Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in bonds. This investment policy can be changed by the Fund upon 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders. For purposes of this policy, bonds include a variety of fixed income instruments, such as securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government and its agencies or instrumentalities, municipal bonds, corporate obligations, residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, and asset-backed securities. The Fund invests primarily in U.S. issuers and investment-grade securities, but may hold securities that are rated below investment grade (“high yield” or “junk bonds”).

The Fund may invest in securities with any maturity or duration, but seeks to maintain an average duration similar to that of the Bloomberg 1-3 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index, which generally ranges between zero and three years. Duration measures how changes in interest rates affect the value of a fixed income security. For example, a five-year duration means that the fixed income security will decrease in value by 5% if interest rates rise 1% and increase in value by 5% if interest rates fall 1%. Thus, the longer the duration, the more volatile the security.

The Fund seeks to make investment decisions consistent with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Socially Responsible Investing Guidelines (the “USCCB Guidelines”), and therefore, the Fund is designed to avoid investments in companies that are believed to be involved with abortion, contraception, pornography, stem cell research/human cloning, weapons of mass destruction, or other enterprises that conflict with the USCCB Guidelines. As part of the screening process for the Fund, the Adviser uses information from a third-party environmental, social, and governance research firm and consults with experts to assess the policies and practices of companies based on the criteria set forth in the USCCB Guidelines. Based on such assessments, the Adviser compiles and maintains a list of companies that it determines to be inconsistent with the USCCB Guidelines (the “Restricted Securities List”). The Fund seeks to avoid investments in companies identified through this process. The policies and practices of the companies selected for the Fund are monitored for various issues contemplated by the USCCB Guidelines. If the Adviser becomes aware that the Fund is invested in a company whose policies and practices are inconsistent with the USCCB Guidelines, the Adviser may sell the company’s securities or otherwise exclude future investments in such company. The criteria used to screen out companies for the Fund may be modified from time to time to seek to maintain alignment with any changes to the USCCB Guidelines.

In selecting investments to purchase on behalf of the Fund, the Adviser combines quantitative and qualitative analyses to identify market sectors and individual issuers that the Adviser believes are undervalued in the market. For corporate issuers, the Adviser analyzes the company’s financial statements as well as its prospects for future cash generation, while for mortgage- or asset-backed securities, the Adviser analyzes the quality of the underlying receivables and structural credit enhancements. The Adviser will generally sell a security on behalf of the Fund if the security reaches its estimated fair value or is impacted by an adverse event, or if more attractive alternatives exist.