The fund primarily invests in a diversified portfolio of U.S. dollar denominated corporate obligations and other fixed income instruments that are rated investment grade (BBB-/Baa3 or better) or unrated instruments that the subadviser believes are of comparable quality. There are no limits on the fund’s average-weighted maturity or on the remaining maturities of individual instruments in which the fund may invest. As a result of its investment strategy, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate may be 100% or more.

Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in corporate bonds. The fund may also invest in U.S. Treasury and agency obligations, floating rate loans, and below investment grade, high yield debt obligations (sometimes referred to as “junk bonds”), including emerging market securities. The fund may invest in U.S. dollar denominated obligations of U.S. and non-U.S. issuers. The fund may invest a portion of its assets in instruments that are restricted as to resale.

Buy and sell decisions are based on a wide number of factors that determine the risk-reward profile of each investment within the context of the broader portfolio. The subadviser attempts to identify investment grade corporate bonds offering above-average total return. In selecting corporate debt investments for purchase and sale, the subadviser seeks out companies with good fundamentals and above-average return prospects that are currently priced at attractive levels. The primary basis for asset selection is the potential income offered by the asset relative to the subadviser’s assessment of the issuer’s ability to generate the cash flow required to meet its obligations. The subadviser employs a “bottom-up” approach, identifying potential investment opportunities based on the underlying financial and economic fundamentals of the specific issuer.

The subadviser anticipates that the fund’s modified-adjusted-duration will mirror that of the Bloomberg U.S. Corporate Investment Grade Bond Index, plus or minus 20%. For example, if the duration of the Bloomberg U.S. Corporate Investment Grade Bond Index is 5 years, the fund’s duration may be 4–6 years. As of December 31, 2023, the duration of the Bloomberg U.S. Corporate Investment Grade Bond Index was 7.09 years. Duration measures a bond or fund’s sensitivity to interest rate or other changes (such as changes in a bond’s yield) and is expressed as a number of years. The higher the number, the greater the risk. Under normal circumstances, for example, if a portfolio has a duration of 5 years, its value will change by 5% if yields change by 1%. Shorter duration bonds generally result in lower expected volatility.

In addition, to implement its investment strategy, the fund may buy or sell derivative instruments (such as foreign currency forward contracts, swaps, including credit default swaps, futures, credit linked notes, options, inverse floaters and warrants) to use as a substitute for a purchase or sale of a position in the underlying assets and/or as part of a strategy designed to reduce exposure to other risks, such as interest rate or credit risks. The fund may count the value of certain derivatives with corporate bond characteristics towards its policy to invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in corporate bonds.