suffers
adverse changes to its financial condition. These adverse changes may lead to
greater volatility in the price of the debt security and affect
the security’s liquidity. High yield and comparable unrated debt securities,
while generally offering higher yields than investment grade debt with similar
maturities, involve greater risks, including the possibility of dividend or
interest deferral, default or bankruptcy, and are regarded as predominantly
speculative with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay dividends or interest
and repay principal. To the extent that the Fund holds debt securities that are
secured or guaranteed by financial institutions, changes in credit quality of
such financial institutions could cause values of the debt security to
deviate.
CURRENT
MARKET CONDITIONS RISK. Current market
conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or shares of the Fund
in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions.
As a
means to fight inflation, which remains at elevated levels, the Federal Reserve
and certain foreign central banks have raised interest rates
and expect to continue to do so, and the Federal Reserve has announced that it
intends to reverse previously implemented quantitative easing. U.S. regulators
have proposed several changes to market and issuer regulations which would
directly impact the Fund. While it is hard to predict whether any of these
regulations will be adopted, due to the current scope of proposed regulations,
any regulatory changes could adversely impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its
investment strategies or make certain investments. Regulatory changes may also
increase Fund operational costs, which could impact overall performance. Certain
market factors may result in central banks changing their approach in the
future. Recent and potential future bank failures could result in disruption to
the broader banking industry or markets generally and reduce confidence in
financial institutions and the economy as a whole, which may also heighten
market volatility and reduce liquidity.
The
ongoing adversarial political climate in the United States, as well as political
and diplomatic events both domestic and abroad, such as
presidential, congressional and gubernatorial elections in the U.S., global
elections and governmental changes and the U.S. government’s failure to agree on
a long-term budget and deficit reduction plan, have and may continue to have an
adverse impact on the U.S. regulatory landscape, markets and investor behavior,
which could have a negative impact on the Fund’s investments and operations. The
potential result of a U.S. federal government shutdown may also significantly
impact investor and consumer behavior, which may adversely impact the markets
and global economy. Global and domestic authorities and regulators have
previously responded to serious economic disruptions with ranging fiscal and
monetary policy changes, including but not limited to, direct capital infusions
into companies, new monetary programs and dramatically lower interest rates. Any
change in these policies, or the ineffectiveness of these policies, could
increase volatility in securities markets, which may adversely impact the Fund’s
investments and performance. Any market disruptions could also delay the Fund
from making sound investment decisions in a timely manner. If the Fund
concentrates its investments in a region enduring geopolitical market
disruption, it may face higher risk of loss, although the increasing
interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets can lead to
events or conditions in one country, region or financial market adversely
impacting a different country, region or financial market.
Other
unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and
abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may
adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy. For example, in
February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine which has caused and could continue to
cause significant market disruptions and volatility within the markets in
Russia, Europe, and the United States. The hostilities and sanctions resulting
from those hostilities have and could continue to have a significant impact on
certain Fund investments as well as Fund performance and liquidity. The
economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as the
financial markets generally, may be adversely impacted by trade disputes and
other matters. For example, the United States has imposed trade barriers and
restrictions on China. In addition, the Chinese government is engaged in a
longstanding dispute with Taiwan, continually threatening an invasion. If the
political climate between the United States and China does not improve or
continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt invading Taiwan, or if other
geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets and individual
securities may be adversely affected, and the value of the Fund’s assets may go
down. The COVID-19 global pandemic, or any future public health crisis, and the
ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may
continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial
markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been
developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against
emerging future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated,
such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and
industries more significantly than others.
Advancements
in technology may also adversely impact markets and the overall performance of
the Fund. For instance, the economy may be
significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased regulation of
artificial intelligence. As the use of technology grows, liquidity and market
movements may be affected. As artificial intelligence is used more widely, the
profitability and growth of Fund holdings may be impacted, which could
significantly impact the overall performance of the Fund.