-Term Municipal Income Fund |
0.16% |
The
Sub-Adviser and Portfolio Managers
The
following sub-adviser
and portfolio
managers provide day-to-day portfolio management services to the Funds. These
services include making purchases and sales of securities and other investment
assets for the Funds,
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
65 |
selecting
broker-dealers, negotiating brokerage commission rates and maintaining portfolio
transaction records. The sub-adviser is
compensated for its
services by Allspring
Funds Management from the fees Allspring
Funds Management receives
for its services as investment manager to
the Funds. The
Statement of Additional Information provides
additional information about the portfolio
managers’ compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio
managers
and the portfolio
managers’ ownership of securities in the Funds.
Allspring
Global Investments, LLC
(“Allspring Investments”) is a registered investment adviser located at 525
Market Street, San
Francisco, CA 94105. Allspring Investments, an affiliate of Allspring Funds
Management and wholly owned subsidiary
of Allspring Global Investments Holdings, LLC, is a multi-boutique asset
management firm committed to delivering
superior investment services to institutional clients, including mutual
funds.
|
|
Dennis
Derby High
Yield Municipal Bond Fund |
Mr.
Derby joined Allspring
Investments or one of its predecessor firms in 1995,
where he currently serves as a Senior Research Analyst and Portfolio
Manager
for the Municipal Fixed Income team. |
Terry
J. Goode California
Limited-Term Tax-Free Fund California
Tax-Free Fund High
Yield Municipal Bond Fund Municipal
Bond Fund Municipal
Sustainability Fund Strategic
Municipal Bond Fund |
Mr.
Goode joined Allspring
Investments or one of its predecessor firms
in 2002, where he currently serves as a Senior Portfolio Manager for
the
Municipal Fixed Income team. |
Bruce
R. Johns Intermediate
Tax/AMT-Free Fund Minnesota
Tax-Free Fund Short-Term
Municipal Bond Fund Ultra
Short-Term Municipal Income Fund |
Mr.
Johns joined Allspring
Investments or one of its predecessor firms in 1998,
where he currently serves as a Senior Portfolio Manager for the
Municipal
Fixed Income team. |
Kerry
Laurin High
Yield Municipal Bond Fund Minnesota
Tax-Free Fund |
Ms.
Laurin joined Allspring
Investments or one of its predecessor firms in 2016,
where she currently serves as a Senior Research Analyst and Portfolio
Manager for the Municipal Fixed Income team. Prior to joining Allspring,
she was as a research analyst for Heartland Advisors where she
covered
taxable fixed income, consumer, and utility equity
sectors. |
Robert
J. Miller Intermediate
Tax/AMT-Free Fund Municipal
Bond Fund Municipal
Sustainability Fund Strategic
Municipal Bond Fund |
Mr.
Miller joined Allspring
Investments or one of its predecessor firms in 2008,
where he currently serves as a Senior Portfolio Manager for the
Municipal
Fixed Income team. |
Kim
Nakahara California
Limited-Term Tax-Free Fund California
Tax-Free Fund |
Ms.
Nakahara joined Allspring
Investments or one of its predecessor firms in
2014, where she currently serves as a Senior Research Analyst and
Portfolio
Manager for the Municipal Fixed Income team. |
James
Randazzo Ultra
Short-Term Municipal Income Fund |
Mr.
Randazzo joined Allspring
Investments or one of its predecessor firms in
2000, where he currently serves as a Senior Portfolio Manager for the
Municipal
Fixed Income team. |
Adrian
Van Poppel California
Limited-Term Tax-Free Fund California
Tax-Free Fund Intermediate
Tax/AMT-Free Fund |
Mr.
Van Poppel joined Allspring
Investments or one of its predecessor firms
in 1997, where he currently serves as a Senior Portfolio Manager for
the
Municipal Fixed Income team. |
Nicholos
Venditti Intermediate
Tax/AMT-Free Fund Municipal
Bond Fund Municipal
Sustainability Fund Short-Term
Municipal Bond Fund Strategic
Municipal Bond Fund Ultra
Short-Term Municipal Income Fund |
Mr.
Venditti joined Allspring
Investments or one of its predecessor firms in 2020,
where he currently serves as a Senior Portfolio Manager for the
Municipal
Fixed Income team. Prior to joining Allspring,
Nick spent 10 years
at Thornburg Investment Management, most recently as a Senior Portfolio
Manager and Head of the Municipal Bond
Group. |
Multi-Manager
Arrangement
The Funds and
Allspring
Funds Management have obtained an exemptive order from the SEC that
permits Allspring
Funds
Management, subject to Board approval, to select certain sub-advisers and enter
into or amend sub-advisory agreements
with them, without obtaining shareholder approval. The SEC order extends to
sub-advisers that are not
66 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
otherwise
affiliated with Allspring
Funds Management or the Funds, as
well as sub-advisers that are wholly-owned subsidiaries
of Allspring
Funds Management or of a company that wholly owns Allspring
Funds Management. In addition,
the SEC staff, pursuant to no-action relief, has extended multi-manager relief
to any affiliated sub-adviser, such as
affiliated sub-advisers that are not wholly-owned subsidiaries of Allspring
Funds Management or of a company that wholly
owns Allspring
Funds Management, provided certain conditions are satisfied (all such
sub-advisers covered by the
order or relief, “Multi-Manager Sub-Advisers”).
As such,
Allspring
Funds Management, with Board approval, may hire or replace Multi-Manager
Sub-Advisers for each Fund that
is eligible to rely on the order or relief. Allspring
Funds Management, subject to Board oversight, has the responsibility
to oversee Multi-Manager Sub-Advisers and to recommend their hiring, termination
and replacement. If a new
sub-adviser is hired for a Fund pursuant to the order or relief, the Fund is
required to notify shareholders within 90 days.
The Funds are not
required to disclose the individual fees that Allspring
Funds Management pays to a Multi-Manager
Sub-Adviser.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
67 |
Account
Information
Share
Class Eligibility
Administrator
Class shares are generally available through intermediaries for the
accounts of their customers and directly to
institutional investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include
corporations; private banks; trust companies;
endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and other
employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
The following investors may purchase Administrator
Class shares and are not subject to a minimum initial
investment amount except, as noted below:
■ |
Employee
benefit plan programs; |
■ |
Broker-dealer
managed account or wrap programs that charge an asset-based
fee; |
■ |
Registered
investment adviser mutual fund wrap programs or other accounts that charge
a fee for advisory, investment,
consulting or similar services; |
■ |
Private
bank and trust company managed accounts or wrap programs that charge an
asset-based fee; |
■ |
Internal
Revenue Code Section 529 college savings plan
accounts; |
■ |
Funds
of funds, including those advised by Allspring
Funds Management; |
■ |
Endowments,
non-profits, and charitable organizations who invest a minimum initial
investment amount of $500,000 in a
Fund; |
■ |
Any
other institutions or customers of intermediaries who invest a minimum
initial investment amount of $1 million in a
Fund; |
■ |
Individual
investors who invest a minimum initial investment amount of $1 million
directly in a Fund; |
■ |
Certain
investors and related accounts as detailed in the Statement of Additional
Information; and |
■ |
Individual
investors who purchase through an intermediary-sponsored self-directed
brokerage account program that may
or may not charge transaction fees. |
Eligibility
requirements for Administrator
Class shares may be modified or discontinued at any time.
Your Fund
may offer other classes of shares in addition to those offered through this
Prospectus. You may be eligible to invest in
one or more of these other classes of shares. Each share class bears varying
expenses and may differ in other features.
Consult your financial professional for more information regarding a Fund’s
available share classes.
The
information in this Prospectus is not intended for distribution to, or use by,
any person or entity in any non-U.S. jurisdiction
or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to any law or
regulation, or which would subject
Fund shares to any registration requirement within such jurisdiction or
country.
Share
Class Features
The table
below summarizes the key features of the share class offered through this
Prospectus.
|
|
|
|
Administrator
Class |
Front-End
Sales Charge |
|
None |
Contingent
Deferred Sales Charge (“CDSC”) |
|
None |
Ongoing
Distribution (“12b-1”) Fees |
|
None |
Shareholder
Servicing Fee |
|
0.25% |
Information
regarding sales charges, breakpoint levels, reductions and waivers is also
available free of charge on our website at
allspringglobal.com.
You may wish to discuss your choice of share class with your financial
professional.
Compensation
to Financial Professionals and Intermediaries
Shareholder
Servicing Plan
Each Fund
has adopted a shareholder servicing plan (“Servicing Plan”). The Servicing Plan
authorizes the Fund to enter into
agreements with the Fund’s distributor, manager, or any of their affiliates to
provide or engage other entities to provide
certain shareholder services, including establishing and maintaining shareholder
accounts, processing and
68 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
verifying
purchase,
redemption and exchange transactions, and providing such other shareholder
liaison or related services as
may reasonably be requested. Under the Servicing Plan, fees are paid up to the
following amounts:
|
|
|
Fund
|
Administrator
Class |
California
Limited-Term Tax-Free Fund |
|
0.25% |
California
Tax-Free Fund |
|
0.25% |
High
Yield Municipal Bond Fund |
|
0.25% |
Intermediate
Tax/AMT-Free Fund |
|
0.25% |
Minnesota
Tax-Free Fund |
|
0.25% |
Municipal
Bond Fund |
|
0.25% |
Municipal
Sustainability Fund |
|
0.25% |
Short-Term
Municipal Bond Fund |
|
0.25% |
Strategic
Municipal Bond Fund |
|
0.25% |
Ultra
Short-Term Municipal Income Fund |
|
0.25% |
Additional
Payments to Financial Professionals and Intermediaries
In addition
to dealer reallowances and payments made by certain classes
of each Fund
for distribution and shareholder servicing,
the Fund’s manager, the distributor or their affiliates make additional payments
(“Additional Payments”) to certain
financial professionals and intermediaries for selling shares and providing
shareholder services, which include broker-dealers
and 401(k) service providers and record keepers. These Additional Payments,
which may be significant, are paid by
the Fund’s manager, the distributor or their affiliates, out of their revenues,
which generally come directly or indirectly
from Fund fees.
In return
for these Additional Payments, each Fund’s
manager and distributor expect the Fund to receive certain marketing
or servicing considerations that are not generally available to mutual funds
whose sponsors do not make such
payments. Such considerations are expected to include, without limitation,
placement of the Fund on a list of mutual
funds offered as investment options to the intermediary’s clients (sometimes
referred to as “Shelf Space”); access to
the intermediary’s financial professionals; and/or the ability to assist in
training and educating the intermediary’s
financial professionals.
The
Additional Payments may create potential conflicts of interest between an
investor and a financial professional or intermediary
who is recommending or making available a particular mutual fund over other
mutual funds. Before investing,
you should consult with your financial professional and review carefully any
disclosure by the intermediary as to what
compensation the intermediary receives from mutual fund sponsors, as well as how
your financial professional is
compensated.
The
Additional Payments are typically paid in fixed dollar amounts, based on the
number of customer accounts maintained
by an intermediary, or based on a percentage of sales and/or assets under
management, or a combination of the
above. The Additional Payments are either up-front or ongoing or both and differ
among intermediaries. In a given year,
Additional Payments to an intermediary that is compensated based on its
customers’ assets typically range between
0.02% and 0.25% of assets invested in a Fund by the intermediary’s customers.
Additional Payments to an intermediary
that is compensated based on a percentage of sales typically range between 0.10%
and 0.25% of the gross sales
of a Fund attributable to the financial intermediary.
More
information on the FINRA member firms that have received the Additional Payments
described in this section is available
in the Statement of Additional Information, which is on file with the SEC and is
also available on the Allspring
Funds
website at allspringglobal.com.
Buying
and Selling Fund Shares
For more
information regarding buying and selling Fund shares, please visit allspringglobal.com.
You may buy (purchase)
and sell (redeem) Fund shares as follows:
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
69 |
|
|
|
|
Opening
an Account |
Adding
to an Account or Selling Fund Shares |
Through
Your Financial Professional |
Contact
your financial
professional.
Transactions
will be subject to the terms
of your account with your intermediary. |
Contact
your financial professional.
Transactions
will be subject to the terms of
your account with your intermediary. |
Through
Your Retirement Plan |
Contact
your retirement plan administrator.
Transactions
will be subject to the terms
of your retirement plan account. |
Contact
your retirement plan administrator.
Transactions
will be subject to the terms of
your retirement plan account. |
Online |
New
accounts cannot be opened online.
Contact your financial professional
or retirement plan administrator,
or refer to the section on
opening an account by mail. |
Visit
allspringglobal.com.
Online
transactions are limited to a maximum
of $100,000. You may be eligible
for an exception to this maximum.
Please call Investor Services at
1-800-222-8222 for more information. |
By
Telephone |
Call
Investor Services at 1-800-222-8222.
Available
only if you have another Allspring
Fund account with your bank
information on file. |
Call
Investor Services at 1-800-222-8222.
Redemption
requests may not be made by
phone if the address on your account was
changed in the last 15 days. In this event,
you must request your redemption
by mail. For joint accounts, telephone
requests generally require only
one of the account owners to call unless
you have instructed us otherwise. |
By
Mail |
Complete
an account application and
submit it according to the instructions
on the application.
Account
applications are available online
at allspringglobal.com
or by calling
Investor Services at 1-800-222-8222. |
Send
the items required under “Requests
in Good Order” below to:
Regular
Mail Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967
Overnight
Only Allspring
Funds 430 W
7th Street STE 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64105-1407 |
Requests
in “Good Order”. All
purchase and redemption requests must be received in “good order.” This means
that a request
generally must include:
■ |
The
Fund name(s), share class(es) and account
number(s); |
■ |
The
amount (in dollars or shares) and type (purchase or redemption) of the
request; |
■ |
If by
mail, the signature of each registered owner as it appears in the account
application; |
■ |
For
purchase requests, payment of the full amount of the purchase request (see
“Payment” below); and |
■ |
Any
supporting legal documentation that may be
required. |
Purchase
and redemption requests in good order will be processed at the next NAV
calculated after the Fund’s transfer agent or an
authorized intermediary1 receives
your request. If your request is not received in good order, additional
documentation
may be required to process your transaction. We reserve the right to waive any
of the above requirements.
1. |
The
Fund’s shares may be purchased through an intermediary that has entered
into a dealer agreement with the Fund’s distributor. The
Fund has approved the acceptance of a purchase or redemption request
effective as of the time of its receipt by such an authorized
intermediary or its designee, as long as the request is received by one of
those entities prior to the Fund’s closing time. These
intermediaries may charge transaction fees. We reserve the right to adjust
the closing time in certain circumstances. |
Payment. Payment
for Fund shares may be made as follows:
70 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
|
|
By
Wire |
Purchases
into a new or existing account may be funded by using the following
wire
instructions:
State
Street Bank & Trust Boston,
MA Bank
Routing Number: ABA 011000028 Wire
Purchase Account: 9905-437-1 Attention:
Allspring
Funds (Name
of Fund, Account Number and any applicable share class) Account
Name: Provide your name as registered on the Fund account or as
included
in your account application. |
By
Check |
Make
checks payable to Allspring
Funds. |
By
Exchange |
Identify
an identically registered Allspring
Fund account from which you wish to exchange
(see “Exchanging Fund Shares” below for restrictions on
exchanges). |
By
Electronic Funds Transfer (“EFT”) |
Additional
purchases for existing accounts may be funded by EFT using your
linked
bank account. |
All
payments must be in U.S. dollars, and all checks and EFTs must be drawn on U.S.
banks. You will be charged a $25.00 fee
for every check or EFT that is returned to us as unpaid.
Form of
Redemption Proceeds. You may
request that your redemption proceeds be sent to you by check, by EFT into a
linked bank
account, or by wire to a linked bank account. Please call Investor Services at
1-800-222-8222 regarding the requirements
for linking bank accounts or for wiring funds. Under normal circumstances, we
expect to meet redemption
requests either by using uninvested cash or cash equivalents or by using the
proceeds from the sale of portfolio
securities, at the discretion of the portfolio manager(s). The Allspring
Funds may also borrow through a bank line of
credit for the purpose of meeting redemption requests, although we do not expect
to draw funds from this source on a
regular basis. In lieu of making cash payments, we reserve the right to
determine in our sole discretion, including
under stressed market conditions, whether to satisfy one or more redemption
requests by making payments in
securities. In such cases, we may meet all or part of a redemption request by
making payment in securities equal in value to
the amount of the redemption payable to you as permitted under the 1940 Act, and
the rules thereunder, in which case
the redeeming shareholder should expect to incur transaction costs upon the
disposition of any securities received.
Timing
of Redemption Proceeds. We
normally will send out redemption proceeds within one business day after we
accept your
request to redeem. We reserve the right to delay payment for up to seven days.
If you wish to redeem shares
purchased by check, by EFT or through the Automatic Investment Plan within seven
days of purchase, you may be asked to
resubmit your redemption request if your payment has not yet cleared. Payment of
redemption proceeds may be
delayed for longer than seven days under extraordinary circumstances or as
permitted by the SEC in order to protect
remaining shareholders. Such extraordinary circumstances are discussed further
in the Statement of Additional Information.
Retirement
Plans and Other Products. If you
purchased shares through a packaged investment product or retirement
plan, read
the directions for redeeming shares provided by the product or plan. There may
be special requirements that
supersede or are in addition to the requirements in this
Prospectus.
Exchanging
Fund Shares
Exchanges
between two funds involve two transactions: (1) the redemption of shares of one
fund; and (2) the purchase of shares
of another. In general, the same rules and procedures described under “Buying
and Selling Fund Shares” apply to
exchanges. There are, however, additional policies and considerations you should
keep in mind while making or
considering an exchange:
■ |
In
general, exchanges may be made between like share classes of any fund in
the Allspring
Funds complex offered to
the general public for investment (i.e., a fund not closed to new
accounts), with the following exceptions: (1) Class A
shares of non-money market funds may also be exchanged for Service Class
shares of any retail or government money
market fund; (2) Service Class shares may be exchanged for Class A shares
of any non-money market fund; and
(3) no exchanges are allowed into institutional money market
funds. |
■ |
If
you make an exchange between Class A shares of a money market fund or
Class A2 or Class A shares of a non-money
market fund, you will buy the shares at the public offering price of the
new fund, unless you are otherwise
eligible to buy shares at NAV. |
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
71 |
■ |
Same-fund
exchanges between share classes are permitted subject to the following
conditions: (1) the shareholder must
meet the eligibility guidelines of the class being purchased in the
exchange; (2) exchanges out of Class A and Class
C shares would not be allowed if shares are subject to a CDSC; and (3) for
non-money market funds, in order to exchange
into Class A shares, the shareholder must be able to qualify to purchase
Class A shares at NAV based on current
Prospectus guidelines. |
■ |
An
exchange request will be processed on the same business day, provided that
both funds are open at the time the request
is received. If one or both funds are closed, the exchange will be
processed on the following business day. |
■ |
You
should carefully read the Prospectus for the Fund into which you wish to
exchange. |
■ |
Every
exchange involves redeeming fund shares, which may produce a capital gain
or loss for tax purposes. |
■ |
If
you are making an initial investment into a fund through an exchange, you
must exchange at least the minimum initial
investment amount for the new fund, unless your balance has fallen below
that amount due to investment performance. |
■ |
If
you are making an additional investment into a fund that you already own
through an exchange, you must exchange
at least the minimum subsequent investment amount for the fund you are
exchanging into. |
■ |
Class
A and Class C share exchanges will not trigger a CDSC. The new shares
received in the exchange will continue to
age according to the original shares’ CDSC schedule and will be charged
the CDSC applicable to the original shares
upon redemption. |
Generally,
we will notify you at least 60 days in advance of any changes in the above
exchange policies.
Frequent
Purchases and Redemptions of Fund Shares
Allspring
Funds reserves the right to reject any purchase or exchange order for any
reason. If a shareholder redeems $20,000 or
more (including redemptions that are part of an exchange transaction) from a
Covered Fund (as defined below),
that shareholder is “blocked” from purchasing shares of that Covered Fund
(including purchases that are part of an
exchange transaction) for 30 calendar days after the redemption.
Excessive
trading by Fund shareholders can negatively impact a Fund and its long-term
shareholders in several ways, including
disrupting Fund investment strategies, increasing transaction costs, decreasing
tax efficiency, and diluting the value
of shares held by long-term shareholders. Excessive trading in Fund shares can
negatively impact a Fund’s long-term
performance by requiring it to maintain more assets in cash or to liquidate
portfolio holdings at a disadvantageous
time. Certain Funds may be more susceptible than others to these negative
effects. For example, Funds that
have a greater percentage of their investments in non-U.S. securities may be
more susceptible than other Funds to
arbitrage opportunities resulting from pricing variations due to time zone
differences across international financial
markets. Similarly, Funds that have a greater percentage of their investments in
small company securities may be more
susceptible than other Funds to arbitrage opportunities due to the less liquid
nature of small company securities.
Both types of Funds also may incur higher transaction costs in liquidating
portfolio holdings to meet excessive
redemption levels. Fair value pricing may reduce these arbitrage opportunities,
thereby reducing some of the
negative effects of excessive trading.
Allspring
Funds, other than the Adjustable Rate Government Fund, Conservative Income Fund,
Ultra Short-Term Income
Fund and Ultra Short-Term Municipal Income Fund (“Ultra-Short Funds”) and the
money market funds, (the “Covered
Funds”). The
Covered Funds are not designed to serve as vehicles for frequent trading. The
Covered Funds actively
discourage and take steps to prevent the portfolio disruption and negative
effects on long-term shareholders that can
result from excessive trading activity by Covered Fund shareholders. The Board
has approved the Covered Funds’
policies and procedures, which provide, among other things, that Allspring
Funds Management may deem trading
activity to be excessive if it determines that such trading activity would
likely be disruptive to a Covered Fund by
increasing expenses or lowering returns. In this regard, the Covered Funds take
steps to avoid accommodating frequent
purchases and redemptions of shares by Covered Fund shareholders. Allspring
Funds Management monitors available
shareholder trading information across all Covered Funds on a daily basis. If a
shareholder redeems $20,000 or more
(including redemptions that are part of an exchange transaction) from a Covered
Fund, that shareholder is “blocked”
from purchasing shares of that Covered Fund (including purchases that are part
of an exchange transaction) for 30
calendar days after the redemption. This policy does not apply to:
■ |
Dividend
reinvestments; |
■ |
Systematic
investments or exchanges where the financial intermediary
maintaining the shareholder account identifies
the transaction as a systematic redemption or purchase at the time of the
transaction; |
72 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
■ |
Rebalancing
transactions within certain asset allocation or “wrap” programs where the
financial intermediary maintaining
a shareholder account is able to identify the transaction as part of an
asset allocation program approved by
Allspring
Funds Management; |
■ |
Rebalancing
transactions by an institutional client of Allspring
Funds Management or its affiliate following a model
portfolio
offered by Allspring
Funds Management or its
affiliate; |
■ |
Transactions
initiated by a “fund of funds” or Section 529 Plan into an underlying fund
investment; |
■ |
Permitted
exchanges between share classes of the same
Fund; |
■ |
Certain
transactions involving participants in employer-sponsored retirement
plans, including: participant withdrawals
due to mandatory distributions, rollovers and hardships, withdrawals of
shares acquired by participants through
payroll deductions, and shares acquired or sold by a participant in
connection with plan loans; and |
■ |
Purchases
below $20,000 (including purchases that are part of an exchange
transaction). |
The
money market funds and the Ultra-Short Funds. Because
the money market funds and Ultra-Short Funds are often used for
short-term investments, they are designed to accommodate more frequent purchases
and redemptions than the Covered
Funds. As a result, the money market funds and Ultra-Short Funds do not
anticipate that frequent purchases
and redemptions, under normal circumstances, will have significant adverse
consequences to the money market
funds or Ultra-Short Funds or their shareholders. Although the money market
funds and Ultra-Short Funds do not
prohibit frequent trading, Allspring
Funds Management will seek to prevent an investor from utilizing the
money market
funds and Ultra-Short Funds to facilitate frequent purchases and redemptions of
shares in the Covered Funds in contravention
of the policies and procedures adopted by the Covered Funds.
All
Allspring
Funds. In
addition, Allspring
Funds Management reserves the right to accept purchases, redemptions
and exchanges
made in excess of applicable trading restrictions in designated accounts held by
Allspring
Funds Management or
its affiliate that are used at all times exclusively for addressing operational
matters related to shareholder
accounts, such as testing of account functions, and are maintained at low
balances that do not exceed specified
dollar amount limitations.
In the
event that an asset allocation or “wrap” program is unable to implement the
policy outlined above, Allspring
Funds
Management may grant a program-level exception to this policy. A
financial intermediary relying on the exception
is required to provide Allspring
Funds Management with specific information regarding its program and
ongoing
information about its program upon request.
A financial
intermediary through whom you may purchase shares of the Fund may independently
attempt to identify excessive
trading and take steps to deter such activity. As a result, a financial
intermediary may on its own limit or permit
trading activity of its customers who invest in Fund shares using standards
different from the standards used by Allspring
Funds Management and discussed in this Prospectus. Allspring
Funds Management may permit a financial intermediary
to enforce its own internal policies and procedures concerning frequent trading
rather than the policies set forth
above in instances where Allspring
Funds Management reasonably believes that the intermediary’s policies
and
procedures effectively discourage disruptive trading activity. If you purchase
Fund shares through a financial intermediary,
you should contact the intermediary for more information about whether and how
restrictions or limitations
on trading activity will be applied to your account.
Account
Policies
Advance
Notice of Large Transactions. We
strongly urge you to make all purchases and redemptions of Fund shares
as early in
the day as possible and to notify us or your intermediary at least one day in
advance of transactions in Fund shares in
excess of $1 million. This will help us to manage the Funds most effectively.
When you give this advance notice,
please provide your name and account number.
Householding. To help
keep Fund expenses low, a single copy of a Prospectus or shareholder report may
be sent to shareholders
of the same household. If your household currently receives a single copy of a
Prospectus or shareholder report and
you would prefer to receive multiple copies, please call Investor Services at
1-800-222-8222 or contact your financial
professional.
Retirement
Accounts. We offer a
variety of retirement account types for individuals and small businesses. There
may be special
distribution requirements for a retirement account, such as required
distributions or mandatory Federal income tax
withholdings. For more information about the retirement accounts listed below,
including any distribution requirements,
call Investor Services at 1-800-222-8222. For retirement accounts held directly
with a Fund, certain fees may apply
including an annual account maintenance fee.
The
retirement accounts available for individuals and small businesses
are:
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
73 |
■ |
Individual
Retirement Accounts, including Traditional IRAs and Roth
IRAs. |
■ |
Small
business retirement accounts, including Simple IRAs and SEP
IRAs. |
Small
Account Redemptions. We reserve
the right to redeem accounts that have values that fall below a Fund’s
minimum
initial investment amount due to shareholder redemptions (as opposed to market
movement). Before doing so, we will
give you approximately 60 days to bring your account value above the Fund’s
minimum initial investment amount.
Please call Investor Services at 1-800-222-8222 or contact your financial
professional for further details.
Transaction
Authorizations. We may
accept telephone, electronic, and clearing agency transaction instructions from
anyone who
represents that he or she is a shareholder and provides reasonable confirmation
of his or her identity. Neither we
nor Allspring
Funds will be liable for any losses incurred if we follow such instructions we
reasonably believe to be
genuine. For transactions through our website, we may assign personal
identification numbers (PINs) and you will need to
create a login ID and password for account access. To safeguard your account,
please keep these credentials confidential.
Contact us immediately if you believe there is a discrepancy on your
confirmation statement or if you believe
someone has obtained unauthorized access to your online access
credentials.
Identity
Verification. We are
required by law to obtain from you certain personal information that will be
used to verify your
identity. If you do not provide the information, we will not be able to open
your account. In the rare event that we are unable
to verify your identity as required by law, we reserve the right to redeem your
account at the current NAV of the Fund’s
shares. You will be responsible for any losses, taxes, expenses, fees, or other
results of such a redemption.
Right to
Freeze Accounts, Suspend Account Services or Reject or Terminate an
Investment. We reserve
the right, to the extent
permitted by law and/or regulations, to freeze any account or suspend account
services when we have received
reasonable notice (written or otherwise) of a dispute between registered or
beneficial account owners or when we
believe a fraudulent transaction may occur or has occurred. Additionally, we
reserve the right to reject any purchase or
exchange request and to terminate a shareholder’s investment, including closing
the shareholder’s account.
Distributions
The Funds
declare distributions of any net investment income daily, and pay such
distributions monthly. The Funds generally
make distributions of any realized net capital gains annually. Please note,
distributions have the effect of reducing
the NAV per share by the amount distributed.
We offer
the following distribution options. To change your current option for payment of
distributions, please call Investor
Services at 1-800-222-8222.
■ |
Automatic
Reinvestment Option—Allows you to use distributions to buy new shares of
the same class of the Fund that
generated the distributions. The new shares are purchased at NAV generally
on the day the distribution is paid. This
option is automatically assigned to your account unless you specify
another option. |
■ |
Check
Payment Option—Allows you to receive distributions via checks mailed to
your address of record or to another
name and address which you have specified in written instructions. A
Medallion Guarantee may also be required.
If checks remain uncashed for six months or are undeliverable by the Post
Office, we will reinvest the distributions
at the earliest date possible, and future distributions will be
automatically reinvested. |
■ |
Bank
Account Payment Option—Allows you to receive distributions directly in a
checking or savings account through
EFT. The bank account must be linked to your Allspring
Fund account. Any distribution returned to us due to an
invalid banking instruction will be sent to your address of record by
check at the earliest date possible, and future distributions
will be automatically reinvested. |
■ |
Directed
Distribution Purchase Option—Allows you to buy shares of a different
Allspring
Fund of the same share class.
The new shares are purchased at NAV generally on the day the distribution
is paid. In order to use this option, you
need to identify the Fund and account the distributions are coming from,
and the Fund and account to which the
distributions are being directed. You must meet any required minimum
investment amounts in both Funds prior to
using this option. |
You are
eligible to earn distributions beginning on the business day after the Fund’s
transfer agent or an authorized intermediary
receives your purchase request in good order.
74 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Other
Information
Taxes
The
following discussion regarding federal income taxes is based on laws that were
in effect as of the date of this Prospectus
and summarizes only some of the important federal income tax considerations
affecting the Funds and you as a
shareholder. It does not apply to foreign or tax-exempt shareholders or those
holding Fund shares through a tax-advantaged
account, such as a 401(k) Plan or IRA. This discussion is not intended as a
substitute for careful tax planning.
You should consult your tax adviser about your specific tax situation. Please
see the Statement of Additional Information
for additional federal income tax information.
The Fund
elected to be treated and intends to qualify each year as a regulated investment
company (“RIC”) under the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. A RIC is not subject to tax at the corporate
level on income and gains from
investments that are distributed in a timely manner to shareholders. However,
the Fund’s failure to qualify as a RIC would
result in corporate level taxation, and consequently, a reduction in income
available for distribution to you as a shareholder.
We will
pass on to a Fund’s shareholders substantially all of the Fund’s net investment
income and realized net capital gains, if
any. It is intended that distributions from the Fund’s net interest income from
municipal obligations generally will not be
subject to federal income tax, although a portion of such distributions could be
subject to federal AMT for individual
shareholders. Individual shareholders should consult their tax advisers
regarding their specific tax situation. For the
state-specific Funds, it is intended that distributions attributable to
tax-exempt securities of a state and its subdivisions
will also not be subject to that particular state’s individual income taxes if
the Fund primarily invests in such
securities. Distributions from a Fund’s ordinary income and net short-term
capital gain, if any, generally will be taxable to
you as ordinary income. Distributions from a Fund’s net long-term capital gain,
if any, generally will be taxable to
you as long-term capital gain.
Corporate
shareholders should not expect to deduct a portion of their distributions when
determining their taxable income.
Individual
taxpayers are subject to a maximum tax rate of 37% on ordinary income and a
maximum tax rate on long-term
capital gains and qualified dividends of 20%. For U.S. individuals with income
exceeding $200,000 ($250,000
if married and filing jointly), a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax will apply on
“net investment income,” including
interest, dividends, and capital gains. Corporations are subject to tax on all
income and gains at a tax rate of 21%.
To the
extent a distribution from a Fund is taxable, such distribution generally will
be taxable to you when paid, whether you take
distributions in cash or automatically reinvest them in additional Fund shares.
Following the end of each year, we will
notify you of the federal income tax status of your distributions for the
year.
If you buy
shares of a Fund shortly before it makes a taxable distribution, your
distribution will, in effect, be a taxable return of
part of your investment. Similarly, if you buy shares of a Fund when it holds
appreciated securities, you will receive a
taxable return of part of your investment if and when the Fund sells the
appreciated securities and distributes the gain.
The Funds have built up, or have the potential to build up, high levels of
unrealized appreciation.
Your
redemptions (including redemptions in-kind) and exchanges of Fund shares
ordinarily will result in a taxable capital
gain or loss, depending on the amount you receive for your shares (or are deemed
to receive in the case of exchanges)
and the amount you paid (or are deemed to have paid) for them. Such capital gain
or loss generally will be long-term
capital gain or loss if you have held your redeemed or exchanged Fund shares for
more than one year at the time of
redemption or exchange. In certain circumstances, losses realized on the
redemption or exchange of Fund shares may
be disallowed.
When you
receive a distribution from a Fund or redeem shares, you may be subject to
backup withholding.
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
75 |
Financial
Highlights
The
following tables are intended
to help you understand a Fund’s financial performance for the past five years
(or since inception,
if shorter). Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund
share. Total returns represent the rate you
would have earned (or lost) on an investment in each Fund
(assuming reinvestment of all distributions). The information
in the following tables has
been derived from the Funds’
financial statements
which have been
audited by KPMG LLP,
the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along
with each Fund’s
financial statements,
is also included in each Fund’s
annual report, a copy of which is available upon request.
California
Limited-Term Tax-Free Fund
For a share
outstanding throughout each period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended June 30 |
Administrator
Class |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
2019 |
|
2018 |
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
from investment operations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distributions
to shareholders from |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Total
return |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ratios
to average net assets (annualized) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Portfolio
turnover rate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets, end of period (000s omitted) |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
1 |
Calculated
based upon average shares outstanding |
California
Tax-Free Fund
For a share
outstanding throughout each period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended June 30 |
Administrator
Class |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
2019 |
|
2018 |
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
from investment operations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distributions
to shareholders from |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Total
return |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ratios
to average net assets (annualized) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Portfolio
turnover rate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets, end of period (000s omitted) |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
76 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
High
Yield Municipal Bond Fund
For a share
outstanding throughout each period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended June 30 |
Administrator
Class |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
2019 |
|
2018 |
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
from investment operations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distributions
to shareholders from |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized gains |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
distributions to shareholders |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Total
return |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ratios
to average net assets (annualized) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Portfolio
turnover rate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets, end of period (000s omitted) |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Intermediate
Tax/AMT-Free Fund
For a share
outstanding throughout each period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended June 30 |
Administrator
Class |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
2019 |
|
2018 |
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
from investment operations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distributions
to shareholders from |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Total
return |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ratios
to average net assets (annualized) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Portfolio
turnover rate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets, end of period (000s omitted) |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
77 |
Minnesota
Tax-Free Fund
For a share
outstanding throughout each period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended June 30 |
Administrator
Class |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
2019 |
|
2018 |
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
from investment operations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distributions
to shareholders from |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized gains |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
distributions to shareholders |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Total
return |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ratios
to average net assets (annualized) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Portfolio
turnover rate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets, end of period (000s omitted) |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
1 |
Calculated
based upon average shares outstanding |
Municipal
Bond Fund
For a share
outstanding throughout each period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended June 30 |
Administrator
Class |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
2019 |
|
2018 |
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
from investment operations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distributions
to shareholders from |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized gains |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
distributions to shareholders |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Total
return |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ratios
to average net assets (annualized) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Portfolio
turnover rate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets, end of period (000s omitted) |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
1 |
Calculated
based upon average shares outstanding |
78 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Municipal Sustainability
Fund
For a share
outstanding throughout each period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended June 30 |
Administrator
Class |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
20201
|
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
from investment operations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distributions
to shareholders from |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Total
return2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ratios
to average net assets (annualized) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Portfolio
turnover rate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets, end of period (000s omitted) |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
1 |
For
the period from February 28, 2020 (commencement of class operations) to
June 30, 2020 |
2 |
Returns
for periods of less than one year are not
annualized. |
Short-Term
Municipal Bond Fund
For a share
outstanding throughout each period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended June 30 |
Administrator
Class |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
2019 |
|
2018 |
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
from investment operations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distributions
to shareholders from |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tax
basis return of capital |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
distributions to shareholders |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Total
return |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ratios
to average net assets (annualized) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Portfolio
turnover rate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets, end of period (000s omitted) |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
1 |
Calculated
based upon average shares outstanding |
2 |
Amount
is less than $0.005. |
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
79 |
Strategic
Municipal Bond Fund
For a share
outstanding throughout each period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended June 30 |
Administrator
Class |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
2019 |
|
2018 |
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
from investment operations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distributions
to shareholders from |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized gains |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
distributions to shareholders |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Total
return |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ratios
to average net assets (annualized) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Portfolio
turnover rate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets, end of period (000s omitted) |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Ultra
Short-Term Municipal Income Fund
For a share
outstanding throughout each period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended June 30 |
Administrator
Class |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
2019 |
|
2018 |
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
from investment operations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distributions
to shareholders from |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Total
return |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ratios
to average net assets (annualized) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Portfolio
turnover rate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets, end of period (000s omitted) |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
1 |
Calculated
based upon average shares outstanding |
80 |
|
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds |
Municipal
Fixed Income Funds
|
|
81 |
|
|
FOR
MORE INFORMATION
More
information on a Fund is available free upon request, including
the following documents:
Statement
of Additional Information (“SAI”) Supplements
the disclosures made by this Prospectus. The
SAI, which has been filed with the SEC, is incorporated
by reference into this Prospectus and therefore
is legally part of this Prospectus.
Annual/Semi-Annual
Reports Provide
financial and other important information, including
a discussion of the market conditions and
investment strategies that significantly affected Fund
performance over the reporting period.
To
obtain copies of the above documents or for more information
about Allspring
Funds, contact us:
By
telephone: Individual
Investors: 1-800-222-8222 Retail
Investment Professionals: 1-888-877-9275 Institutional
Investment Professionals: 1-800-260-5969 |
By
mail: Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967
Online: allspringglobal.com
From
the SEC: Visit
the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC
(phone 1-202-551-8090 for operational information
for the SEC’s Public Reference Room) or the
SEC’s website at sec.gov.
To
obtain information for a fee, write or email:SEC’s
Public Reference Section100
“F” Street, NEWashington,
DC 20549-0102[email protected]The
Allspring
Funds are distributed byAllspring
Funds Distributor, LLC, a member of
FINRA. |
|
|
©
2022
Allspring Global Investments Holdings, LLC. All rights
reserved. |
102MIAM/P1103 www.allspringglobal.com |