Filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
File No. 333-273025
DOUBLELINE YIELD OPPORTUNITIES FUND
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
DoubleLine Yield Opportunities Fund (the “Fund”) is a non-diversified, limited term closed-end management investment company that commenced operations on February 26, 2020.
This Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) relating to shares of the Fund (“Common Shares”) is not a prospectus, and should be read in conjunction with the Fund’s prospectus relating thereto dated September 29, 2023 (the “Prospectus”). This SAI does not include all information that a prospective investor should consider before purchasing Common Shares, and investors should obtain and read the Prospectus prior to purchasing such shares. You may obtain a copy of the Prospectus on the web site (http://www.sec.gov) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Capitalized terms used but not defined in this SAI have the meanings ascribed to them in the Prospectus.
This Statement of Additional Information is dated September 29, 2023, as supplemented November 9, 2023.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Fund is a non-diversified, limited term, closed-end management investment company. The Fund was formed on September 17, 2019 as a Massachusetts business trust.
The Fund is classified as a non-diversified fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).
Fundamental Investment Policies
The investment policies numbered 1 through 7 below have been adopted as fundamental policies for the Fund and may not be changed without the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund (as defined in the 1940 Act). The 1940 Act provides that a “vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities” of the Fund means the affirmative vote of the lesser of (1) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund, or (2) 67% or more of the shares present at a meeting if more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund are present or represented by proxy.
(1) The Fund may issue senior securities to the extent consistent with applicable law from time to time.
(2) The Fund may borrow money to the extent permitted by applicable law from time to time.
(3) The Fund may not act as underwriter of securities of other issuers except to the extent that, in connection with the disposition of portfolio securities or in connection with the purchase of securities directly from the issuer thereof, it may be deemed to be an underwriter under certain federal securities laws.
(4) The Fund may not purchase any security if as a result 25% or more of the Fund’s total assets (taken at current value) would be invested in securities of issuers in a single industry, except that the Fund will normally invest at least 25% of its total assets in issuers involved in one or more real estate-related industries. Investments in issuers involved in real estate-related industries include, without limitation, investments in mortgage-related obligations issued or guaranteed by government agencies or other government entities or by private originators or issuers; instruments of any kind that are backed by or that provide exposure to one or more real estate-related mortgages; interests in issuers that deal in, hold, or invest in mortgages, real estate, or other real estate-related assets; real estate investment trusts of any kind; instruments whose performance is based on or relates to payments made on real estate mortgages or other real estate-related obligations; instruments secured by any interest in real estate; and other investments that DoubleLine Capital LP (the “Adviser” or “DoubleLine”) determines provide exposure to real estate or one or more of the foregoing. For purposes of this restriction, (i) loans and loan participations (other than those secured by one or more interests in real estate) will be considered investments in the industry of the underlying borrower and (ii) U.S. Government securities and investment companies are not considered to be part of any industry.
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(5) The Fund may make loans, including to affiliated investment companies, except to the extent the Fund is prohibited from doing so by applicable law. The Fund may purchase loan participations or otherwise invest in loans or similar obligations, and may make loans directly to borrowers, itself or as part of a lending syndicate. The Fund may purchase debt obligations or other financial instruments in which the Fund may invest consistent with its investment policies, enter into repurchase agreements, or lend its portfolio securities.
(6) The Fund may purchase or sell commodities to the extent permitted by applicable law from time to time.
(7) The Fund may purchase real estate except to the extent the Fund is prohibited from doing so by applicable law, and the Fund may possess, hold, purchase and/or dispose of real estate in connection with managing or exercising its rights in respect of its investments. The Fund may, for clarity, (i) purchase interests in issuers which deal, hold or invest in real estate, including limited partnership interests of limited partnerships that invest or deal in real estate, (ii) purchase securities which are secured by real estate or interests in real estate, including real estate mortgage loans, and (iii) acquire (by way of foreclosure or otherwise), hold and/or dispose of real estate that secured, or is otherwise related to, an investment of the Fund.
Except as stated elsewhere in the Fund’s Prospectus or this SAI, to the extent the Fund has reserved the freedom to invest in a type of investment or to utilize a particular investment practice, the Fund may invest in such investment or engage in such investment practice without limit.
For purposes of applying the terms of the fund’s fundamental investment policy (4), the Adviser will, on behalf of the Fund, make reasonable determinations as to the appropriate industry classification to assign to each issuer of securities in which the Fund invests. Further, there is no limit on the amount of assets the Fund may use to originate loans, except that the Fund will not originate loans to any borrower if as a result 25% or more of the Fund’s total assets at the time of origination would be invested in securities of issuers in the same industry as the borrower (other than real estate-related industries). For purposes of applying the terms of the fund’s fundamental investment policy (4), the Fund also expects to treat an investment in an investment company that concentrates its investments in a particular industry as an investment by the Fund in that industry generally to the extent of the Fund’s estimate of the underlying fund’s investment in that industry for purposes of applying the Fund’s limit on industry concentration.
As a general matter, the Fund considers an industry to be a group of companies whose principal activities, products or services offered give them a similar economic risk profile vis-à-vis issuers active in other sectors of the economy. The definition of what constitutes a particular industry is therefore an evolving one, particularly for issuers in industries that are new or are undergoing rapid development. Some issuers could reasonably fall within more than one industry category. For example, some companies that sell goods over the Internet (including issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest) were initially classified as Internet companies, but over time have evolved into the economic risk profiles of retail companies.
For purposes of the Fund’s policies (including the fundamental policies discussed above), any actions taken or omitted or investments made in reliance on, or in accordance with, exemptive relief, no action relief, interpretive guidance or other regulatory or governmental action or guidance, shall be considered to have been taken, made, or omitted in accordance with applicable law.
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Other Investment Policies
All percentage limitations and requirements (including those set forth in the fundamental policies discussed above) as to investments will apply only at the time of an investment to which the limitation or requirement is applicable and shall not be considered violated unless an excess or deficiency occurs or exists immediately after and as a result of such investment. Accordingly, any later increase or decrease resulting from a change in values, net assets or other circumstances will not be considered in determining whether any investment complies with the Fund’s limitation or requirement.
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND STRATEGIES
The Fund’s Prospectus describes the Fund’s principal investment strategies. The following provides information that supplements the information provided in the Fund’s Prospectus.
Unless a strategy, instrument or policy described below is specifically prohibited by the investment restrictions listed in the Fund’s Prospectus, under “Investment Restrictions” in this SAI, or by applicable law, the Fund may, but will not necessarily, engage in each of the investment practices described below.
The Adviser’s investment process may take into account a number of factors. These factors may include, among others, standard of living convergence, consumer deleveraging, private sector debt transference and demographic shifts, position in the business cycle, sector returns, relative growth, monetary and fiscal policy, risk integration, market sentiment, behavioral analysis, relative value, market technicals, and government and/or regulatory intervention. Risks and opportunities associated with environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) considerations may also be considered within the Adviser’s investment process as described below.
The Fund will attempt to achieve its investment objective by investing in a variety of investments (that may be obligations of domestic or foreign entities), such as but not limited to (as specified in greater detail below): (i) project bonds; (ii) debt obligations issued or guaranteed by governments or governmental agencies (iii) U.S. Government securities; (iv) corporate debt securities, including bonds, notes and debentures; (v) corporate and asset-backed commercial paper; (vi) mortgage and other asset-backed securities, including collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”), Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits (“REMICs”) and Re-REMICs (which are REMICs that have been resecuritized); (vii) Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificates (“EETCs”) and Equipment Trust Certificate (“ETCs”) (viii) variable and floating rate debt securities (including inverse floaters); (ix) subordinated corporate, mortgage, and asset-backed securities; (x) equity securities; (xi) commodities; (xii) bank certificates of deposit; (xiii) fixed time deposits and bankers’ acceptances; (xiv) money market securities; (xv) repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements; (xvi) hybrid securities; (xvii) obligations of foreign governments or their subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities or foreign corporate issuers; (xviii) loan participations and assignments; (ixx) commercial or residential whole mortgage loans; (xx) derivatives (including but not limited to options, futures contracts, including Treasury futures, swap agreements such as credit default swaps, interest rate swaps,
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and total and excess return swaps, and currency-related transactions, including forward exchange contracts and futures contracts); (xxi) private placements, including Regulation S and Rule 144A securities; (xxii) futures and options on futures relating to currencies, indexes and other financial factors; (xxiii) loans including, without limitation, secured and unsecured senior loans, term loans, mezzanine, second lien, and other subordinated loans, delayed funding loans, revolving credit facilities, non-performing loans, re-performing loans, and other fixed and floating rate loans (as well as various forms of securitizations of these and other types of loans); (xxiv) distressed and defaulted debt securities; (xxv) mortgage dollar rolls; (xxvi) other mutual funds, including Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”), such as SPDRs or iShares; (xxvii) unrated securities; (xxviii) structured notes; (xxix) municipal bonds and securities; (xxx) collateralized debt obligations such as collateralized loan obligations and collateralized bond obligations; (xxxi) perpetual maturity bonds; (xxxii) inflation-indexed bonds; (xxxiii) convertible securities; (xxxiv) preferred securities; (xxxv) payment-in-kind bonds; (xxxvi) zero-coupon bonds; (xxxvii) custodial receipts, cash and cash equivalents; (xxxviii) short-term, high quality investments, including, for example, commercial paper, bankers’ acceptances, certificates of deposit, and bank time deposits; (xxxix) real estate investment trusts (“REITs”); (xl) credit-linked notes; (xli) pass-through notes; (xlii) contingent value rights; (xliii) Private Investments in Public Companies (“PIPEs”); (xliv) global depositary notes (“GDNs”); and (xlv) bank capital securities. The Fund generally will invest in some, but generally not all, of these types of investments at any given time, each of which may be denominated in United States Dollars (“USD”) or any other currency worldwide unless prohibited by the Fund’s investment objective and strategies. Depending on the Fund’s principal investment strategies, the amount of the Fund’s assets that may be committed to any of these types of investments (if any) may vary. The above list of investments is not intended to be an exhaustive list of the types of investments in which the Fund may invest.
In attempting to achieve its investment objective, the Fund may utilize, among others, one or more of the strategies or securities set forth below. The Fund may, in addition, invest in other instruments (including derivative investments) or use other investment strategies that are developed or become available in the future and that are consistent with its objective and restrictions.
Fixed-Income Securities
The Fund may invest in fixed-income securities. Fixed-income securities include a broad array of short-, medium-, and long-term obligations issued by the U.S. or foreign governments, government or international agencies and instrumentalities, and corporate and private issuers of various types. The maturity date is the date on which a fixed-income security matures. This is the date on which the borrower must pay back the borrowed amount, which is known as the principal. Some fixed-income securities represent uncollateralized obligations of their issuers; in other cases, the securities may be backed by specific assets (such as mortgages or other receivables) that have been set aside as collateral for the issuer’s obligation. Fixed-income securities generally involve an obligation of the issuer to pay interest or dividends on either a current basis or at the maturity of the security, as well as the obligation to repay the principal amount of the security at maturity. The rate of interest on fixed-income securities may be fixed, floating, or variable. Some securities pay a higher interest rate than the current market rate. An investor may have to pay more than the security’s principal to compensate the seller for the value of the higher interest rate. This additional payment is a premium.
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Fixed-income securities are subject to, among other risks, credit risk, market risk, and interest rate risk. Except to the extent values are affected by other factors such as developments relating to a specific issuer, generally the value of a fixed-income security can be expected to rise when interest rates decline and, conversely, the value of such a security can be expected to fall when interest rates rise. Some fixed-income securities may be subject to extension risk. This is the risk that if interest rates rise, repayments of principal on certain debt securities, including, but not limited to, floating rate loans and mortgage-related securities, may occur at a slower rate than expected and the expected maturity of those securities could lengthen as a result. Some fixed-income securities also involve prepayment or call risk. This is the risk that the issuer will repay the Fund the principal on the security before it is due, thus depriving the Fund of a favorable stream of future interest or dividend payments. The Fund could buy another security, but that other security might pay a lower interest rate. In addition, many fixed-income securities contain call or buy-back features that permit their issuers to call or repurchase the securities from their holders. Such securities may present risks based on payment expectations. If an issuer were to exercise a call option and redeem the security during times of declining interest rates, the Fund may realize a capital loss on its investment if the security was purchased at a premium and the Fund may be forced to replace the called security with a lower yielding security.
Changes by nationally recognized securities rating organizations (“NRSROs”) in their ratings of any fixed-income security or the issuer of a fixed-income security and changes in the ability of an issuer to make payments of interest and principal may also affect the value of these investments. Changes in the value of portfolio securities generally will not affect income derived from these securities, but will affect the Fund’s performance.
Because interest rates vary, it is impossible to predict the income, if any, for any particular period for the Fund that invests in fixed-income securities. Fluctuations in the value of the Fund’s investments in fixed-income securities may adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
Duration is an estimate of how much a bond’s value will fluctuate in response to a change in interest rates. In general, the value of a fixed-income security with positive duration will generally decline if interest rates increase, whereas the value of a security with negative duration will generally decline if interest rates decrease. If interest rates rise by one percentage point, the value of a portfolio of debt securities with an average duration of five years would be expected to decline by approximately 5%. If rates decrease by a percentage point, the value of portfolio of debt securities with an average duration of five years would be expected to rise by approximately 5%. The greater the duration of a bond (whether positive or negative), the greater its percentage price volatility due to changes in interest rates. Only a pure discount bond – that is, one with no coupon or sinking-fund payments – has a duration equal to the remaining maturity of the bond, because only in this case does the present value of the final redemption payment represent the entirety of the present value of the bond. For all other bonds, duration is less than maturity.
The Fund may invest in variable- or floating-rate securities that bear interest at rates subject to periodic adjustment or provide for periodic recovery of principal on demand. Variable- and floating-rate securities may include, without limitations, floating rate notes issued by the U.S. Treasury, catastrophe and other event-linked bonds, bank capital securities, unsecured bank loans, corporate bonds, money market instruments and certain types of mortgage-backed and
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other asset-backed securities. The value of the Fund’s investment in certain of these securities may depend on the Fund’s right to demand that a specified bank, broker-dealer, or other financial institution either purchase such securities from the Fund at par or make payment on short notice to the Fund of unpaid principal and/or interest on the securities. These securities are subject to, among others, interest rate risk and credit risk.
The Fund may invest in commercial paper, which is a short-term debt obligation that is usually issued by banks, corporations, and other borrowers and often sold on a discount basis in order to finance their current operations. Commercial paper is typically bought by investors to earn returns on a short-term basis, and it is usually repaid at maturity by the issuer from the proceeds of the issuance of new commercial paper. As a result, investments in commercial paper are subject to the risk that the issuer cannot issue enough new commercial paper to satisfy its outstanding commercial paper, also known as rollover risk. In addition, under certain circumstances commercial paper may become illiquid or may suffer from reduced liquidity. These instruments are generally unsecured, which increases the credit risk associated with this type of investment.
Commercial paper purchasable by the Fund may include “Section 4(a)(2) paper,” a term that includes debt obligations issued in reliance on the “private placement” exemption from registration afforded by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Section 4(a)(2) paper is restricted as to disposition under the Federal securities laws, and is frequently sold (and resold) to institutional investors such as the Fund through or with the assistance of investment dealers who make a market in the Section 4(a)(2) paper, thereby providing liquidity. Section 4(a)(2) paper is sold to institutional investors who must agree to purchase the paper for investment and not with a view to public distribution. Any resale by the purchaser must be in a transaction exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. Section 4(a)(2) paper normally is resold to other institutional investors like the Fund through or with the assistance of the issuer or investment dealers that make a market in Section 4(a)(2) paper. As a result it is subject to liquidity risk, the risk that the securities may be difficult to value because of the absence of an active market, and the risk that it may be sold only after considerable expense and delay, if at all. There can be no assurance that a liquid trading market will exist at any time for any particular Section 4(a)(2) paper securities.
The Fund also may purchase asset-backed commercial paper, which includes debt obligations issued in reliance on an exemption from registration available in Section 3(a)(3) of the Securities Act. Asset-backed commercial paper issued pursuant to Section 3(a)(3) must not have a maturity exceeding nine months. Asset-backed commercial paper is subject to similar liquidity risks associated with Section 4(a)(2) paper described in the paragraph above.
Generally, the Adviser uses the terms debt security, debt obligation, bond, fixed-income instrument and fixed-income security interchangeably. These terms should be considered to include any evidence of indebtedness, including, by way of example, a security or instrument having one or more of the following characteristics: a security or instrument issued at a discount to its face value, a security or instrument that pays interest at a fixed, floating, or variable rate, or a security or instrument with a stated principal amount that requires repayment of some or all of that principal amount to the holder of the security. These terms are interpreted broadly to include any instrument or security evidencing what is commonly referred to as an IOU rather than evidencing
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the corporate ownership of equity unless that equity represents an indirect or derivative interest in one or more debt securities. For this purpose, the terms also include instruments that are intended to provide one or more of the characteristics of a direct investment in one or more debt securities. As new fixed-income instruments are developed, the Adviser may invest in those opportunities for the Fund as well.
Below Investment Grade/High Yield Investments
Debt securities that are, at the time of purchase, rated below investment grade (below Baa by Moody’s and below BBB by S&P and Fitch), an equivalent rating assigned by another NRSRO or unrated but judged by DoubleLine to be of comparable quality include securities commonly referred to as “high yield” securities or “junk bonds.” Investments in high yield securities generally provide greater income and increased opportunity for capital appreciation than investments in higher quality securities, but they also typically entail greater price volatility and principal and income risk, including the possibility of issuer default and bankruptcy. High yield securities are regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s continuing ability to meet principal and interest payments. Debt securities in the lowest investment grade category also may be considered to possess some speculative characteristics by certain rating agencies. In addition, analysis of the creditworthiness of issuers of high yield securities may be more complex than for issuers of higher quality securities.
High yield securities may be more susceptible to real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions than investment grade securities. A projection of an economic downturn or of a period of rising interest rates, for example, could cause a decline in high yield security prices because the advent of a recession could lessen the ability of an issuer to make principal and interest payments on its debt obligations. If an issuer of high yield securities defaults, in addition to risking non-payment of all or a portion of interest and principal, the Fund may incur additional expenses to seek recovery. The market prices of high yield securities structured as zero-coupon, step-up or payment-in-kind securities will normally be affected to a greater extent by interest rate changes, and therefore tend to be more volatile than the prices of securities that pay interest currently and in cash.
The secondary market on which high yield securities are traded may be less liquid than the market for investment grade securities. Less liquidity in the secondary trading market could adversely affect the price at which the Fund could sell a high yield security, and could adversely affect the net asset value (“NAV”) of the shares. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the values and liquidity of high yield securities, especially in a thinly-traded market. When secondary markets for high yield securities are less liquid than the market for investment grade securities, it may be more difficult to value the securities because such valuation may require more research, and elements of judgment may play a greater role in the valuation because there is less reliable, objective data available. During periods of thin trading in these markets, the spread between bid and asked prices is likely to increase significantly and the Fund may have greater difficulty selling its portfolio securities. The Fund will be more dependent on DoubleLine’s research and analysis when investing in high yield securities.
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A general description of the ratings of securities by Moody’s, S&P and Fitch is set forth in Appendix A to the Prospectus. The ratings of Moody’s, S&P and Fitch represent their opinions as to the quality of the securities they rate. It should be emphasized, however, that ratings are general and are not absolute standards of quality. Consequently, debt obligations with the same maturity, coupon and rating may have different yields while obligations with the same maturity and coupon with different ratings may have the same yield. For these reasons, the use of credit ratings as the sole method of evaluating high yield securities can involve certain risks. For example, credit ratings evaluate the safety of principal and interest payments, not the market value risk of high yield securities. Also, credit rating agencies may fail to change credit ratings in a timely fashion to reflect events since the security was last rated. DoubleLine does not rely solely on credit ratings when selecting securities for the Fund.
The Fund’s credit quality policies apply only at the time a security is purchased, and the Fund is not required to dispose of a security in the event that a rating agency or DoubleLine downgrades its assessment of the credit characteristics of a particular issue. In determining whether to retain or sell such a security, DoubleLine may consider such factors as DoubleLine’s assessment of the credit quality of the issuer of such security, the price at which such security could be sold and the rating, if any, assigned to such security by other rating agencies. However, analysis of creditworthiness may be more complex for issuers of high yield securities than for issuers of higher quality debt securities.
The lower ratings of the high yield securities which the Fund will purchase reflect a greater possibility that the financial condition of the issuers, or adverse changes in general economic conditions, or both, may impair the ability of the issuers to make payments of principal and interest. The market value of a single lower-rated debt security may fluctuate more than the market value of higher rated securities, since changes in the creditworthiness of lower rated issuers and in market perceptions of the issuers’ creditworthiness tend to occur more frequently and in a more pronounced manner than in the case of higher rated issuers. High yield debt securities also tend to reflect individual corporate developments to a greater extent than higher rated securities. The securities in which the Fund may invest are frequently subordinated to senior indebtedness.
The economy and interest rates affect high yield securities differently from other securities. The prices of high yield bonds have been found to be more sensitive to adverse economic changes or individual corporate developments. During an economic downturn or substantial period of rising interest rates, highly leveraged issuers may experience financial stress which would adversely affect their ability to service their principal and interest payment obligations, to meet projected business goals, and to obtain additional financing. If the issuer of a bond owned by the Fund defaults, the Fund may incur additional expenses to seek recovery. In addition, periods of economic uncertainty and changes can be expected to result in increased volatility of market prices of high yield bonds and the Fund’s asset value. Furthermore, the market prices of high yield bonds structured as zero coupon or pay-in-kind securities are affected to a greater extent by interest rate changes and thereby tend to be more volatile than securities which pay interest periodically and in cash.
To the extent there is a limited retail secondary market for particular high yield bonds, these bonds may be thinly-traded and the Adviser’s ability to accurately value high yield bonds and the
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Fund’s assets may be more difficult because there is less reliable, objective data available. In addition, the Fund’s ability to acquire or dispose of the bonds may be negatively-impacted. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the values and liquidity of high yield bonds, especially in a thinly-traded market. To the extent the Fund owns or may acquire illiquid or restricted high yield bonds, these securities may involve special registration responsibilities, liabilities and costs, and liquidity and valuation difficulties.
Analysis of creditworthiness of issuers of high yield securities may be more complex than for issuers of higher-quality fixed income securities. To the extent that the Fund invests in high yield securities, the Fund’s success in achieving its investment objective may depend more heavily on the Adviser’s creditworthiness analysis than if the Fund invested exclusively in higher-quality securities.
High yield securities include securities issued by emerging credit companies and companies which have experienced a leveraged buyout or recapitalization. Although the small and medium size companies that constitute emerging credit issuers typically have significant operating histories, these companies generally do not have strong enough operating results to secure investment grade ratings from the rating agencies. In addition, at times there has been a substantial volume of high yield securities issued by companies that have converted from public to private ownership through leveraged buyout transactions and by companies that have restructured their balance sheets through leveraged recapitalizations. High yield securities issued in these situations are used primarily to pay existing stockholders for their shares or to finance special dividend distributions to shareholders. The indebtedness incurred in connection with these transactions is often substantial and, as a result, often produces highly leveraged capital structures which present special risks for the holders of such securities. Also, the market price of such securities may be more volatile to the extent that expected benefits from the restructuring do not materialize. The second category of high yield securities consists of securities of former investment grade companies that have experienced poor operating performance due to such factors as cyclical downtrends in their industry, poor management or increased foreign competition.
Special tax considerations are associated with investing in lower rated debt securities structured as zero coupon or pay-in-kind securities. The Fund accrues income on these securities prior to the receipt of cash payments. The Fund must distribute substantially all of its income to shareholders to qualify for the favorable tax treatment afforded a “regulated investment company” (“RIC”) and its shareholders under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) and may, therefore, have to dispose of portfolio securities to satisfy distribution requirements.
Underwriting and dealer spreads associated with the purchase of lower rated bonds are typically higher than those associated with the purchase of high grade bonds.
Unrated Securities. Unrated securities involve the risks associated with investments in rated securities of equivalent credit quality, though they may be less liquid than comparable rated securities and involve the risk that the Adviser may not accurately evaluate the security’s creditworthiness. To the extent the Fund invests in unrated securities, the Fund’s success in
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achieving its investment objective may depend more heavily on the Adviser’s analysis than if the Fund invested exclusively in rated securities. Some or all of the unrated instruments in which the Fund may invest will involve credit risk comparable to or greater than that of rated debt securities of below investment grade quality.
Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities
Mortgage-backed securities, including CMOs and certain stripped mortgage-backed securities, represent a participation in, or are secured by, mortgage loans. Asset-backed securities are structured like mortgage-backed securities, but instead of mortgage loans or interests in mortgage loans, the underlying assets may include a wide variety of items, including, without limitation, motor vehicle installment sales or installment loan contracts, leases of various types of real, personal and other property (including those relating to aircrafts, containers, railroads, telecommunication, energy, and/or other infrastructure assets and infrastructure-related assets), receivables from credit card agreements and automobile finance agreements, home equity sharing agreements, student loans, consumer loans, home equity loans, mobile home loans, boat loans, and income from other non-mortgage-related income streams, such as income from business and small business loans, project finance loans, renewable energy projects, personal financial assets, timeshare receivables and franchise rights. The cash flow generated by the underlying assets is applied to make required payments on the securities and to pay related administrative expenses. The amount of residual cash flow resulting from a particular issue of asset-backed or mortgage-backed securities depends on, among other things, the characteristics of the underlying assets, the coupon rates on the securities, prevailing interest rates, the amount of administrative expenses and the actual prepayment experience on the underlying assets. The Fund may invest in any such instruments or variations as may be developed, to the extent consistent with its investment objective and policies and applicable regulatory requirements. In general, the collateral supporting asset-backed securities is of a shorter maturity than mortgage loans and is likely to experience substantial prepayments.
Mortgage-backed securities have yield and maturity characteristics corresponding to the underlying assets. Unlike traditional debt securities, which may pay a fixed rate of interest until maturity, when the entire principal amount comes due, payments on certain mortgage-backed securities include both interest and a partial repayment of principal. Besides the scheduled repayment of principal, repayments of principal may result from the voluntary prepayment, refinancing or foreclosure of the underlying mortgage loans. If property owners make unscheduled prepayments of their mortgage loans, these prepayments will result in early payment of the applicable mortgage-backed securities. In that event the Fund may be unable to invest the proceeds from the early payment of the mortgage-backed securities in an investment that provides as high a yield as the mortgage-backed securities. Consequently, early payment associated with mortgage-backed securities may cause these securities to experience significantly greater price and yield volatility than that experienced by traditional fixed-income securities. The occurrence of mortgage prepayments is affected by factors including the level of interest rates, general economic conditions, the location and age of the mortgage and other social and demographic conditions. During periods of falling interest rates, the rate of mortgage prepayments tends to increase, thereby tending to decrease the life of mortgage-backed securities, which may result in the Fund having to reinvest proceeds in other investments with a lower interest rate. During periods of rising interest rates, the rate of mortgage prepayments
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usually decreases, thereby tending to increase the life of mortgage-backed securities, which may lock in a below-market interest rate and reduce the value of the security. If the life of a mortgage-backed security is inaccurately predicted, the Fund may not be able to realize the rate of return it expected.
Adjustable rate mortgage securities (“ARMs”), like traditional mortgage-backed securities, are interests in pools of mortgage loans that provide investors with payments consisting of both principal and interest as mortgage loans in the underlying mortgage pool are paid off by the borrowers. Unlike fixed-rate mortgage-backed securities, ARMs are collateralized by or represent interests in mortgage loans with variable rates of interest. These interest rates are reset at periodic intervals, usually by reference to an interest rate index or market interest rate. Although the rate adjustment feature may act as a buffer to reduce sharp changes in the value of adjustable rate securities, these securities are still subject to changes in value based on, among other things, changes in market interest rates or changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness. Because the interest rates are reset only periodically, changes in the interest rate on ARMs may lag changes in prevailing market interest rates. Also, some ARMs (or the underlying mortgages) are subject to caps or floors that limit the maximum change in the interest rate during a specified period or over the life of the security. As a result, changes in the interest rate on an ARM may not fully reflect changes in prevailing market interest rates during certain periods. The Fund may also invest in hybrid ARMs, whose underlying mortgages combine fixed-rate and adjustable rate features.
In considering an investment for the Fund in mortgage-backed securities, the Adviser will consider a number of factors with respect to the underlying mortgages. These include, but are not limited to, (1) the nature of the borrowers (e.g., residential vs. commercial); (2) the collateral loan type (e.g., for residential: First Lien – Jumbo/Prime, First Lien – Alt-A, First Lien – Subprime, First Lien – Pay-Option, or Second Lien; for commercial: Conduit, Large Loan, or Single Asset/Single Borrower); and (3) in the case of residential loans, whether they are fixed rate or adjustable mortgages. Each of these criteria can cause mortgage-backed securities to have differing risk factors and performance characteristics.
Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities are less effective than other types of securities as a means of “locking in” attractive long-term interest rates. One reason is the need to reinvest prepayments of principal; another is the possibility of significant unscheduled prepayments resulting from declines in interest rates. These prepayments would have to be reinvested at lower rates. The automatic interest rate adjustment feature of mortgages underlying ARMs likewise reduces the ability to lock-in attractive rates. As a result, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities may have less potential for capital appreciation during periods of declining interest rates than other securities of comparable maturities, although they may have a similar risk of decline in market value during periods of rising interest rates. Prepayments may also significantly shorten the effective maturities of these securities, especially during periods of declining interest rates. Conversely, during periods of rising interest rates, a reduction in prepayments may increase the effective maturities of these securities, subjecting them to a greater risk of decline in market value in response to rising interest rates than traditional debt securities, and, therefore, potentially increasing the volatility of the Fund.
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At times, some mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities will have higher than market interest rates and therefore will be purchased at a premium above their par value. Prepayments may cause losses on securities purchased at a premium.
CMOs may be issued by a U.S. Government agency or instrumentality or by a private issuer. Although payment of the principal of, and interest on, the underlying collateral securing privately issued CMOs may be guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities, these CMOs represent obligations solely of the private issuer and are not insured or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities or any other person or entity. Government-related guarantors (i.e., not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government) include Fannie Mae (formally known as Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (formally known as Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation). Fannie Mae is a government-sponsored corporation the common stock of which is owned entirely by private stockholders. Fannie Mae purchases conventional (i.e., not insured or guaranteed by any government agency) residential mortgages from a list of approved seller/servicers which include state and federally chartered savings and loan associations, mutual savings banks, commercial banks, and credit unions and mortgage bankers. Pass-through securities issued by Fannie Mae (also known as “Fannie Maes”) are guaranteed as to timely payment of principal and interest by Fannie Mae, but are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. Freddie Mac was created by Congress in 1970 for the purpose of increasing the availability of mortgage credit for residential housing. It is a government-sponsored corporation that issues Freddie Mac Guaranteed Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates (also known as “Freddie Macs” or “PCs”), which are pass-through securities, each representing an undivided interest in a pool of residential mortgages. Freddie Mac guarantees the timely payment of interest and ultimate collection of principal, but PCs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. The Fund may also invest in bonds, including unguaranteed mezzanine bonds and subordinate bonds, securitized through Freddie Mac’s “K-Deal” program, which securitizes mortgage loans backed by multi-family apartment properties. Such bonds are also not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.
Prepayments could cause early retirement of CMOs. CMOs are designed to reduce the risk of prepayment for certain investors by issuing multiple classes of securities, each having different maturities, interest rates and payment schedules, and with the principal and interest on the underlying mortgages allocated among the several classes in various ways. Payment of interest or principal on some classes or series of CMOs may be subject to contingencies or some classes or series may bear some or all of the risk of default on the underlying mortgages. CMOs of different classes or series are generally retired in sequence as the underlying mortgage loans in the mortgage pool are repaid. If enough mortgages are repaid ahead of schedule, the classes or series of a CMO with the earliest maturities generally will be retired prior to their maturities. Thus, the early retirement of particular classes or series of a CMO would have the same effect as the prepayment of mortgages underlying other mortgage-backed securities. Conversely, slower than anticipated prepayments can extend the effective maturities of CMOs, subjecting them to a greater risk of decline in market value in response to rising interest rates than traditional debt securities, and, therefore, potentially increasing their volatility.
Prepayments could result in losses on stripped mortgage-backed securities. Stripped mortgage-backed securities are usually structured with two classes that receive different portions of the
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interest and principal distributions on a pool of mortgage loans. The yield to maturity on an interest-only (“IO”) class of stripped mortgage-backed securities is extremely sensitive not only to changes in prevailing interest rates but also to the rate of principal payments (including prepayments) on the underlying assets. A rapid rate of principal prepayments may have a measurable adverse effect on the Fund’s yield to maturity to the extent it invests in IOs. If the assets underlying the IO experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, the Fund may fail to recoup fully its initial investment in these securities. Principal-only (“POs”) tend to increase in value if prepayments are greater than anticipated and decline if prepayments are slower than anticipated. The secondary market for stripped mortgage-backed securities may be more volatile and less liquid than that for other mortgage-backed securities, potentially limiting the Fund’s ability to buy or sell those securities at any particular time.
Subprime mortgage loans, which typically are made to less creditworthy borrowers, have a higher risk of default than conventional mortgage loans. Therefore, mortgage-backed securities backed by subprime mortgage loans may suffer significantly greater declines in value due to defaults or the increased risk of default.
The mortgage loans backing the mortgage-backed securities in which the Fund may invest may include re-performing loans (“RPLs”), non-performing loans and non-qualified mortgage (“Non-QM”) loans. RPLs are loans that have previously been delinquent but are current at the time they are securitized. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, among others, securitize RPLs. For example, in Fannie Mae’s case, the RPLs securitized are single-family, fixed rate RPLs that generally were previously placed in a mortgage-backed security trust with certificates guaranteed by Fannie Mae, purchased from the trust by Fannie Mae and held as a distressed asset after four or more months of delinquency, and subsequently became current (i.e. performing) again. Such RPLs may have exited delinquency through efforts at reducing defaults (e.g., loan modification). In selecting RPLs for securitization, Fannie Mae follows certain criteria related to length of time the loan has been performing, the type of loan (single-family, fixed rate), and the status of the loan as first lien, among other things. Fannie Mae may include different loan structures and modification programs in the future. Non-performing loans are mortgage loans where the borrower is in default or is or has been delinquent, for a potentially significant period of time, as to the payment of interest and/or principal. Non-QM loans do not comply with the rules of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) relating to qualified mortgages (“QM”). To qualify as a QM loan under the CFPB’s rules, the loan must meet certain requirements, such as a borrower debt-to-income ratio, being fully-amortizing, and limits on loan fees. Non-QM loans do not comply with at least one of these requirements.
In addition to investing in mortgage-backed securities that are backed by mortgage loans themselves, the Fund may invest in securities that are backed by mortgage servicing rights (“MSRs”), including normal MSRs and excess MSRs. Normal MSRs refer to the contractual right to cash flows payable to the mortgage servicer of a pool of mortgage loans for their ongoing administrative duties to the extent such cash flows do not exceed a reasonable amount of consideration for normal servicing activities. Excess MSRs are the rights to any amount of cash flows in excess of normal MSRs.
The risks associated with other asset-backed securities (including in particular the risks of issuer default and of early prepayment) are generally similar to those described above for CMOs. In
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addition, because asset-backed securities generally do not have the benefit of a security interest in the underlying assets that is comparable to a mortgage (though certain asset-backed securities, such as Enhanced Trust Certificates (“ETCs”) and Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificates (“EETCs”), may be structured such that there is a security interest in the underlying asset), asset-backed securities may present certain additional risks that are not commonly present with mortgage-backed securities. The ability of an issuer of asset-backed securities to enforce its security interest in the underlying assets may be limited. For example, revolving credit receivables are generally unsecured and the debtors on such receivables are entitled to the protection of a number of state and federal consumer credit laws, many of which give debtors the right to set-off certain amounts owed, thereby reducing the balance due. Automobile receivables generally are secured, but by automobiles, rather than by real property. Similarly, ETCs and EETCs are often secured by different types of equipment (see “—Equipment Trust Certificates (ETCs) and Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificates (EETCs)” below).
Asset-backed securities may be collateralized by the fees earned by service providers. The values of asset-backed securities may be substantially dependent on the servicing of the underlying asset and are therefore subject to risks associated with the negligence or malfeasance by their servicers and to the credit risk or insolvency of their servicers. In certain circumstances, the mishandling of related documentation may also affect the rights of the security holders in and to the underlying collateral. The insolvency of entities that generate receivables or that utilize the assets may result in added costs and delays in addition to losses associated with a decline in the value of the underlying assets.
The Fund may invest in securities issued by a securitization trust collateralized by home equity sharing agreements. A home equity sharing agreement is an agreement between a financial services company and a homeowner which allows a homeowner to access some of the equity in their home in exchange for a specified equity stake in the property. Unlike a mortgage, a home equity sharing agreement is not a loan and does not require a monthly payment. Instead, at the conclusion of the agreement term, the homeowner pays back the equity advance and a percentage of any appreciation in the property value.
Federal, state and local government officials and representatives as well as certain private parties have proposed actions to assist homeowners who own or occupy property subject to mortgages. Certain of those proposals involve actions that would likely affect the mortgages that underlie or relate to certain mortgage-related securities, including securities or other instruments which the Fund may hold or in which it may invest. Some of those proposals include, among other things, lowering or forgiving principal balances; forbearing, lowering or eliminating interest payments; or utilizing eminent domain powers to seize mortgages, potentially for below market compensation. The prospective or actual implementation of one or more of these proposals may significantly and adversely affect the value and liquidity of securities held by the Fund and could cause the Fund’s NAV to decline, potentially significantly. Significant uncertainty remains in the market concerning the resolution of these issues; the range of proposals and the potential implications of any implemented solution are impossible to predict.
The Fund may invest in any level of the capital structure of an issuer of mortgage-backed or asset-backed securities, including the equity or “first loss” tranche. Senior tranche investments in mortgage-backed or asset-backed securities are paid from the cash flows from the underlying assets before the junior tranches and equity or “first loss” tranches. Any losses on the underlying assets are first borne by the equity tranches, next by less junior tranches, and finally by the senior tranches. Accordingly, subordinated tranche investments, and especially “first loss” tranches, involve greater risk of loss than more senior tranches. The subordinated tranches the Fund may buy include those rated below investment grade or unrated instruments of similar credit quality. Below investment grade bonds are high yield, high risk bonds, commonly known as junk bonds. See “—Collateralized Debt Obligations” below.
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Consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and policies, the Adviser may also cause the Fund to invest in other types of mortgage- and asset-backed securities offered currently or in the future, including certain yet-to-be-developed types of mortgage- and asset-backed securities which may be created as the market evolves.
Equipment Trust Certificates (ETCs) and Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificates (EETCs). ETCs and EETCs are types of asset-backed securities that generally represent undivided fractional interests in a trust whose assets consist of a pool of equipment retail installment contracts or leased equipment. EETCs are similar to ETCs, except that the securities have been divided into two or more classes, each with different payment priorities and asset claims (see— “Collateralized Debt Obligations” below for information regarding how different classes or tranches of interests issued by an issuer can affect the risks of an investment in EETCs). ETCs and EETCs are typically issued by specially-created trusts established by airlines, railroads, or other transportation firms. The assets of ETCs and EETCs are used to purchase equipment, such as airplanes, railroad cars, or other equipment, which may in turn serve as collateral for the related issue of the ETCs or EETCs, and the title to such equipment is held in trust for the holders of the issue. The equipment generally is leased from the specially-created trust by the airline, railroad or other firm, which makes rental or lease payments to the specially-created trust to provide cash flow for payments to ETC and EETC holders. Holders of ETCs and EETCs must look to the collateral securing the certificates, typically together with a guarantee provided by the lessee firm or its parent company for the payment of lease obligations, in the case of default in the payment of principal and interest on the ETCs or EETCs.
ETCs and EETCs are subject to the risk that the lessee or payee defaults on its payments, and risks related to potential declines in the value of the equipment that serves as collateral for the issue. ETCs and EETCs are generally regarded as obligations of the company that is leasing the equipment and may be shown as liabilities in its balance sheet as a capitalized lease in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The lessee company, however, does not own the equipment until all the certificates are redeemed and paid. In the event the company defaults under its lease, the trustee may terminate the lease. If another lessee is not available, then payments on the certificates would cease until another lessee is available.
Pass-Through Notes. The Fund may invest in pass-through notes, which are a type of pass-through obligation of the operator of a marketplace lending platform. The operator of a marketplace lending platform may purchase loan(s) from a funding bank at par using the funds of multiple lenders on deposit in a segregated deposit account held by the operator, and then issue to each such lender at par a pass-through note of the operator (or an affiliate of the operator) representing the right to receive the lender’s proportionate share of all principal and interest payments received by the operator from the borrower on the loan funded by such lender (net of the platform servicing fees). Pass-through notes are not direct obligations of the borrowers under the underlying marketplace loans originated by such platforms. As such, holders of certain pass-through notes are exposed to the credit risk of the operator. An operator that becomes subject to bankruptcy proceedings may be unable to make full and timely payments on its pass-through notes even if the borrowers of the underlying marketplace loans timely make all payments due from them. In addition, pass-through notes are non-recourse obligations (except to the extent that the operator actually receives payments from the borrower on the loan). Accordingly, lenders assume all of the borrower credit risk on the loans they fund and are not entitled to recover any deficiency of principal or interest from the operator if the borrower defaults on its payments.
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There may be a delay between the time the Fund commits to purchase a pass-through note and the issuance of such note and, during such delay, the funds committed to such an investment will not be available for investment in any other instruments. Because the funds committed to an investment in pass-through notes do not earn interest until the issuance of the note, the delay in issuance will have the effect of reducing the effective rate of return on the investment.
Contingent Value Rights. The Fund may invest in contingent value rights (“CVRs”). A CVR gives its holder the right to receive an amount, which may be fixed or determined by a formula, in the event that a specified corporate action or other business event or trigger occurs (or fails to occur) during the term of the CVR. CVRs are often awarded to shareholders as a result of a corporate acquisition or restructuring. For example, shareholders of an acquired company may receive CVRs that enable them to receive additional shares of the acquiring company upon certain trigger events such as a specified drop in the acquiring company’s share price. Risks associated with investments in CVRs are generally similar to risks associated with the use of options, such as the risk that the trigger event does not occur prior to the CVR’s expiration, causing it to expire with no value. CVRs also may be subject to risks associated with unregistered securities as well as illiquidity risk, counterparty risk, and credit risk. In addition, CVRs may be subject to valuation risk because they may be valued based on the likelihood of the occurrence of a trigger event, which may require subjective modeling and judgment.
Collateralized Debt Obligations. Collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”) are a type of asset-backed security and include, among other things, collateralized bond obligations (“CBOs”), collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”) and other similarly structured securities. A CBO is a trust which may be backed by a diversified pool of high risk, below investment grade fixed income securities. A CLO is a trust typically collateralized by a pool of loans, which may include, among others, domestic and foreign senior secured loans, senior unsecured loans, second lien loans or other types of subordinate loans, and mezzanine loans, including loans that may be rated below investment grade or equivalent unrated loans and including loans that may contain fewer or less restrictive constraints on the borrower than certain other types of loans (“covenant-lite” loans). The cash flows from the CDO trust are generally split into two or more portions, called tranches, varying in risk and yield. Senior tranches are paid from the cash flows from the underlying assets before the junior tranches and equity or “first loss” tranches. Losses are first borne by the equity tranches, next by the junior tranches, and finally by the senior tranches. Senior tranches pay the lowest interest rates but are generally safer investments than more junior tranches because, should there be any default, senior tranches are typically paid first. The most junior tranches, such as equity tranches, would attract the highest interest rates but suffer the highest risk of loss should the holder of an underlying loan default. If some loans default and the cash collected by the CDO is insufficient to pay all of its investors, those in the lowest, most junior tranches suffer losses first.
Since it is partially protected from defaults, a senior tranche from a CDO trust typically has higher ratings and lower yields than the underlying securities, and can be rated investment grade. Despite the protection from the equity tranche, more senior CDO tranches can experience substantial losses due to actual defaults, increased sensitivity to defaults due to collateral default and disappearance of protecting tranches, market anticipation of defaults and aversion to CDO securities as a class.
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The risks of an investment in a CDO depend largely on the quality and type of the collateral and the tranche of the CDO in which the Fund invests. Normally, CBOs, CLOs and other CDOs are privately offered and sold, and thus are not registered under the securities laws. As a result, there may be a limited secondary market for investments in CDOs and such investments may be illiquid. In addition to the risks associated with debt instruments (e.g., interest rate risk and credit risk), CDOs carry additional risks including, but not limited to: (i) the possibility that distributions from collateral securities will not be adequate to make interest or other payments; (ii) the quality of the collateral may decline in value or default; (iii) the possibility that the Fund may invest in CDOs that are subordinate to other classes of the issuer’s securities; and (iv) the complex structure of the security may not be fully understood at the time of investment and may produce disputes with the issuer or unexpected investment results.
The Fund may invest in CDOs (including CLOs and CBOs) and other structured products (see “Investment Objective and Strategies—Principal Risk Factors—Structured Products and Structured Notes Risk” in the Fund’s most recent annual report on Form N-CSR) sponsored or managed by, or otherwise affiliated with, the Adviser or related parties of the Adviser. Such investments may include investments in debt or equity interests issued of the CDO or structured product as well as investments purchased on the secondary market, and the Fund may invest in any tranche of the CDO or structured product, including an equity tranche.
Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (“CMOs”) and Multiclass Pass-Through Securities. CMOs are debt obligations collateralized by mortgage loans or mortgage pass-through securities. CMOs may be collateralized by Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”), Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”) or Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”) certificates, but also may be collateralized by whole loans or private mortgage pass-through securities (such collateral is collectively hereinafter referred to as “Mortgage Assets”). Mortgage Assets may be collateralized by commercial or residential uses. Multiclass pass-through securities are equity interests in a trust composed of Mortgage Assets. Payments of principal of and interest on the Mortgage Assets, and any reinvestment income thereon, may require the Fund to pay debt service on the CMOs or make scheduled distributions on the multiclass pass-through securities. CMOs may be issued by federal agencies, or by private originators of, or investors in, mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations, mortgage banks, commercial banks, investment banks and special purpose subsidiaries of the foregoing. The issuer of a series of mortgage pass-through securities may elect to be treated as a REMIC. REMICs include governmental and/or private entities that issue a fixed pool of mortgages secured by an interest in real property. REMICs are similar to CMOs in that they issue multiple classes of securities, but unlike CMOs, which are required to be structured as debt securities, REMICs may be structured as indirect ownership interests in the underlying assets of the REMICs themselves. Although CMOs and REMICs differ in certain respects, characteristics of CMOs described below apply in most cases to REMICs, as well.
In a CMO, a series of bonds or certificates is issued in multiple classes. Each class of CMOs, often referred to as a “tranche,” is issued at a specific fixed or floating coupon rate and has a stated maturity or final distribution date. Principal prepayments on the Mortgage Assets may
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cause the CMOs to be retired substantially earlier than their stated maturities or final distribution dates. Interest is paid or accrues on all classes of the CMOs on a monthly, quarterly or semiannual basis. Certain CMOs may have variable or floating interest rates and others may be Stripped Mortgage Securities. For more information on Stripped Mortgage Securities, see “—Stripped Mortgage Securities” below. The Fund’s investment in CMOs may include investment in Z Bonds. Interest on a Z Bond is accrued and added to principal and a like amount is paid as principal on the other tranches of the CMO currently being paid off. When the other tranches of the CMO are paid in full, interest and principal on the Z Bond begin to be paid currently; as a result, Z Bonds typically have a longer average life relative to other tranches of the CMO.
The principal of and interest on the Mortgage Assets may be allocated among the several classes of a CMO series in a number of different ways. Generally, the purpose of the allocation of the cash flow of a CMO to the various classes is to obtain a more predictable cash flow to certain of the individual tranches than exists with the underlying collateral of the CMO. As a general rule, the more predictable the cash flow is on a CMO tranche, the lower the anticipated yield will be on that tranche at the time of issuance relative to prevailing market yields on other mortgage-backed securities. As part of the process of creating more predictable cash flows on most of the tranches in a series of CMOs, one or more tranches generally must be created that absorb most of the volatility in the cash flows on the underlying mortgage loans. The yields on these tranches are generally higher than prevailing market yields on mortgage-backed securities with similar maturities. As a result of the uncertainty of the cash flows of these tranches, the market prices of and yield on these tranches generally are more volatile. See “—Collateralized Debt Obligations” above for a discussion on investments in structured products with multiple tranches.
CMO Residuals. CMO residuals are mortgage securities issued by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. Government or by private originators of, or investors in, mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations, homebuilders, mortgage banks, commercial banks, investment banks and special purpose entities of the foregoing. The cash flow generated by the mortgage assets underlying a series of a CMO is applied first to make required payments of principal and interest on the securities or certificates issued by the CMO and second to pay the related administrative expenses and any management fee of the issuer. The residual in a CMO structure generally represents the interest in any excess cash flow remaining after making the foregoing payments. Each payment of such excess cash flow to a holder of the related CMO residual represents income and/or a return of capital. The amount of residual cash flow resulting from a CMO will depend on, among other things, the characteristics of the mortgage assets, the coupon rate of each class of CMO, prevailing interest rates, the amount of administrative expenses and the pre-payment experience on the mortgage assets. In particular, the yield to maturity on CMO residuals is extremely sensitive to pre-payments on the related underlying mortgage assets in the same manner as an IO class of stripped mortgage-backed securities. See “—Stripped Mortgage Securities.” In addition, if a series of a CMO includes a class that bears interest at an adjustable rate, the yield to maturity on the related CMO residual will also be extremely sensitive to changes in the level of the index upon which interest rate adjustments are based. As described below with respect to stripped mortgage-backed securities, in certain circumstances the Fund may fail to recoup fully its initial investment in a CMO residual. CMO residuals are generally purchased and sold by institutional investors through several investment banking firms acting as brokers or dealers. In addition, CMO residuals may, or pursuant to an exemption therefrom, may not have been registered under the Securities Act. CMO residuals, whether or not registered under the Securities Act, may be subject to certain restrictions on transferability, and may be deemed “illiquid.”
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Credit Risk Transfer Securities. Credit risk transfer securities are fixed- or floating-rate unsecured general obligations issued from time to time by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae or another government-sponsored entity. Typically, such securities are issued at par and have stated final maturities. The securities are structured so that: (i) interest is paid directly by the issuing entity, and (ii) principal is paid by the issuing entity in accordance with the principal payments and default performance of a certain pool of residential mortgage loans acquired by the entity (“reference obligations”). The performance of the securities will be directly affected by the selection of the reference obligations by the entity. Such securities are issued in tranches to which are allocated certain principal repayments and credit losses corresponding to the seniority of the particular tranche. Each tranche of securities will have credit exposure to the reference obligations and the yield to maturity will be directly related to, among other things, the amount and timing of certain defined credit events on the reference obligations, any prepayments by borrowers, and any removals of a reference obligation from the pool.
Credit risk transfer securities are unguaranteed and unsecured debt securities issued by the entity and therefore are not directly linked to or backed by the underlying mortgage loans. As a result, in the event that the entity fails to pay principal or interest on its credit risk transfer securities or goes through a bankruptcy, insolvency or similar proceeding, holders of such credit risk transfer securities have no direct recourse to the underlying mortgage loans and will generally receive recovery on par with other unsecured creditors in such a scenario. The Fund may also invest in credit risk transfer securities that are issued by private entities, such as banks or other financial institutions. Such securities are subject to risks similar to those associated with credit risk transfer securities issued by government-sponsored entities, though they may be less creditworthy than those issued by a government-sponsored entity.
The risks associated with an investment in credit risk transfer securities are different than the risks associated with an investment in mortgage-backed securities subject to a guarantee or the credit support of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or other government-sponsored entities because some or all of the mortgage default or credit risk associated with the underlying mortgage loans is transferred to investors in credit risk transfer securities. As a result, the risk of loss is substantially greater with credit risk transfer securities.
Government Mortgage Pass-Through Securities. Mortgage pass-through securities represent participation interests in pools of residential mortgage loans purchased from individual lenders by an agency, instrumentality or sponsored corporation of the United States government (“Federal Agency”) or originated by private lenders and guaranteed, to the extent provided in such securities, by a Federal Agency. Such securities, which are ownership interests in the underlying mortgage loans, provide for payments (not necessarily in fixed amounts) that are a “pass-through” of the monthly interest and principal payments (including any prepayments) made by the individual borrowers on the pooled mortgage loans, net of any fees paid to the guarantor of such securities and the servicer of the underlying mortgage loans. Under the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008 (the “Reform Act”), which was included as part of Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (the “FHFA”), as conservator or receiver, has the power to repudiate any contract entered into by
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Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac prior to FHFA’s appointment as conservator or receiver, as applicable, if FHFA determines, in its sole discretion, that performance of the contract is burdensome and that repudiation of the contract promotes the orderly administration of Fannie Mae’s or Freddie Mac’s affairs. The Reform Act requires FHFA to exercise its right to repudiate any contract within a reasonable period of time after its appointment as conservator or receiver. FHFA, in its capacity as conservator, has indicated that it has no intention to repudiate the guaranty obligations of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac because FHFA views repudiation as incompatible with the goals of the conservatorship.
The FHFA’s 2014 strategic plan for the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac set forth three strategic goals, including maintaining a safe and sound manner, foreclosure prevention activities and credit availability for new and refinanced mortgages to foster liquid, efficient, competitive and resilient national housing finance markets, reducing taxpayer risk through increasing the role of private capital in the mortgage market, and building a new single-family securitization infrastructure for use by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and adaptable for use by other participants in the secondary market in the future.
Under the FHFA’s “Single Security Initiative,” Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have entered into a joint initiative to develop a common securitization platform for the issuance of uniform mortgage-backed securities (“UMBS”), which would generally align the characteristics of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac participation certificates. In June 2019 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac began issuing UMBS in place of their offerings of “to be announced”- eligible mortgage-backed securities. The long-term effect of the issuance of UMBS on the market for mortgage-backed securities is uncertain.
Long-term, continued operation in government-run conservatorships is not sustainable for Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Each of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has a small capital reserve, is operating on a remaining, finite financial commitment from taxpayers, and cannot rebuild capital under the terms of support from Treasury. Until Congress determines the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the housing finance market, FHFA will continue to serve as conservator. As of the date of this SAI, there have been ongoing discussions regarding the operation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; there can be no assurance as to the outcome of these discussions, nor any prediction about the resulting impact on the U.S. housing or financial markets.
Inverse Floaters. An inverse floater is a type of instrument that bears a floating or variable interest rate that moves in the opposite direction to interest rates generally or the interest rate on another security or index. Changes in interest rates generally, or the interest rate of the other security or index, inversely affect the interest rate paid on the inverse floater, with the result that the inverse floater’s price will be considerably more volatile than that of a fixed-rate bond. Brokers typically create inverse floaters by depositing an income-producing instrument, which may be a mortgage-backed security, in a trust. The trust in turn issues a variable rate security and inverse floaters. The returns on the inverse floaters may be leveraged, increasing substantially their volatility and interest rate sensitivity. The rate at which interest is paid by the trust on an inverse floater may vary by a magnitude that exceeds the magnitude of the change in a reference rate of interest (typically a short term interest rate), and the market prices of inverse floaters may as a result be highly sensitive to changes in interest rates and in prepayment rates on the underlying securities, and may decrease in value significantly when interest rates or prepayment
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rates change. The interest rate for the variable rate security is typically determined by an index or an auction process, while the inverse floater holder receives the balance of the income from the underlying income-producing instrument less an auction fee.
Mortgage Dollar Rolls. A mortgage dollar roll is a transaction in which the Fund sells mortgage-related securities for immediate settlement and simultaneously purchases substantially similar securities for forward settlement at a discount. While the Fund begins accruing interest on the newly purchased securities from the purchase or trade date, it is able to invest the proceeds from the sale of its previously owned securities, which will be used to pay for the new securities. The use of mortgage dollar rolls is a speculative technique involving leverage, and can have an economic effect similar to borrowing money for investment purposes.
Private Mortgage Pass-Through Securities. Private mortgage pass-through securities are structured similarly to the Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage pass-through securities but are issued by domestic and foreign private issuers such as originators of and investors in mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations, mortgage banks, commercial banks, investment banks and special purpose subsidiaries of the foregoing. These securities usually are backed by a pool of conventional fixed rate or adjustable rate mortgage loans. Since private mortgage pass-through securities typically are not guaranteed by an entity having the credit status of Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, such securities generally are structured with one or more types of credit enhancement.
Mortgage assets often consist of a pool of assets representing the obligations of a number of different parties. There are usually fewer properties in a pool of assets backing commercial mortgage-backed securities than in a pool of assets backing residential mortgage-backed securities hence they may be more sensitive to the performance of fewer Mortgage Assets. To lessen the effect of failures by obligors on underlying assets to make payments, those securities may contain elements of credit support, which fall into two categories: (i) liquidity protection and (ii) protection against losses resulting from ultimate default by an obligor on the underlying assets. Liquidity protection refers to the provision of advances, generally by the entity administering the pool of assets, to ensure that the receipt of payments on the underlying pool occurs in a timely fashion. Protection against losses resulting from default ensures ultimate payment of the obligations on at least a portion of the assets in the pool. This protection may be provided through guarantees, insurance policies or letters of credit obtained by the issuer or sponsor from third parties, through various means of structuring the transaction or through a combination of such approaches. The degree of credit support provided for each issue is generally based on historical information respecting the level of credit risk associated with the underlying assets. Delinquencies or losses in excess of those anticipated could adversely affect the return on an investment in a security.
Loan Pool Investments. The Fund may invest in pools of loans through mortgage- or other asset-backed securities, where a trust or other entity issues interests in the loans, some of which interests may be senior to others. Alternatively, the Fund may invest directly in pools of loans, itself or with other clients of the Adviser or their related parties. The Fund’s direct investments in pools of loans present risks that may differ from the Fund’s investments in mortgage- and other asset-backed securities. For example, if it were to invest directly in such a pool without any co-investors, the Fund would incur all losses incurred on the loans acquired in the pool. However, if
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the Fund were to invest in a senior tranche of a mortgage- or other asset-backed security, it might have a more limited exposure to losses on the loans. In connection with the Fund’s direct purchase of certain loan portfolios, the Fund will incur costs, which may include the costs of various diligence-related services. The diligence-related services the Fund may require in connection with such investments may include, without limitation, loan file review, underwriting documentation review, and site visits. The Adviser would typically rely on information and analyses furnished as part of these diligence-related services in determining whether to invest in a particular loan portfolio. The costs associated with investments in a pool of loans may be significant and will reduce the performance contribution of such loans and potentially, the Fund’s performance. The Fund may invest in pools of loans through CDOs and other structured products sponsored or managed by, or otherwise affiliated with, the Adviser or related parties of the Adviser. Such investments may include investments in debt or equity interests issued of the CDO or structured product as well as investments purchased on the secondary market, and the Fund may invest in any tranche of the CDO or structured product, including an equity tranche.
Stripped Mortgage Securities. Stripped mortgage securities may be issued by federal agencies, or by private originators of, or investors in, mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations, mortgage banks, commercial banks, investment banks and special purpose subsidiaries of the foregoing. Stripped mortgage securities issued by federal agencies generally will be treated by the Fund as liquid securities under procedures adopted by the Fund and approved by the Fund’s Board of Trustees (the “Board” or the “Trustees”).
Stripped mortgage securities usually are structured with two classes that receive different proportions of the interest and principal distribution of a pool of mortgage assets. A common type of stripped mortgage security will have one class receiving some of the interest and most of the principal from the mortgage assets, while the other class will receive most of the interest and the remainder of the principal. In the most extreme case, one class will receive all of the interest from the mortgage assets (the interest-only or “IO” class), while the other class will receive all of the principal from the mortgage assets (the principal-only or “PO” class). PO classes generate income through the accretion of the deep discount at which such securities are purchased, and, while PO classes do not receive periodic payments of interest, they receive monthly payments associated with scheduled amortization and principal prepayment from the mortgage assets underlying the PO class. The yield to maturity (the expected rate of return on a bond if held until the end of its lifetime) on a PO or an IO class security is extremely sensitive to the rate of principal payments (including prepayments) on the related underlying mortgage assets. A slower than expected rate of principal payments may have an adverse effect on a PO class security’s yield to maturity. If the underlying mortgage assets experience slower than anticipated principal repayment, the Fund may fail to fully recoup its initial investment in these securities. Conversely, a rapid rate of principal payments may have a material adverse effect on an IO class security’s yield to maturity. If the underlying mortgage assets experience greater than anticipated prepayments or principal, the Fund may fail to fully recoup its initial investment in these securities.
The Fund may purchase stripped mortgage securities for income, or for hedging purposes to protect the Fund’s portfolio against interest rate fluctuations. For example, since an IO class will tend to increase in value as interest rates rise, it may be utilized to hedge against a decrease in value of other fixed-income securities in a rising interest rate environment.
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Privacy and Data Security Laws. U.S. Federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”) and other laws limit the disclosure of certain non-public personal information about a consumer to non-affiliated third parties and require financial institutions to disclose certain privacy policies and practices with respect to information sharing with both affiliates and non-affiliated third parties. Many states and a number of foreign jurisdictions have enacted privacy and data security laws requiring safeguards on the privacy and security of consumers’ personally identifiable information. Other laws deal with obligations to safeguard and dispose of private information in a manner designed to avoid its dissemination.
Privacy rules adopted by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission implement GLBA and other requirements and govern the disclosure of consumer financial information by certain financial institutions, ranging from banks to private investment funds. U.S. platforms following certain models generally are required to have privacy policies that conform to these GLBA and other requirements. In addition, such platforms typically have policies and procedures intended to maintain personal information of consumers securely and dispose of it properly.
Service providers to the Fund, including the Fund’s investment adviser and custodian, and, potentially, the Fund may obtain, hold or process such information in connection with providing services to the Fund. The Fund cannot guarantee the security or confidentiality of that data and cannot guarantee that service providers have been and will continue to comply with GLBA, other data security and privacy laws and any other related regulatory requirements. Violations of GLBA and other laws could subject the Fund to litigation and/or fines, penalties or other regulatory action, which, individually or in the aggregate, could have an adverse effect on the Fund. The Fund may also face regulations related to privacy and data security in the other jurisdictions in which the Fund invests.
Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”)
Exposure to the real estate sector may be gained by investing in a variety of ways, including by investing in REIT securities that trade on an exchange (i.e., the Fund may not purchase REIT securities that do not trade on an exchange) and common, preferred and convertible securities of issuers in real estate-related industries. Each of these types of investments are subject to risks similar to those associated with direct ownership of real estate, including loss to casualty or condemnation, increases in property taxes and operating expenses, zoning law amendments, changes in interest rates, overbuilding and increased competition, variations in market value, and possible environmental liabilities. Real estate-related investments may entail leverage and may be highly volatile. Factors affecting real estate values include the supply of real property in certain markets, changes in zoning laws, delays in completion of construction, changes in real estate values, changes in property taxes, levels of occupancy, adequacy of rent to cover operating expenses, and local and, regional and global market conditions. The value of real estate-related investments also may be affected by changes in interest rates, macroeconomic developments, and social and economic trends.
REITs are pooled investment vehicles that own, and typically operate, income-producing real estate or that hold interests in real estate, such as mortgages. If a REIT meets certain requirements, including distributing to shareholders substantially all of its taxable income (other than net capital gains), then it is not taxed on the income distributed to shareholders. REITs are
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subject to management fees and other expenses, and so the Fund will bear its proportionate share of the costs of the REITs’ operations. There are three general categories of REITs: Equity REITs, Mortgage REITs and Hybrid REITs. Equity REITs, which invest primarily in direct fee ownership or leasehold ownership of real property and derive most of their income from rents, are generally affected by changes in the values of and incomes from the properties they own. Mortgage REITs invest mostly in mortgages on real estate, which may secure, for example, construction, development or long-term loans, and the main source of their income is mortgage interest payments. Mortgage REITs may be affected by the credit quality of the mortgage loans they hold. A hybrid REIT combines the characteristics of equity REITs and mortgage REITs, generally by holding both ownership interests and mortgage interests in real estate, and thus may be subject to risks associated with both real estate ownership and investments in mortgage-related securities. Along with the risks common to different types of real estate-related investments, REITs, no matter the type, involve additional risk factors, including poor performance by the REIT’s manager, adverse changes to the tax laws, and the possible failure by the REIT to qualify for the favorable tax treatment applicable to REITs under the Code or an exemption under the 1940 Act. REITs are not diversified and are heavily dependent on cash flow earned on the property interests they hold.
Mortgage REITs are exposed to the risks specific to the real estate market as well as the risks that relate specifically to the way in which mortgage REITs are organized and operated. Mortgage REITs receive principal and interest payments from the owners of the mortgaged properties. Accordingly, mortgage REITs are subject to the credit risk of the borrowers to whom they extend credit, and are subject to the risks described below under “mortgage-backed securities risk” and “prepayment risk.” Mortgage REITs are also subject to significant interest rate risk. Mortgage REITs typically use leverage and many are highly leveraged, which exposes them to the risks of leverage. Leverage risk refers to the risk that leverage created from borrowing may impair a mortgage REIT’s liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time and increase the volatility of the values of securities issued by the mortgage REIT. The use of leverage may not be advantageous to a mortgage REIT. To the extent that a mortgage REIT incurs significant leverage, it may incur substantial losses if its borrowing costs increase or if the assets it purchases with leverage decrease in value.
The Fund’s investment in a REIT may result in the Fund making distributions that constitute a return of capital to Fund shareholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In addition, distributions attributable to REITs made by the Fund to Fund shareholders will not qualify for the corporate dividends-received deduction, or, generally, for treatment as qualified dividend income.
Foreign and Emerging Market Investments
The Fund may invest in securities issued by a foreign issuer, including emerging market issuers, or by an issuer with significant revenue or other exposure to foreign markets. There may be less information publicly available about a foreign market, issuer, or security than about U.S. markets or a U.S. issuer or security, and foreign issuers may not be subject to accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and practices comparable to those in the United States. In addition,
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there may be less (or less effective) regulation of exchanges, brokers and listed companies in some foreign countries. The securities of some foreign issuers are less liquid and at times more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Foreign brokerage commissions, custodial expenses and other fees are also generally higher than in the United States.
Foreign settlement procedures and trade regulations may be more complex and involve certain risks (such as delay in payment or delivery of securities or in the recovery of the Fund’s assets held abroad) and expenses not present in the settlement of investments in U.S. markets. For example, settlement of transactions involving foreign securities or foreign currencies (see below) may occur within a foreign country, and the Fund may accept or make delivery of the underlying securities or currency in conformity with any applicable U.S. or foreign restrictions or regulations, and may pay fees, taxes or charges associated with such delivery. In addition, local market holidays or other factors may extend the time for settlement of purchases and sales of the Fund’s investments in securities that trade on foreign markets. Such investments may also involve the risk that an entity involved in the settlement may not meet its obligations. Extended settlement cycles or other delays in settlement may increase the Fund’s liquidity risk.
In addition, foreign securities may be subject to the risk of nationalization or expropriation of assets, imposition of currency exchange controls, foreign withholding or other taxes or restrictions on the repatriation of foreign currency, confiscatory taxation, political, social or financial instability and diplomatic developments which could affect the value of the Fund’s investments in certain foreign countries. Dividends or interest on, or proceeds from the sale of, foreign securities may be subject to foreign withholding or other taxes, and special U.S. tax considerations may apply.
Foreign issuers may become subject to sanctions imposed by the U.S. or another country or other governmental or non-governmental organizations, which could result in the immediate freeze of the foreign issuers’ assets or securities, and/or make their securities worthless. The imposition of such sanctions, such as sanctions imposed against Russia, Russian entities and Russian individuals in 2022, could impair the market value of the securities of such foreign issuers and limit the Fund’s ability to buy, sell, receive or deliver the securities. Sanctions, or the threat of sanctions, may cause volatility in regional and global markets and may negatively impact the performance of various sectors and industries, as well as companies in other countries, which could have a negative effect on the performance of the Fund.
Legal remedies available to investors in certain foreign countries may be more limited than those available with respect to investments in the United States or in other foreign countries. The laws of some foreign countries may limit the Fund’s ability to invest in securities of certain issuers organized under the laws of those foreign countries. For example, certain countries may require governmental approval prior to investments by foreign persons or limit the amount of investment by foreign persons in a particular company. Certain countries may also limit investment by foreign persons to only a specific class of securities that may have less advantageous terms, and such securities may be less liquid than other classes of securities of an issuer.
To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a specific geographic region, countries or group of countries, the Fund will have greater exposure to risks associated with such region, country or group of countries. See “Investment Objective and Strategies—Principal Risk Factors—Focused Investment Risk” in the Fund’s most recent annual report on Form N-CSR.
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The risks described above, including the risks of nationalization or expropriation of assets, typically are increased in connection with investments in developing countries, also known as emerging markets. For example, political and economic structures in these countries may be in their infancy and developing rapidly, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristic of more developed countries. Certain of these countries have in the past failed to recognize private property rights and have at times nationalized and expropriated the assets of private companies. In addition, the economies of certain developing or emerging market countries may be dependent on a single industry or limited group of industries, which may increase the risks described above and make those countries particularly vulnerable to global economic and market changes.
There may also be limited counterparties available in developing markets, which may increase the Fund’s credit risks. Foreign government regulations may restrict potential counterparties to certain financial institutions that are located in or operating in a particular country. Such counterparties may not possess creditworthiness standards, financial reporting standards, and legal protections similar to counterparties located in developed markets, which can increase the risk associated with the Fund’s investments in such markets.
The values of foreign securities may be adversely affected by changes in currency exchange rates. This may be because the foreign securities are denominated and/or traded in a foreign currency or because the assets or revenues of an issuer are denominated in a currency different from the issuer’s debt or other obligations. For example, the credit quality of issuers who have outstanding debt denominated in the U.S. dollar, and the values of their debt obligations, may be adversely affected if the value of the U.S. dollar strengthens relative to the value of the currency in which the issuer’s assets or revenues are denominated. In addition, the Fund is required to compute and distribute its income in U.S. dollars. Therefore, if the exchange rate for a foreign currency declines after the Fund’s income has been earned and translated into U.S. dollars (but before payment), the Fund could be required to liquidate portfolio securities to make such distributions. Similarly, if an exchange rate declines between the time the Fund incurs expenses in U.S. dollars and the time such expenses are paid, the amount of such currency required to be converted into U.S. dollars in order to pay such expenses in U.S. dollars will be greater than the equivalent amount in any such currency of such expenses at the time they were incurred. High rates of inflation or currency devaluations may adversely affect the economies and securities markets of such countries and the values of the Fund’s investments in those markets. A foreign government may seek to devalue its currency if it has issued debt in its local currency because any such devaluation reduces the burden on it of repaying its debt obligations. Any devaluation of a currency in which the Fund’s portfolio holdings are denominated will reduce the value of and return on the investment to the Fund when translated into U.S. dollars.
Continuing uncertainty as to the status of the European Economic and Monetary Union (“EMU”) and the potential for certain countries to withdraw from the institution has created significant volatility in currency and financial markets generally. Any partial or complete dissolution of the EU could have significant adverse effects on currency and financial markets, and on the values of the Fund’s portfolio investments. On January 31, 2020, the UK left the EU (commonly known
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as “Brexit”). An agreement between the UK and the EU governing their future trade relationship became effective January 1, 2021, but critical aspects of the relationship remain unresolved and subject to further negotiation and agreement. Brexit has resulted in volatility in European and global markets and could have negative long-term impacts on financial markets in the UK and throughout Europe. There is still considerable uncertainty relating to the potential consequences of the exit, and whether the UK’s exit will increase the likelihood of other countries also departing the EU. During this period of uncertainty, the negative impact on not only the UK and European economies, but the broader global economy, could be significant, potentially resulting in increased market volatility and illiquidity, political, economic, and legal uncertainty, and lower economic growth for companies that rely significantly on Europe for their business activities and revenues. Any further exits from the EU, or the possibility of such exits, or the abandonment of the euro, may cause additional market disruption globally and introduce new legal and regulatory uncertainties.
If one or more EMU countries were to stop using the euro as its primary currency, the Fund’s investments in such countries may be redenominated into a different or newly adopted currency, possibly resulting in the value of those investments declining significantly and unpredictably. In addition, securities or other investments that are redenominated may be subject to liquidity risk and the risk that the Fund may not be able to value investments accurately to a greater extent than similar investments currently denominated in euros. To the extent a currency used for redenomination purposes is not specified in respect of certain EMU-related investments, or should the euro cease to be used entirely, the currency in which such investments are denominated may be unclear, making such investments particularly difficult to value or dispose of. The Fund may incur additional expenses to the extent it is required to seek judicial or other clarification of the denomination or value of such securities.
The currencies of certain emerging market countries have sometimes experienced devaluations relative to the U.S. dollar, and future devaluations may adversely affect the value of assets denominated in such currencies. Many emerging market countries have experienced substantial, and in some periods extremely high, rates of inflation or deflation for many years, and future inflation may adversely affect the economies and securities markets of such countries. When debt and similar obligations issued by foreign issuers are denominated in a currency (e.g., the U.S. dollar or the euro) other than the local currency of the issuer, the subsequent strengthening of the non-local currency against the local currency will generally increase the burden of repayment on the issuer and may increase significantly the risk of default by the issuer.
In addition, unanticipated political or social developments may affect the value of investments in emerging markets and the availability of additional investments in these markets. The small size, limited trading volume and relative inexperience of the securities markets in these countries may make investments in securities traded in emerging markets illiquid and more volatile than investments in securities traded in more developed countries, and the Fund may be required to establish special custodial or other arrangements before making investments in securities traded in emerging markets. There may be little financial or accounting information available with respect to issuers of emerging market securities, and it may be difficult as a result to assess the value or prospects of an investment in such securities.
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American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) as well as other hybrid forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depositary banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer’s home country. The depositary bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing in foreign securities. In addition to investment risks associated with the underlying issuer, ADRs, EDRs, and GDRs (together, “Depositary Receipts”) expose the Fund to additional risks associated with the non-uniform terms that apply to Depositary Receipt programs, credit exposure to the depository bank and to the sponsors and other parties with whom the depository bank establishes the programs, currency risk and the risk of an illiquid market for Depositary Receipts. Unsponsored ADR, EDR and GDR programs are organized independently and without the cooperation of the issuer of the underlying securities. Unsponsored programs generally expose investors to greater risks than sponsored programs and do not provide holders with many of the shareholder benefits that come from investing in a sponsored Depositary Receipt. As a result, available information concerning the issuer may not be as current as for sponsored ADRs, EDRs and GDRs, and the prices of unsponsored ADRs, EDRs and GDRs may be more volatile than if such instruments were sponsored by the issuer. Depositary Receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted.
Foreign securities and emerging markets securities include Global Depositary Notes (“GDNs”). A GDN is a debt instrument created by a bank that evidences ownership of local currency-denominated debt securities. GDNs reflect the terms of particular local currency-denominated bonds. GDNs trade, settle, and pay interest and principal in U.S. dollars but typically are restricted securities that do not trade on an exchange. Any distributions paid to the holders of GDNs are usually subject to a fee charged by the depositary bank. In addition to the risks associated with foreign investments, the Fund’s investments in GDNs are subject to the risks associated with the underlying local currency-denominated bond and derivative instruments including credit risk, default risk, counterparty risk, interest rate risk, leverage risk, liquidity risk, and reliance on the adviser risk. Holders of GDNs may have limited rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the value of GDNs because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert the bonds into GDNs and vice versa. Such restrictions may cause bonds of the underlying issuer to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the GDN.
Certain of the foregoing risks may also apply to some extent to securities of U.S. issuers that are denominated in foreign currencies or that are traded in foreign markets, or securities of U.S. issuers having significant foreign operations or other exposure to foreign markets. If the Fund invests in securities issued by foreign issuers, the Fund may be subject to the risks described above even if all of the Fund’s investments are denominated in USD, especially with respect to issuers whose revenues are principally earned in a foreign currency but whose debt obligations have been issued in USD or other hard currencies.
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Non-U.S. Subcustodians. Rules adopted under the 1940 Act permit the Fund to maintain its non-U.S. securities and cash in the custody of certain eligible non-U.S. banks and securities depositories.
Certain banks in non-U.S. countries may not be eligible sub-custodians for the Fund, in which event the Fund may be precluded from purchasing securities in certain non-U.S. countries in which it otherwise would invest or which may result in the Fund incurring additional costs and delays in providing transportation and custody services for such securities outside of such countries. The Fund may encounter difficulties in effecting on a timely basis portfolio transactions with respect to any securities of issuers held outside their countries. Other banks that are eligible non-U.S. sub-custodians may be recently organized or otherwise lack extensive operating experience. In addition, in certain countries there may be legal restrictions or limitations on the ability of the Fund to recover assets held in custody by non-U.S. sub-custodians in the event of the bankruptcy of the sub-custodian.
Tax Considerations. The Fund’s investments in foreign currency denominated debt obligations and hedging activities will likely produce a difference between its book income and its taxable income. This difference may cause a portion of the Fund’s income distributions to constitute returns of capital for tax purposes or require the Fund to make distributions exceeding book income to qualify as a RIC for U.S. federal tax purposes. For a discussion of the requirements the Fund must meet to qualify as a RIC and the consequences for the Fund’s investments and distributions, see “Tax Matters” below.
Sovereign Debt Obligations
The Fund may invest in sovereign debt, including of emerging market countries. Investors should be aware that certain sovereign debt instruments in which the Fund may invest may involve great risk and may be deemed to be the equivalent in terms of credit quality to securities rated below investment grade by Moody’s, S&P or Fitch.
Sovereign debt may be issued by foreign developed and emerging market governments and their respective sub-divisions, agencies or instrumentalities, government sponsored enterprises and supranational government entities. Supranational entities include international organizations that are organized or supported by one or more government entities to promote economic reconstruction or development and by international banking institutions and related governmental agencies. Investment in sovereign debt can involve a high degree of risk. The governmental entity that controls the repayment of sovereign debt may not be able or willing to repay the principal and/or interest when due in accordance with the terms of the debt. A governmental entity’s willingness or ability to repay principal and interest due in a timely manner may be affected by, among other factors, its cash flow situation, the extent of its foreign currency reserves or its inability to sufficiently manage fluctuations in relative currency valuations, the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of the debt service burden to the economy as a whole, the governmental entity’s policy toward principal international lenders such as the International Monetary Fund, and the political and social constraints to which a governmental entity may be subject. Governmental entities also may depend on expected disbursements from foreign governments, multilateral agencies and others to reduce principal and interest arrearages on their debt. The commitment on
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the part of these governments, agencies and others to make such disbursements may be conditioned on a governmental entity’s implementation of economic reforms and/or economic performance and the timely service of such debtor’s obligations. Failure to implement such reforms, achieve such levels of economic performance or repay principal or interest when due may result in the cancellation of such third parties’ commitments to lend funds to the governmental entity, which may further impair such debtor’s ability or willingness to service its debts in a timely manner. Consequently, governmental entities may decide to default on their sovereign debt in whole or in part. Holders of sovereign debt (including the Fund) may be requested to participate in the rescheduling of such debt and to extend further loans to governmental entities. There is no bankruptcy proceeding through which holders of sovereign debt (including the Fund) may attempt to collect all or a portion of their investment upon a default, which could result in significant losses to the Fund.
The Fund may invest in Brady Bonds, sovereign debt securities created through the exchange of existing commercial bank loans to sovereign entities for new obligations in connection with debt restructurings under a debt restructuring plan. Brady Bonds may be collateralized or uncollateralized, are issued in various currencies (primarily the U.S. dollar) and are actively traded in the over-the-counter secondary market. Investments in Brady Bonds involve various risks associated with investing in sovereign debt securities and may be subject to restructuring arrangements or to requests for new credit, which may cause the Fund to lose interest or principal on holdings consisting of Brady Bonds.
The Fund’s investments in foreign currency denominated debt obligations and hedging activities will likely produce a difference between its book income and its taxable income. This difference may cause a portion of that Fund’s income distributions to constitute returns of capital for tax purposes or require the Fund to make distributions exceeding book income to qualify as a RIC for federal tax purposes. See “Distributions and Taxes” below.
Some of the countries in which the Fund may invest have encountered difficulties in servicing their sovereign debt. Some of these countries have withheld payments of interest and/or principal of sovereign debt. These difficulties have also led to agreements to restructure external debt obligations; in particular, commercial bank loans, typically by rescheduling principal payments, reducing interest rates and extending new credits to finance interest payments on existing debt. Unlike most corporate debt restructurings, the fees and expenses of financial and legal advisers to the creditors in connection with a restructuring may be borne by the holders of the sovereign debt securities instead of the sovereign entity itself. Some sovereign debtors have in the past been able to restructure their debt payments without the approval of some or all debt holders or to declare moratoria on payments, and similar occurrences may happen in the future where holders of sovereign debt may be requested to participate in similar rescheduling of such debt.
The ability or willingness of foreign governments to make timely payments on their sovereign debt is likely to be influenced strongly by a country’s balance of trade and its access to trade and other international credits. A country whose exports are concentrated in a few commodities could be vulnerable to a decline in the international prices of one or more of such commodities. Increased protectionism on the part of a country’s trading partners could also adversely affect its exports. Such events could extinguish a country’s trade account surplus, if any. To the extent that a country receives payment for its exports in currencies other than hard currencies, its ability to make hard currency payments could be affected.
The occurrence of political, social, economic and diplomatic changes in one or more of the countries issuing sovereign debt could adversely affect the Fund’s investments. The countries issuing such instruments may be faced with social and political issues and some of them have experienced high rates of inflation and have extensive internal debt. Among other effects, high
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inflation and internal debt service requirements may adversely affect the cost and availability of future domestic sovereign borrowing to finance governmental programs, and may have other adverse social, political and economic consequences. Political changes or a deterioration of a country’s domestic economy or balance of trade may affect the willingness of countries to service their sovereign debt. There can be no assurance that adverse political changes will not cause the Fund to suffer a loss of interest or principal on any of its holdings.
As a result of all of the foregoing, a government obligor may default on its obligations and/or the values of its obligations may decline significantly. If an event of default occurs, the Fund may have limited legal recourse against the issuer and/or guarantor. Remedies must, in some cases, be pursued in the courts of the defaulting party itself, and the ability of the holder of foreign government debt securities to obtain recourse may be subject to the political climate in the relevant country. Bankruptcy, moratorium and other similar laws designed to protect and enforce the rights of creditors may not apply to issuers of sovereign debt obligations in many jurisdictions may be substantially different from those applicable to issuers of private debt obligations, and/or may be ineffective in enforcing the Fund’s rights or effecting a recovery on the Fund’s investment. In addition, no assurance can be given that the holders of commercial bank debt will not contest payments to the holders of other foreign government debt obligations in the event of default under their commercial bank loan agreements. Periods of economic uncertainty may result in the volatility of market prices of sovereign debt and in turn, the market price of the Fund’s Common Shares, to a greater extent than the volatility inherent in domestic securities. The value of sovereign debt will likely vary inversely with changes in prevailing interest rates, which are subject to considerable variance in the international market.
Yankee Dollar Obligations, Eurobonds, Global Bonds
Certain debt securities purchased by the Fund may take the forms of Yankee dollar obligations, Eurobonds or global bonds. Yankee dollar obligations are U.S. dollar-denominated obligations issued in the U.S. capital markets by foreign issuers, such as corporations and banks. A Eurobond is a bond issued in a currency other than the currency of the country or market in which it is issued. Global bonds are bonds that can be offered within multiple markets simultaneously. Unlike Eurobonds, global bonds can be issued in the local currency of the country of issuance.
Foreign Currency Transactions
The Fund may engage in currency exchange transactions to protect against uncertainty in the level of future foreign currency exchange rates and to increase current return. There can be no assurance that appropriate foreign currency transactions will be available for the Fund at any time or that the Fund will enter into such transactions at any time or under any circumstances even if appropriate transactions are available to it. While foreign currency transactions may be available, the cost of these transactions may be prohibitively expensive so that the Fund may not be able to use them effectively.
The Fund may engage in both transaction hedging and position hedging. When it engages in transaction hedging, the Fund enters into foreign currency transactions with respect to specific receivables or payables of the Fund generally arising in connection with the purchase or sale of
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its portfolio securities. The Fund may engage in transaction hedging when it desires to lock in the U.S. dollar price of a security it has agreed to purchase or sell, or the U.S. dollar equivalent of a dividend or interest payment in a foreign currency. By transaction hedging, the Fund may attempt to protect against a possible loss resulting from an adverse change in the relationship between the U.S. dollar and the applicable foreign currency during the period between the date on which the security is purchased or sold or on which the dividend or interest payment is declared, and the date on which such payments are made or received.
The Fund may purchase or sell a foreign currency on a spot (i.e., cash) basis at the prevailing spot rate in connection with transaction hedging. The Fund may also enter into contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies at a future date (“forward contracts”) and purchase and sell foreign currency futures contracts.
For transaction hedging purposes, the Fund may also purchase exchange-listed and over-the-counter call and put options on foreign currency futures contracts and on foreign currencies. A put option on a futures contract gives the Fund the right to assume a short position in the futures contract until or at expiration of the option. A put option on currency gives the Fund the right to sell a currency at a specified exercise price until or at the expiration of the option. A call option on a futures contract gives the Fund the right to assume a long position in the futures contract until or at the expiration of the option. A call option on currency gives the Fund the right to purchase a currency at the exercise price until or at the expiration of the option. The Fund will engage in over-the-counter (“OTC”) transactions (“OTC Options”) only when appropriate exchange-traded transactions are unavailable and when, in the opinion of the Adviser, the pricing mechanism and liquidity are satisfactory and the participants are responsible parties likely to meet their contractual obligations.
The Fund may engage in foreign currency exchange transactions to protect against a decline in the values of the foreign currencies in which securities held by the Fund are denominated or are quoted in their principal trading markets or an increase in the value of currency for securities which the Fund expects to purchase. In connection with position hedging, the Fund may purchase put or call options on foreign currency and foreign currency futures contracts and buy or sell forward contracts and foreign currency futures contracts. The Fund may also purchase or sell foreign currency on a spot basis.
The precise matching of the amounts of foreign currency exchange transactions and the value of the portfolio securities involved will not generally be possible since the future value of such securities in foreign currencies will change as a consequence of market movements in the values of those securities between the dates the currency exchange transactions are entered into and the dates they mature.
It is impossible to forecast with precision the market value of the Fund’s portfolio securities at the expiration or maturity of a forward or futures contract. Accordingly, it may be necessary for the Fund to purchase additional foreign currency on the spot market (and bear the expense of such purchase) if the market value of the security or securities being hedged is less than the amount of foreign currency the Fund is obligated to deliver and if a decision is made to sell the security or securities and make delivery of the foreign currency. Conversely, it may be necessary to sell on the spot market some of the foreign currency received upon the sale of the portfolio
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security or securities of the Fund if the market value of such security or securities exceeds the amount of foreign currency the Fund is obligated to deliver. To offset some of the costs of hedging against fluctuations in currency exchange rates, the Fund may write call options on those currencies.
Transaction and position hedging do not eliminate fluctuations in the underlying prices of the securities that the Fund owns or intends to purchase or sell. They simply establish a rate of exchange that one can achieve at some future point in time. Additionally, although these techniques tend to minimize the risk of loss due to a decline in the value of the hedged currency, they tend to limit any potential gain which might result from the increase in the value of such currency.
The Fund may also seek to increase its current return by purchasing and selling foreign currency on a spot basis, by purchasing and selling futures contracts on foreign currencies and options on foreign currencies and on foreign currency futures contracts, and by purchasing and selling foreign currency forward contracts.
The value of any currency, including U.S. dollars and foreign currencies, may be affected by complex political, social, and economic factors applicable to the issuing country. In addition, the exchange rates of foreign currencies (and therefore the values of foreign currency options, forward contracts, and futures contracts) may be affected significantly, fixed, or supported directly or indirectly by U.S. and foreign government actions. Government intervention may increase risks involved in purchasing or selling foreign currency options, forward contracts, and futures contracts, since exchange rates may not be free to fluctuate in response to other market forces. Foreign governmental restrictions or taxes could result in adverse changes in the cost of acquiring or disposing of foreign currencies.
Currency Forward and Futures Contracts. A forward foreign currency exchange contract involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract as agreed by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. In the case of a cancelable forward contract, the holder has the unilateral right to cancel the contract at maturity by paying a specified fee. The contracts are traded in the interbank market conducted directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. A deliverable forward contract generally has no deposit requirement, and no commissions are charged at any stage for trades. A foreign currency futures contract is a standardized contract for the future delivery of a specified amount of a foreign currency at a future date at a price set at the time of the contract. Foreign currency futures contracts traded in the United States are designed by and traded on exchanges regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”), such as the New York Mercantile Exchange or Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
The Fund may enter into foreign currency forward contracts in order to protect against the risk that the U.S. dollar value of the Fund’s dividends, interest, net realized capital gains, sales proceeds or investments denominated in foreign currency will decline, including to the extent of any devaluation of the currency during the intervals between (a) (i) the time the Fund becomes entitled to receive or receives dividends, interest, net realized capital gains or sales proceeds or (ii) the time an investor gives notice of a requested redemption of a certain amount and (b) the time such amount(s) are converted into U.S. dollars for remittance out of the particular country or countries.
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Forward foreign currency exchange contracts differ from foreign currency futures contracts in certain respects. For example, the maturity date of a forward contract may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties, rather than a predetermined date in a given month. Forward contracts may be in any amounts agreed upon by the parties rather than predetermined amounts. Also, deliverable forward foreign exchange contracts are traded directly between currency traders so that no intermediary is required. A forward contract generally requires no margin or other deposit.
At the maturity of a forward or futures contract, generally the Fund may either accept or make delivery of the currency specified in the contract, or at or prior to maturity enter into a closing transaction involving the purchase or sale of an offsetting contract. Closing transactions with respect to forward contracts are usually effected with the currency trader who is a party to the original forward contract. Closing transactions with respect to futures contracts are effected on a commodities exchange; a clearing corporation associated with the exchange assumes responsibility for closing out such contracts.
Positions in foreign currency futures contracts and related options may be closed out only on an exchange or board of trade which provides a market in such contracts or options. Although the Fund will normally purchase or sell foreign currency futures contracts and related options only on exchanges or boards of trade where there appears to be an active market, there is no assurance that a market on an exchange or board of trade will exist for any particular contract or option or at any particular time. In such event, it may not be possible to close a futures or related option position and, in the event of adverse price movements, the Fund would continue to be required to make daily cash payments of variation margin on its futures positions.
Foreign Currency Options. Options on foreign currencies operate similarly to options on securities, and are traded primarily in the over-the-counter market, although options on foreign currencies are listed on several exchanges. Such options will be purchased or written only when the Adviser believes that a liquid secondary market exists for such options. There can be no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for a particular option at any specific time. Options on foreign currencies are affected by all of those factors which influence exchange rates and investments generally.
The value of a foreign currency option is dependent upon the value of the foreign currency and the U.S. dollar, and may have no relationship to the investment merits of a foreign security. Because foreign currency transactions occurring in the interbank market involve substantially larger amounts than those that may be involved in the use of foreign currency options, investors may be disadvantaged by having to deal in an odd lot market (generally consisting of transactions of less than $1 million) for the underlying foreign currencies at prices that are less favorable than for round lots.
There is no systematic reporting of last-sale information for foreign currencies and there is no regulatory requirement that quotations available through dealers or other market sources be firm or revised on a timely basis. Available quotation information is generally representative of very
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large transactions in the interbank market and thus may not reflect relatively smaller transactions (less than $1 million) where rates may be less favorable. The interbank market in foreign currencies is a global, around-the-clock market. To the extent that the U.S. options markets are closed while the markets for the underlying currencies remain open, significant price and rate movements may take place in the underlying markets that cannot be reflected in the U.S. options markets.
Foreign Currency Conversion. Although foreign exchange dealers do not charge a fee for currency conversion, they do realize a profit based on the difference (the “spread”) between prices at which they buy and sell various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency to the Fund at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the Fund desire to resell that currency to the dealer.
Tax Consequences of Hedging. Regulations that may be issued in the future could limit the ability of the Fund to enter into the foreign currency transactions described above. Under applicable tax law, the Fund may be required to limit its gains from hedging in such transactions. The extent to which these limits apply is subject to tax regulations as yet unissued. Hedging also may result in the application of the mark-to-market and straddle provisions of the Code. Those provisions could result in an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by the Fund and could affect whether dividends paid by the Fund are classified as capital gains or ordinary income. For further discussion of the tax consequences of the Fund’s hedging, see “Tax Matters” below.
Foreign Currency Exchange-Related Securities
Foreign Currency Warrants. Foreign currency warrants such as Currency Exchange Warrants are warrants which entitle the holder to receive from their issuer an amount of cash (generally, for warrants issued in the United States, in U.S. dollars) which is calculated pursuant to a predetermined formula and based on the exchange rate between a specified foreign currency and the U.S. dollar as of the exercise date of the warrant. Foreign currency warrants generally are exercisable upon their issuance and expire as of a specified date and time. Foreign currency warrants have been issued in connection with U.S. dollar-denominated debt offerings by major corporate issuers in an attempt to reduce the foreign currency exchange risk which, from the point of view of prospective purchasers of the securities, is inherent in the international fixed-income marketplace. Foreign currency warrants may reduce the foreign exchange risk assumed by purchasers of a security by, for example, providing for a supplemental payment in the event that the U.S. dollar depreciates against the value of a major foreign currency such as the Japanese yen or the euro. The formula used to determine the amount payable upon exercise of a foreign currency warrant may make the warrant worthless unless the applicable foreign currency exchange rate moves in a particular direction (e.g., unless the U.S. dollar appreciates or depreciates against the particular foreign currency to which the warrant is linked or indexed). Foreign currency warrants are severable from the debt obligations with which they may be offered, and may be listed on exchanges. Foreign currency warrants may be exercisable only in certain minimum amounts, and an investor wishing to exercise warrants who possesses less than the minimum number required for exercise may be required either to sell the warrants or to purchase additional warrants, thereby incurring additional transaction costs. In the case of any exercise of warrants, there may be a time delay between the time a holder of warrants gives
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instructions to exercise and the time the exchange rate relating to exercise is determined, during which time the exchange rate could change significantly, thereby affecting both the market and cash settlement values of the warrants being exercised. The expiration date of the warrants may be accelerated if the warrants should be delisted from an exchange or if their trading should be suspended permanently, which would result in the loss of any remaining “time value” of the warrants (i.e., the difference between the current market value and the exercise value of the warrants), and, in the case the warrants were “out-of-the-money,” in a total loss of the purchase price of the warrants. Warrants are generally unsecured obligations of their issuers and are not standardized foreign currency options issued by the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”). Unlike foreign currency options issued by OCC, the terms of foreign exchange warrants generally will not be amended in the event of governmental or regulatory actions affecting exchange rates or in the event of the imposition of other regulatory controls affecting the international currency markets. The initial public offering (“IPO”) price of foreign currency warrants is generally considerably in excess of the price that a commercial user of foreign currencies might pay in the interbank market for a comparable option involving significantly larger amounts of foreign currencies. Foreign currency warrants are subject to significant foreign exchange risk, including risks arising from complex political or economic factors.
Principal Exchange Rate Linked Securities. Principal exchange rate linked securities (“PERL”) are debt obligations the principal on which is payable at maturity in an amount that may vary based on the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and a particular foreign currency at or about that time. The return on “standard” PERL is enhanced if the foreign currency to which the security is linked appreciates against the U.S. dollar, and is adversely affected by increases in the foreign exchange value of the U.S. dollar; “reverse” PERLs are like the “standard” securities, except that their return is enhanced by increases in the value of the U.S. dollar and adversely impacted by increases in the value of foreign currency. Interest payments on the securities are generally made in U.S. dollars at rates that reflect the degree of foreign currency risk assumed or given up by the purchaser of the notes (i.e., at relatively higher interest rates if the purchaser has assumed some of the foreign exchange risk, or relatively lower interest rates if the issuer has assumed some of the foreign exchange risk, based on the expectations of the current market). PERLs may in limited cases be subject to acceleration of maturity (generally, not without the consent of the holders of the securities), which may have an adverse impact on the value of the principal payment to be made at maturity.
Performance Indexed Paper. Performance indexed paper (“PIPsSM”) is U.S. dollar-denominated commercial paper the yield of which is linked to certain foreign exchange rate movements. The yield to the investor on PIPsSM is established at maturity as a function of spot exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and a designated currency as of or about that time (generally, the index maturity two days prior to maturity). The yield to the investor will be within a range stipulated at the time of purchase of the obligation, generally with a guaranteed minimum rate of return that is below, and a potential maximum rate of return that is above, market yields on U.S. dollar-denominated commercial paper, with both the minimum and maximum rates of return on the investment corresponding to the minimum and maximum values of the spot exchange rate two business days prior to maturity.
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U.S. Government Securities
Some U.S. Government securities, such as Treasury bills, notes, and bonds and mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Ginnie Mae, are supported by the full faith and credit of the United States; others are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury; others are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. Government to purchase the agency’s obligations; still others are supported only by the credit of the issuing agency, instrumentality, or enterprise. Although U.S. Government-sponsored enterprises, may be chartered or sponsored by Congress, they are not funded by Congressional appropriations, their securities are not issued by the U.S. Treasury, and their obligations are not supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.
In addition, certain governmental entities have been subject to regulatory scrutiny regarding their accounting policies and practices and other concerns that may result in legislation, changes in regulatory oversight and/or other consequences that could adversely affect the credit quality, availability or investment character of securities issued or guaranteed by these entities, and so investments in their securities or obligations issued by them involve greater risk than investments in other types of U.S. Government securities. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Government will provide financial support to its agencies and sponsored entities if it is not obligated by law to do so.
The events surrounding the U.S. federal government debt ceiling and any resulting agreement (and similar political, economic and other developments) could adversely affect the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. For example, a downgrade of the long-term sovereign credit rating of the U.S. could increase volatility in both stock and bond markets, result in higher interest rates and lower U.S. Treasury prices and increase the costs of all kinds of debt. These events and similar events in other areas of the world could have significant adverse effects on the economy generally and could result in significant adverse impacts on issuers of securities held by the Fund and the Fund itself. The Adviser cannot predict the effects of these or similar events in the future on the U.S. economy and securities markets or on the Fund’s portfolio.
From time to time, uncertainty regarding the status of negotiations in the U.S. Government to increase the statutory debt ceiling could: increase the risk that the U.S. Government may default on payments on certain U.S. Government securities; cause the credit rating of the U.S. Government to be downgraded or increase volatility in both stock and bond markets; result in higher interest rates; reduce prices of U.S. Treasury securities; and/or increase the costs of certain kinds of debt.
The Adviser may not timely anticipate or manage existing, new or additional risks, contingencies or developments. In recent periods, the values of U.S. Government securities have been affected substantially by increased demand for them around the world. Changes in the demand for U.S. Government securities may occur at any time and may result in increased volatility in the values of those securities. In recent years, credit rating agencies have shown some concern about whether the U.S. Government has the political will necessary to service all of its outstanding and expected future debt, and some have adjusted their ratings or outlook for U.S. government debt accordingly. These developments, and the factors underlying them, could cause an increase in interest rates and borrowing costs, which may negatively impact both the perception of credit risk associated with the debt securities issued by the U.S. and the government’s ability to access the debt markets on favorable terms. In addition, these developments could create broader financial turmoil and uncertainty, which could increase volatility in both stock and bond markets. These events could result in significant adverse impacts on issuers of securities held by the Fund.
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U.S. Government securities include securities that have no coupons, or have been stripped of their unmatured interest coupons, individual interest coupons from such securities that trade separately, and evidences of receipt of such securities. Such securities may pay no cash income, and are purchased at a deep discount from their value at maturity. See “— Zero-Coupon Bonds, Step-Ups and Payment-In-Kind Securities” below. Custodial receipts issued in connection with so-called trademark zero-coupon securities, such as Certificates of Accrual on Treasury Securities, are not issued by the U.S. Treasury, and are therefore not U.S. Government securities, although the underlying bond represented by such receipt is a debt obligation of the U.S. Treasury.
While some U.S. Government securities are guaranteed as to principal and interest, their market value is not guaranteed. U.S. Government securities are subject to the same interest rate and credit risks as are other debt securities. The U.S. Government does not guarantee the NAV or market value of the Fund’s Common Shares. The U.S. Government’s ability to borrow money or otherwise finance its obligations, including as a result of legislatively-imposed limits on the amount of money it may borrow, could cause the values of U.S. Government securities, including those of the U.S. Government’s agencies and instrumentalities (“Agency Securities”) and other government-sponsored enterprises, to decline.
Municipal Bonds
Municipal bonds are investments of any maturity issued by states, public authorities or political subdivisions to raise money for public purposes; they include, for example, general obligations of a state or other government entity supported by its taxing powers to acquire and construct public facilities, or to provide temporary financing in anticipation of the receipt of taxes and other revenue. They also include obligations of states, public authorities or political subdivisions to finance privately owned or operated facilities or public facilities financed solely by enterprise revenues. Changes in law or adverse determinations by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) or a state tax authority could cause the income from some of these obligations to become taxable.
Short-term municipal bonds are generally issued by state and local governments and public authorities as interim financing in anticipation of tax collections, revenue receipts or bond sales to finance such public purposes.
Certain types of private activity bonds may be issued by public authorities to finance projects such as privately operated housing facilities; certain local facilities for supplying water, gas or electricity; sewage or solid waste disposal facilities; student loans; or public or private institutions for the construction of educational, hospital, housing and other facilities. Such obligations are included within the term municipal bonds if the interest paid thereon is, in the opinion of bond counsel, exempt from U.S. federal income tax and state personal income tax (such interest may, however, be subject to federal alternative minimum tax). Other types of private activity bonds, the proceeds of which are used for the construction, repair or improvement of, or to obtain equipment for, privately operated industrial or commercial facilities, may also constitute municipal bonds, although current federal tax laws place substantial limitations on the size of such issues.
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The Fund does not expect to qualify to pass through to shareholders the tax-exempt character of interest on municipal bonds. The Fund may also invest in certain types of municipal bonds that are not tax-exempt, such as Build America Bonds. See “—Tax Credit Bonds” and “—Build America Bonds” below.
Participation interests. The Fund may invest in municipal bonds either by purchasing them directly or by purchasing certificates of accrual or similar instruments evidencing direct ownership of interest payments or principal payments, or both, on municipal bonds, provided that, in the opinion of counsel, any discount accruing on a certificate or instrument that is purchased at a yield not greater than the coupon rate of interest on the related municipal bonds will be exempt from U.S. federal income tax to the same extent as interest on the municipal bonds. The Fund may also invest in municipal bonds by purchasing from banks participation interests in all or part of specific holdings of municipal bonds. These participations may be backed in whole or in part by an irrevocable letter of credit or guarantee of the selling bank. The selling bank may receive a fee from the Fund in connection with the arrangement.
Stand-by commitments. If the Fund purchases municipal bonds, it has the authority to acquire stand-by commitments from banks and broker-dealers with respect to those municipal bonds. A stand-by commitment may be considered a security independent of the municipal bond to which it relates. The amount payable by a bank or dealer during the time a stand-by commitment is exercisable, absent unusual circumstances, would be substantially the same as the market value of the underlying municipal bond to a third party at any time. It is expected that stand-by commitments generally will be available without the payment of direct or indirect consideration.
Yields. The yields on municipal bonds depend on a variety of factors, including general money market conditions, effective marginal tax rates, the financial condition of the issuer, general conditions of the municipal bond market, the size of a particular offering, the maturity of the obligation and the rating of the issue. The ratings assigned by NRSROs represent their opinions as to the credit quality of the municipal bonds that they undertake to rate. It should be emphasized, however, that ratings are general and are not absolute standards of quality. Consequently, municipal bonds with the same maturity and interest rate but with different ratings may have the same yield. Yield disparities may occur for reasons not directly related to the investment quality of particular issues or the general movement of interest rates and may be due to such factors as changes in the overall demand or supply of various types of municipal bonds or changes in the investment objectives of investors. Subsequent to purchase by the Fund, an issue of municipal bonds or other investments may cease to be rated or its rating may be reduced. Neither event will require the elimination of an investment from the Fund’s portfolio, but the Adviser will consider such an event in its determination of whether the Fund should continue to hold an investment in its portfolio.
Moral obligation bonds. The Fund may invest in so-called moral obligation bonds, where repayment is backed by a moral commitment of an entity other than the issuer, if the credit of the issuer itself, without regard to the moral obligation, meets the investment criteria established for investments by the Fund.
Municipal leases. The Fund may acquire participations in lease obligations or installment purchase contract obligations (collectively, “lease obligations”) of municipal authorities or
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entities. Lease obligations do not constitute general obligations of the municipality for which the municipality’s taxing power is pledged. Certain of these lease obligations contain non-appropriation clauses, which provide that the municipality has no obligation to make lease or installment purchase payments in future years unless money is appropriated for such purpose on a yearly basis. In the case of a non-appropriation lease, the Fund’s ability to recover under the lease in the event of non-appropriation or default will be limited solely to the repossession of the leased property, and in any event, foreclosure of that property might prove difficult.
Pre-refunded municipal bonds. The Fund may invest in pre-refunded municipal bonds, which are a type of municipal bond where the issuer, prior to final maturity of the bond, has set aside high-quality debt instruments in a designated escrow account to fund in full the payment of the amount owed at final maturity to a call date on or before the final maturity of principal and remain outstanding in the municipal market. The payment of principal and interest of the pre-refunded municipal bonds held by the Fund is funded from the securities in the designated escrow account, which typically holds U.S. Treasury securities or other obligations of the U.S. government, including Agency Securities. Pre-refunded municipal bonds usually will bear an AAA rating (if a re-rating has been requested and paid for) because they typically are backed by the U.S. Treasury or Agency Securities. As the payment of principal and interest is generated from securities held in a designated escrow account, the pledge of the municipality has been fulfilled and the original pledge of revenue by the municipality is no longer in place. The escrow account securities pledged to pay the principal and interest of the pre-refunded municipal bonds held by the Fund nonetheless still subject the Fund to interest rate risk and market risk. In addition, while a secondary market exists for pre-refunded municipal bonds, if the Fund sells pre-refunded municipal bonds prior to maturity, the price received may be more or less than the original cost, depending on market conditions at the time of sale. The interest on pre-refunded bonds issued on or before December 31, 2017 is exempt from U.S. federal income tax; the interest on such bonds issued after December 31, 2017 is not exempt for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Revenue Bonds. The Fund may invest in revenue bonds, which are a type of municipal bond payable only from the revenues derived from a particular facility, a class of facilities or, in some cases, from the proceeds of a special excise tax or other specific revenue source. Revenue bonds have been issued to fund a wide variety of capital projects including: electric, gas, water, and sewer systems; highways, bridges and tunnels; port and airport facilities; colleges and universities; hospitals; and other infrastructure assets or projects. Although some of these obligations may be unsecured, municipal bonds may provide security in the form of a debt service reserve fund the assets of which may be used to make principal and interest payments on the issuer’s obligations. In addition to a debt service reserve fund, some authorities provide further security in the form of a state’s ability (without obligation) to make up deficiencies in the debt reserve fund.
Because revenue bonds are typically payable only from revenue generated by the facility, class of facilities, facility operator, or special excise tax proceeds for payment of interest and principal, rather than the credit of the state or local government authority issuing the bonds, revenue bonds may be subject to greater credit risk than general obligations because of the relatively limited source of revenue. Industry-specific conditions may also affect the investment quality and value of revenue bonds.
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Build America Bonds. The Fund may invest in Build America Bonds, which are taxable municipal bonds with federal subsidies for a portion of the issuer’s borrowing costs. Build America Bonds were issued through the Build America Bond program, which was created as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The objective of the program was to reduce the borrowing costs of state and local governments. Because the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was not extended beyond its expiration date on December 31, 2010, tax subsidies (if any) will not apply to Build America Bonds issued following such date. However, Build America Bonds outstanding and issued before such date remain eligible for the federal interest rate subsidy, which is expected to continue for the life of the Build America Bonds.
Tax Credit Bonds. If the Fund holds, directly or indirectly, one or more “tax credit bonds,” issued on or before December 31, 2017, such as Build America Bonds issued before January 1, 2011, on one or more applicable dates during a taxable year, it is possible that the Fund will elect to permit its shareholders to claim a tax credit on their income tax returns equal to each shareholder’s proportionate share of tax credits from the applicable bonds that otherwise would be allowed to the Fund. In such a case, a shareholder will be deemed to receive a distribution of money with respect to its Fund shares equal to the shareholder’s proportionate share of the amount of such credits and be allowed a credit against the shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability equal to the amount of such deemed distribution, subject to certain limitations imposed by the Code on the credits involved. Even if the Fund is eligible to pass through such tax credits to shareholders, the Fund may choose not to do so.
Inverse Floaters. Inverse floaters are typically created by brokers by depositing an income-producing instrument in a trust. The trust in turn issues a variable rate security and inverse floaters. The interest rate on the short-term component is reset by an index or auction process normally every seven to 35 days, while the inverse floater holder receives the balance of the income from the underlying Municipal Bond less an auction fee. Therefore, rising short-term interest rates result in lower income for the inverse floater, and vice versa. An investment in inverse floaters typically will involve greater risk than an investment in a fixed rate bond. Inverse floaters have interest rates that bear an inverse relationship to the interest rate on another security or the value of an index. Because increases in the interest rate on the other security or index reduce the residual interest paid on an inverse floater, the value of an inverse floater is generally more volatile than that of a fixed rate bond. Inverse floaters have interest rate adjustment formulas that generally reduce or, in the extreme, eliminate the interest paid to the Fund when short-term interest rates rise, and increase the interest paid to the Fund when short-term interest rates fall. Inverse floaters have varying degrees of liquidity, and the market price for these securities is volatile. Inverse floaters can be very volatile and may be less liquid than other bonds of comparable maturity. These securities will generally underperform the market of fixed rate bonds in a rising interest rate environment, but tend to outperform the market of fixed rate bonds when interest rates decline or remain relatively stable. Although volatile, inverse floaters typically offer the potential for yields exceeding the yields available on fixed rate bonds with comparable credit quality, coupon, call provisions and maturity. Investing in inverse floaters may have the result of increasing the Fund’s leverage. Trusts in which inverse floaters may be held could be terminated, in which case the residual bond holder would take possession of the underlying bond(s) on an unleveraged basis.
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Additional risks. Securities in which the Fund may invest, including municipal bonds, are subject to the provisions of bankruptcy, insolvency and other laws affecting the rights and remedies of creditors, such as the federal Bankruptcy Code (including special provisions related to municipalities and other public entities), and laws, if any, that may be enacted by Congress or state legislatures extending the time for payment of principal or interest, or both, or imposing other constraints upon enforcement of such obligations. There is also the possibility that, as a result of litigation or other conditions, such as the recent bankruptcy-type proceedings by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the power, ability or willingness of issuers to meet their obligations for the payment of interest and principal on their municipal bonds may be materially affected or their obligations may be found to be invalid or unenforceable. Such litigation or conditions may from time to time have the effect of introducing uncertainties in the market for municipal bonds or certain segments thereof, or of materially affecting the credit risk with respect to particular bonds. Adverse economic, business, legal or political developments might affect all or a substantial portion of the Fund’s municipal bonds in the same manner.
From time to time, proposals have been introduced before Congress for the purpose of restricting or eliminating the U.S. federal income tax exemption for interest on debt obligations issued by states and their political subdivisions. Federal tax laws limit the types and amounts of tax-exempt bonds issuable for certain purposes, especially industrial development bonds and private activity bonds. Such limits may affect the future supply and yields of these types of municipal bonds. Further proposals limiting the issuance of municipal bonds may well be introduced in the future.
Private Investment in Public Companies (“PIPEs”).
The Fund may invest in PIPE transactions. In a typical PIPE transaction, the Fund will acquire stock of a company (such as convertible notes or convertible preferred stock) that is convertible into common stock through a private placement pursuant to Regulation D. The issuer’s common stock is usually publicly traded on a U.S. securities exchange or in the OTC markets, but the securities that are acquired in the PIPE transaction are not registered and will be subject to restrictions on their resale. Due to the potentially illiquid nature of such securities, the purchase price in a PIPE transaction will typically be fixed at a discount to the prevailing market price of the issuer’s common stock at the time of the transaction. As part of a PIPE transaction, the issuer will generally be contractually obligated to seek to register the securities under the U.S. securities laws within an agreed upon period of time after the PIPE transaction. However, the Fund may not be able to sell its shares until that registration process is completed. PIPE transactions are subject to the risk that the issuer may be unable to register the securities for public resale in a timely manner, or at all, in which case the securities could be sold only in a privately negotiated transaction and, potentially, at a price less than that paid by the Fund. Disposing of such securities may involve negotiation and legal expenses. Even if such securities are registered for public sale, the resulting market for the securities may be thin or illiquid, which could make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of such securities at an acceptable price.
Corporate Debt Securities
Bonds and related debt obligations of varying maturities issued by U.S. and foreign corporations and other business entities may include corporate bonds, debentures, notes and other similar corporate debt instruments, including convertible securities. Bonds are fixed or variable rate debt
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obligations, including bills, notes, debentures, money market instruments and similar instruments and securities. Bonds generally are used by corporations and other issuers to borrow money from investors. The issuer pays the investor a rate of interest and normally must repay the amount borrowed on or before maturity. The rate of interest on a corporate debt security may be fixed, floating or variable, and may vary inversely with respect to a reference rate. The rate of return or return of principal on some debt obligations may be linked or indexed to the level of exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and a foreign currency or currencies. Debt securities may be acquired with warrants attached. Certain bonds are “perpetual” in that they have no maturity date.
The Fund’s investments in corporate debt securities are subject to a number of risks described in the Prospectus and elaborated upon elsewhere in this section of the SAI, including interest rate risk, credit risk, below investment grade/high yield risk, issuer risk, foreign investing risk, inflation/deflation risk, liquidity risk, and portfolio management risk.
Tender Option Bonds
In a tender option bond transaction (“TOB”), a tender option bond trust (“TOB Trust”) issues floating rate certificates (“TOB Floater”) and residual interest certificates (“TOB Residual”) and utilizes the proceeds of such issuance to purchase a fixed-rate municipal bond (“Fixed Rate Bond”) that either is owned or identified by the Fund. The TOB Floater is generally issued to investors (typically a money market fund) and the TOB Residual is generally issued to other investors, including, potentially, the Fund, that may have sold or identified the Fixed Rate Bond. The TOB Trust divides the income stream provided by the Fixed Rate Bond to create two securities, the TOB Floater, which is a short-term security, and the TOB Residual, which is a longer-term security. The interest rates payable on the TOB Residual bear an inverse relationship to the interest rate on the TOB Floater. The interest rate on the TOB Floater is reset by a remarketing process typically every 7 to 35 days. After income is paid on the TOB Floater at current rates, the residual income from the Fixed Rate Bond goes to the TOB Residual. Therefore, rising short-term rates result in lower income for the TOB Residual, and vice versa.
In the case of a TOB Trust that utilizes the cash received (less transaction expenses) from the issuance of the TOB Floater and TOB Residual to purchase the Fixed Rate Bond from the Fund, the Fund may then invest the cash received in additional securities, generating leverage for the Fund. Other DoubleLine-managed accounts may also contribute municipal bonds to a TOB Trust into which the Fund has contributed Fixed Rate Bonds. If multiple DoubleLine-managed accounts participate in the same TOB Trust, the economic rights and obligations under the TOB Residual will be shared among the funds ratably in proportion to their participation in the TOB Trust.
The TOB Residual may be more volatile and less liquid than other municipal bonds of comparable maturity. In most circumstances the TOB Residual holder bears substantially all of the underlying Fixed Rate Bond’s downside investment risk and also benefits from any appreciation in the value of the underlying Fixed Rate Bond. Investments in a TOB Residual typically will involve greater risk than investments in Fixed Rate Bonds.
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A TOB Residual held by the Fund may provide the Fund with the right to: (1) cause the holders of the TOB Floater to tender their notes at par, and (2) cause the sale of the Fixed-Rate Bond held by the TOB Trust, thereby collapsing the TOB Trust. TOB Trusts are generally supported by a liquidity facility provided by a third party bank or other financial institution (the “Liquidity Provider”) that provides for the purchase of TOB Floaters that cannot be remarketed. The holders of the TOB Floaters have the right to tender their certificates in exchange for payment of par plus accrued interest on a periodic basis (typically weekly) or on the occurrence of certain mandatory tender events. The tendered TOB Floaters are remarketed by a remarketing agent, which is typically an affiliated entity of the Liquidity Provider. If the TOB Floaters cannot be remarketed, the TOB Floaters are purchased by the TOB Trust either from the proceeds of a loan from the Liquidity Provider or from a liquidation of the Fixed Rate Bond.
The TOB Trust may also be collapsed without the consent of the Fund, as the TOB Residual holder, upon the occurrence of certain “tender option termination events” (or “TOTEs”) as defined in the TOB Trust agreements. Such termination events typically include the bankruptcy or default of the issuer of the municipal bond, a substantial downgrade in credit quality of the municipal bond (or issuer thereof), or a judgment or ruling that interest on the Fixed Rate Bond is subject to U.S. federal income taxation. Upon the occurrence of a termination event, the TOB Trust would generally be liquidated in full with the proceeds typically applied first to any accrued fees owed to the trustee, remarketing agent and liquidity provider, and then to the holders of the TOB Floater up to par plus accrued interest owed on the TOB Floater and a portion of gain share, if any, with the balance paid out to the TOB Residual holder. In the case of a mandatory termination event, after the payment of fees, the TOB Floater holders would be paid before the TOB Residual holders (i.e., the Fund). In contrast, in the case of a TOTE, after payment of fees, the TOB Floater holders and the TOB Residual holders would be paid pro rata in proportion to the respective face values of their certificates.
In December 2013, regulators finalized rules implementing Section 619 (the “Volcker Rule”) and Section 941 (the “Risk Retention Rules”) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”). Both the Volcker Rule and the Risk Retention Rules apply to tender option bond programs. The Volcker Rule precludes banking entities from (i) sponsoring or acquiring interests in the trusts used to hold a municipal bond in the creation of TOB Trusts; and (ii) continuing to service or maintain relationships with existing programs involving TOB Trusts to the same extent and in the same capacity as existing programs. The Risk Retention Rules require the sponsor to a TOB Trust (e.g., the Fund) to retain at least five percent of the credit risk of the underlying assets supporting the TOB Trust’s municipal bonds. The Risk Retention Rules may adversely affect the Fund’s ability to engage in TOB trust transactions or increase the costs of such transactions in certain circumstances.
In response to these rules, industry participants explored various structuring alternatives for TOB Trusts and agreed on a new tender option bond structure in which the Fund may hire service providers to assist with establishing, structuring and sponsoring a TOB Trust. Service providers to a TOB Trust, such as administrators, liquidity providers, trustees and remarketing agents act at the direction of, and as agent of, the Fund as the TOB residual holders.
Under the new TOB Trust structure, the Liquidity Provider or remarketing agent will no longer purchase the tendered TOB Floaters, even in the event of failed remarketing. This may increase
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the likelihood that a TOB Trust will need to be collapsed and liquidated in order to purchase the tendered TOB Floaters. The TOB Trust may draw upon a loan from the Liquidity Provider to purchase the tendered TOB Floaters. Any loans made by the Liquidity Provider will be secured by the purchased TOB Floaters held by the TOB Trust and will be subject to an interest rate agreed with the Liquidity Provider.
Convertible Securities
The Fund may invest in convertible securities. Convertible securities include bonds, debentures, notes, preferred stock and other securities that may be converted into or exchanged for, at a specific price or formula within a particular period of time, a prescribed amount of common stock or other equity securities of the same or a different issuer. Convertible securities may entitle the holder to receive interest paid or accrued on debt or dividends paid or accrued on preferred stock until the security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged.
The market value of a convertible security is a function of its investment value and its conversion value. A security’s investment value represents the value of the security without its conversion feature (i.e., a nonconvertible fixed income security). The investment value may be determined by reference to its credit quality and the current value of its yield to maturity or probable call date. At any given time, investment value is dependent upon such factors as the general level of interest rates, the yield of similar nonconvertible securities, the financial strength of the issuer and the seniority of the security in the issuer’s capital structure. A security’s conversion value is determined by multiplying the number of shares the holder is entitled to receive upon conversion or exchange by the current price of the underlying security.
If the conversion value of a convertible security is significantly below its investment value, the convertible security generally trades like nonconvertible debt or preferred stock and its market value will not be influenced greatly by fluctuations in the market price of the underlying security. Conversely, if the conversion value of a convertible security is near or above its investment value, the market value of the convertible security is typically more heavily influenced by fluctuations in the market price of the underlying security. Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain than common stocks.
The Fund’s investments in convertible securities may at times include securities that have a mandatory conversion feature, pursuant to which the securities convert automatically into common stock or other equity securities at a specified date and a specified conversion ratio, or that are convertible at the option of the issuer. Because conversion of the security is not at the option of the holder, the Fund may be required to convert the security into the underlying common stock even at times when to do so is not in the best interests of the shareholders.
Synthetic Convertible Securities
The Fund also may invest in “synthetic” convertible securities, which will be selected based on the similarity of their economic characteristics to those of a traditional convertible security due to the combination of separate securities or instruments that possess the two principal characteristics of a traditional convertible security, i.e., an income-producing security (“income-producing component”) and the right to acquire an equity security (“convertible component”).
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The income-producing component is achieved by investing in non-convertible, income-producing securities such as bonds, preferred stocks and money market instruments. Unlike a traditional convertible security, which is a single security having a unitary market value, a synthetic convertible comprises two or more separate securities, each with its own market value. Therefore, the “market value” of a synthetic convertible security is the sum of the values of its income-producing component and its convertible component. For this reason, the values of a synthetic convertible security and a traditional convertible security may respond differently to market fluctuations. The convertible component is achieved by purchasing warrants or options to buy common stock at a certain exercise price, or options on a stock index. The Fund may also purchase synthetic securities created by other parties, typically investment banks, including convertible structured notes.
More flexibility is possible in the assembly of a synthetic convertible security than in the purchase of a convertible security. Although synthetic convertible securities may be used for the Fund where the two components are issued by a single issuer, thus making the synthetic convertible security similar to the traditional convertible security, the character of a synthetic convertible security allows the combination of components representing distinct issuers, when DoubleLine believes that such a combination would better promote the Fund’s investment objective. A synthetic convertible security also is a more flexible investment in that its two components may be purchased separately. For example, an investor may purchase a warrant for inclusion in a synthetic convertible security but temporarily hold short-term investments while postponing the purchase of a corresponding bond pending development of more favorable market conditions.
A holder of a synthetic convertible security faces the risk of a decline in the price of the security or the level of the index involved in the convertible component, causing a decline in the value of the call option or warrant purchased to create the synthetic convertible security. Should the price of the stock fall below the exercise price and remain there throughout the exercise period, the entire amount paid for the call option or warrant would be lost. Because a synthetic convertible security includes the income-producing component as well, the holder of a synthetic convertible security also faces the risk that interest rates will rise, causing a decline in the value of the income-producing instrument. Synthetic convertible securities may be created by other parties, including convertible structured notes. Convertible structured notes are income-producing debentures linked to equity, and are typically issued by investment banks.
The Fund’s investment in convertible securities may also be generally subject to the risks associated with investment in fixed income securities.
Preferred Stock
Preferred stock represents an equity interest in a company that generally entitles the holder to receive, in preference to the holders of other stocks such as common stocks, dividends and a fixed share of the proceeds resulting from a liquidation of the company. Some preferred stocks also entitle their holders to receive additional liquidation proceeds on the same basis as holders of a company’s common stock, and thus also represent an ownership interest in that company. Preferred stocks may pay fixed or adjustable rates of return. The value of a company’s preferred stock may fall as a result of factors relating directly to that company’s products or services. A
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preferred stock’s value may also fall because of factors affecting not just the company, but companies in the same industry or in a number of different industries, such as increases in production costs. The value of preferred stock may also be affected by changes in financial markets that are relatively unrelated to the company or its industry, such as changes in interest rates or currency exchange rates. In addition, a company’s preferred stock generally pays dividends only after the company makes required payments to holders of its bonds and other debt. For this reason, the value of the preferred stock will usually react more strongly than bonds and other debt to actual or perceived changes in the company’s financial condition or prospects. Preferred stocks of smaller companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than those of larger companies.
Fixed Rate Preferred Stocks. Some fixed rate preferred stocks, known as perpetual preferred stocks, offer a fixed return with no maturity date. Because they never mature, perpetual preferred stocks act like long-term bonds, can be more volatile than other types of preferred stocks that have a maturity date and may have heightened sensitivity to changes in interest rates. Sinking fund preferred stocks offer a fixed return, but have a maturity date and are retired or redeemed on a predetermined schedule. The shorter duration of sinking fund preferred stocks makes them perform somewhat like intermediate-term bonds and they typically have lower yields than perpetual preferred stocks.
Adjustable Rate and Auction Preferred Stocks. Typically, the dividend rate on an adjustable rate preferred stock is determined prospectively each quarter by applying an adjustment formula established at the time of issuance of the stock. Although adjustment formulas vary among issues, they typically involve a fixed premium or discount relative to rates on specified debt securities issued by the U.S. Treasury. The premium or discount adjustment to be added to or subtracted from this highest U.S. Treasury base rate yield is fixed at the time of issue and cannot be changed without the approval of the holders of the stock. The dividend rate on certain other preferred stocks, commonly known as auction preferred stocks, is adjusted at intervals that may be more frequent than quarterly, such as every 49 days, based on bids submitted by holders and prospective purchasers of such stocks and may be subject to stated maximum and minimum dividend rates. The issues of most adjustable rate and auction preferred stocks currently outstanding are perpetual, but may be redeemable after a specified date at the option of the issuer. Certain issues supported by the credit of a high-rated financial institution provide for mandatory redemption prior to expiration of the credit arrangement. No redemption can occur if full cumulative dividends are not paid. Although the dividend rates on adjustable and auction preferred stocks are generally adjusted or reset frequently, the market values of these preferred stocks may still fluctuate in response to changes in interest rates. Market values of adjustable preferred stocks also may substantially fluctuate if interest rates increase or decrease once the maximum or minimum dividend rate for a particular stock is approached. Auctions for U.S. auction preferred stocks have failed since early 2008, and the dividend rates payable on such preferred shares since that time typically have been paid at their maximum applicable rate (typically a function of a reference rate of interest). The Fund expects that auction preferred stocks will continue to pay dividends at their maximum applicable rate for the foreseeable future and cannot predict whether or when the auction markets for auction preferred stocks may resume normal functioning.
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Bank Obligations
Bank capital securities are issued by banks to help fulfill their regulatory capital requirements. There are three common types of bank capital: Lower Tier II, Upper Tier II and Tier I. Bank capital is generally, but not always, of investment grade quality. Upper Tier II securities are commonly thought of as hybrids of debt and preferred securities. Upper Tier II securities are often perpetual (with no maturity date), callable and have a cumulative interest deferral feature. This means that under certain conditions, the issuer bank can withhold payment of interest until a later date. However, such deferred interest payments generally earn interest. Tier I securities often take the form of trust preferred securities.
The Fund may also invest in other bank obligations including, without limitation certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptance and fixed time deposits. Certificates of deposit are negotiable certificates that are issued against funds deposited in a commercial bank for a definite period of time and that earn a specified return. Bankers’ acceptances are negotiable drafts or bills of exchange, normally drawn by an importer or exporter to pay for specific merchandise, which are “accepted” by a bank, meaning, in effect, that the bank unconditionally agrees to pay the face value of the instrument on maturity. Fixed time deposits are bank obligations payable at a stated maturity date and bearing interest at a fixed rate. Fixed time deposits may be withdrawn on demand by the investor, but may be subject to early withdrawal penalties which vary depending upon market conditions and the remaining maturity of the obligations. There are generally no contractual restrictions on the right to transfer a beneficial interest in a fixed time deposit to a third party, although there is generally no market for such deposits. The Fund may also hold funds on deposit with its custodian bank in an interest-bearing account for temporary purposes.
The activities of U.S. banks and most foreign banks are subject to comprehensive regulations which, in the case of U.S. regulations, have undergone substantial changes in the past decade and are currently subject to legislative and regulatory scrutiny. The enactment of new legislation or regulations, as well as changes in interpretation and enforcement of current laws, may affect the manner of operations and profitability of U.S. and foreign banks. Significant developments in the U.S. banking industry have included increased competition from other types of financial institutions, increased acquisition activity and geographic expansion. Banks may be particularly susceptible to certain economic factors, such as interest rate changes and adverse developments in the market for real estate. Fiscal and monetary policy and general economic cycles can affect the availability and cost of funds, loan demand and asset quality and thereby impact the earnings and financial conditions of banks. In March 2023, the shut-down of certain financial institutions raised economic concerns over disruption in the U.S. banking system. There can be no certainty that the actions taken by the U.S. government to strengthen public confidence in the U.S. banking system will be effective in mitigating the effects of financial institution failures on the economy and restoring public confidence in the U.S. banking system. Other adverse developments that affect financial institutions or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds or other similar risks, may reduce liquidity in the market generally or have other adverse effects on the economy, the Fund or issuers in which the Fund invests. In addition, issuers in which the Fund invests and the Fund may not be able to identify all potential solvency or stress concerns with respect to a financial institution or to transfer assets from one bank or financial institution to another in a timely manner in the event such bank or financial institution comes under stress or fails.
Obligations of foreign banks involve somewhat different investment risks than those affecting obligations of United States banks, including the possibilities that their liquidity could be impaired because of future political and economic developments, that their obligations may be less marketable than comparable obligations of United States banks, that a foreign jurisdiction might impose withholding taxes on interest income payable on those obligations, that foreign deposits may be seized or nationalized, that foreign governmental restrictions such as exchange controls may be adopted which might adversely affect the payment of principal and interest on those obligations and that the selection of those obligations may be more difficult because there may be less publicly available information concerning foreign banks or the accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, practices and requirements applicable to foreign banks may differ from those applicable to United States banks. Foreign banks are not generally subject to examination by any United States Government agency or instrumentality.
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Loans, Assignments, and Participations
The Fund may make loans directly to borrowers and may acquire or invest in loans made by others. The Fund may acquire a loan interest directly by originating the loan or acting as a member of the original lending syndicate. The Fund may seek to originate loans, including, without limitation, commercial real estate or mortgage-related loans or other types of loans, which may be in the form of whole loans, secured and unsecured notes, senior and second lien loans, mezzanine loans or similar investments. The Fund will be responsible for the expenses associated with originating a loan (whether or not consummated). This may include significant legal and due diligence expenses, which will be indirectly borne by the Fund and Common Shareholders. Alternatively, the Fund may acquire some or all of the interest of a bank or other lending institution in a loan to a particular borrower by means of an assignment or a participation. In an assignment, the Fund assumes all of the rights of a lending institution in a loan, including the right to receive payments of principal and interest and other amounts directly from the borrower and to enforce its rights as a lender directly against the borrower. The Fund assumes the position of a co-lender with other syndicate members. As an alternative, the Fund may purchase an assignment of a portion of a lender’s interest in a loan. In this case, the Fund may be required generally to rely upon the assigning financial institution to demand payment and enforce its rights against the borrower, but would otherwise be entitled to the benefit of all of the financial institution’s rights in the loan. The Fund may also purchase a participating interest in a portion of the rights of a lending institution in a loan. In such case, the Fund will generally be entitled to receive from the lending institution amounts equal to the payments of principal, interest and premium, if any, on the loan received by the institution, but will not generally be entitled to enforce its rights directly against the agent bank (the “Agent”) or the borrower, and must rely for that purpose on the lending institution. In the case of a participation, the value of the Fund’s loan investment will depend at least in part on the credit standing of the assigning or participating institution. The loans in which the Fund may invest include those that pay fixed rates of interest and those that pay floating rates – i.e., rates that adjust periodically based on a known lending rate, such as a bank’s prime rate. Investments in loans may be of any quality, including “distressed” loans. The Fund also may gain exposure to loans and related investments through the use of total and excess return swaps and/or other derivative instruments (see “—Derivative Instruments”) and through private funds and other pooled investment vehicles, including some which may be sponsored or advised by the Adviser or its related parties.
Many loans are made by a syndicate of banks, represented by the Agent which has negotiated and structured the loan and which is responsible generally for collecting interest, principal, and other amounts from the borrower on its own behalf and on behalf of the other lending institutions in the syndicate (the “Lenders”), and for enforcing its and their other rights against the borrower. Each of the Lenders, which may include the Agent, lends to the borrower a portion of the total amount of the loan, and retains the corresponding interest in the loan. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the Fund has direct recourse against the borrower, the Fund may have to rely on the Agent or other financial intermediary to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower.
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The Fund’s ability to receive payments of principal and interest and other amounts in connection with loan participations held by it will depend primarily on the financial condition of the borrower (and, in some cases, the lending institution from which it purchases the loan). The value of collateral, if any, securing a loan can decline, or may be insufficient to meet the borrower’s obligations or may be difficult to liquidate. In addition, the Fund’s access to collateral may be limited by bankruptcy or other insolvency laws. The failure by the Fund to receive scheduled interest or principal payments on a loan would adversely affect the income of the Fund and would likely reduce the value of its assets, which would be reflected in a reduction in the Fund’s NAV. Loans that are fully secured offer the Fund more protection than an unsecured loan in the event of non-payment of scheduled interest or principal. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the corporate borrower’s obligation, or that the collateral can be liquidated. Indebtedness of companies whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks, and may be highly speculative. Some companies may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Consequently, when investing in indebtedness of companies with poor credit, the Fund bears a substantial risk of losing the entire amount invested. The Fund will in certain cases be required to rely upon the intermediary from which it purchases an assignment or participation interest to collect and pass on to the Fund such payments and to enforce the Fund’s rights. As a result, an insolvency, bankruptcy or reorganization of the intermediary may delay or prevent the Fund from receiving principal, interest and other amounts with respect to the Fund’s interest in the loan.
Banks and other Lenders generally perform a credit analysis of the borrower before originating a loan or participating in a lending syndicate. In selecting the loans in which the Fund will invest, however, the Adviser will not rely solely on that credit analysis, but will perform its own investment analysis of the borrowers. The Adviser’s analysis may include consideration of the borrower’s financial strength and managerial experience, debt coverage, additional borrowing requirements or debt maturity schedules, changing financial conditions, and responsiveness to changes in business conditions and interest rates. Because loans in which the Fund may invest may not be rated by independent credit rating agencies, a decision by the Fund to invest in a particular loan may depend heavily on the Adviser’s or the original lending institution’s credit analysis of the borrower.
Some of the loans in which the Fund may invest or to which the Fund may gain exposure through its investments in CDOs, CLOs or other types of structured securities may be covenant-lite loans, which contain fewer or less restrictive constraints on the borrower than certain other types of loans. Covenant-lite loans generally do not include terms which allow the lender to monitor the performance of the borrower and declare a default or force a borrower into bankruptcy restructuring if certain criteria are breached. Under such loans, lenders typically must rely on covenants that restrict a company from incurring additional debt or engaging in certain actions. Such covenants can only be breached by an affirmative action of the borrower, rather than by a deterioration in the borrower’s financial condition. Accordingly, the Fund may have fewer rights against a borrower when it invests in or has exposure to such loans and, accordingly, may have a greater risk of loss on such investments as compared to investments in or exposure to loans with additional or more conventional covenants.
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Loans and other types of direct indebtedness may not be readily marketable and may be subject to restrictions on resale. In some cases, negotiations involved in disposing of indebtedness may require weeks to complete. Consequently, some indebtedness may be difficult or impossible to dispose of readily at what the Adviser believes to be a fair price. Additionally, even where there is a market for certain loans the settlement period may be extended, up to several weeks or longer. That means the Fund may have a limited ability to receive payment promptly on the sale of some of the loans in its portfolio. In addition, valuation of illiquid indebtedness involves a greater degree of judgment in determining the Fund’s NAV than if that value were based on available market quotations, and could result in significant variations in the Fund’s daily share price. At the same time, some loan interests are traded among certain financial institutions and accordingly may be deemed liquid. The Adviser will determine the liquidity of the Fund’s investments by reference to, among other things, market conditions and contractual provisions. Assignments and participations are generally not registered under the Securities Act, and thus investments in them may be limited by the Fund’s limitations on investment in illiquid securities. Investments in loans through a direct loan may involve additional risks to the Fund. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the Fund could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, the Fund could be held liable as co-owner. Lender liability may be founded upon the premise that an institutional lender has violated a duty of good faith and fair dealing owed to the borrower or has assumed a degree of control over the borrower resulting in creation of a fiduciary duty owed to the borrower or its other creditors or shareholders. In addition, courts have in some cases applied the doctrine of equitable subordination to subordinate the claim of a lending institution against a borrower to claims of other creditors of the borrower when the lending institution is found to have engaged in unfair, inequitable, or fraudulent conduct.
From time to time, loans or assignment or participation interests therein acquired by the Fund, or to which the Fund may have direct or indirect investment exposure, will at the time of their acquisition be, or may become after acquisition, non-performing for a wide variety of reasons. Non-performing loans include mortgages where the borrower is in default or is or has been delinquent as to the payment of interest and/or principal, including, potentially, for a significant period of time. Such non-performing loans could require a substantial amount of workout negotiations and/or restructuring, which could entail, among other things, a substantial reduction in the interest rate and a substantial write down of the principal of such loans. Even if a restructuring were successfully accomplished, a risk exists that upon maturity of such a loan, replacement “takeout” financing will not be available.
Loans and certain other forms of direct indebtedness may not be classified as “securities” under the federal securities laws and, therefore, purchasers of such instruments may not be entitled to the protections against fraud and misrepresentation contained in the federal securities laws.
It is the position of the SEC that, in the case of loan participations or assignments where a bank or other lending institution serves as a financial intermediary between the Fund and the corporate borrower, if the participation does not shift to the Fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, the Fund should treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as “issuers.” If and to the extent the Fund treats a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness, the Fund may in certain circumstances be limited in its ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries.
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Economic exposure to loan interests through the use of derivative transactions, including, among others, total and excess return swaps, may involve greater risks than if the Fund had invested in the loan interest directly during a primary distribution or through assignments of, or participations in, a bank loan acquired in secondary markets since, in addition to the risks described above, certain derivative transactions may be subject to leverage risk and greater illiquidity risk, counterparty risk, valuation risk and other risks.
In managing the Fund, the Adviser may seek to avoid the receipt of material, non-public information (“Confidential Information”) about the issuers of floating rate loans or other investments being considered for acquisition by the Fund or held in the Fund’s portfolio if the receipt of the Confidential Information would restrict one or more of the Adviser’s clients, including, potentially, the Fund, from trading in securities they hold or in which they may invest. In many instances, issuers offer to furnish Confidential Information to prospective purchasers or holders of the issuer’s loans or other securities. In circumstances when the Adviser declines to receive Confidential Information from these issuers, the Fund may be disadvantaged in comparison to other investors, including with respect to evaluating the issuer and the price the Fund would pay or receive when it buys or sells those investments, and the Fund may not take advantage of investment opportunities that it otherwise might have if it had received such Confidential Information. Further, in situations when the Fund is asked, for example, to grant consents, waivers or amendments with respect to such investments, the Adviser’s ability to assess such consents, waivers and amendments may be compromised. In certain circumstances, the Adviser may determine to receive Confidential Information, including on behalf of clients other than the Fund. Receipt of Confidential Information by the Adviser could limit the Fund’s ability to sell certain investments held by the Fund or pursue certain investment opportunities on behalf of the Fund, potentially for a substantial period of time. In certain situations, the Adviser may create information walls around persons (“walled-off personnel”) having access to the Confidential Information to limit the restrictions on others at the Adviser. Those measures could impair the ability of those persons to assist in managing the Fund. Also, certain issuers of senior floating rate loans, other bank loans and related investments may not have any publicly traded securities (“Private Issuers”) and may offer private information pursuant to confidentiality agreements or similar arrangements. The Adviser may access such private information, while recognizing that the receipt of that information could potentially limit the Fund’s ability to trade in certain securities if the Private Issuer later issues publicly traded securities. If the Adviser intentionally or unintentionally comes into possession of Confidential Information, it may be unable, potentially for a substantial period of time, to sell certain investments held by the Fund.
The Adviser is, and may be in the future, affiliated with certain large financial institutions (“affiliates”) that hold interests in an entity that are of a different class or type than the class or type of interest held by the Fund. For example, an affiliate may hold securities in an entity that are senior or junior to the securities held by the Fund, which could mean that the affiliate will be entitled to different payments or other rights, or that in a workout or other distressed scenario the interests of the affiliate might be adverse to those of the Fund and the affiliate might recover all or part of its investment while the Fund might not. Conflicts also will arise in cases where the
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Fund and affiliates invest in different parts of an issuer’s capital structure, including circumstances in which one or more affiliates may own private securities or obligations of an issuer and the Fund may own public securities of the same issuer. For example, an affiliate may acquire a loan, loan participation, or a loan assignment of a particular borrower in which the Fund has an equity investment. In negotiating the terms and conditions of any such investments, or any subsequent amendments or waivers, the Adviser may find that its own interests, the interests of an affiliate, and/or the interests of the Fund could conflict. The Adviser may seek to avoid such conflicts, and, as a result, the Adviser may choose not to make such investments on behalf of the Fund. Those foregone investment opportunities may adversely affect the Fund’s performance if similarly attractive opportunities are not available or cannot be identified.
Lending Fees. In the process of buying, selling and holding loans, the Fund may receive and/or pay certain fees. These fees are in addition to interest payments received and may include facility fees, commitment fees, commissions and prepayment penalty fees. When the Fund buys a loan it may receive a facility fee and when it sells a loan it may pay a facility fee. On an ongoing basis, the Fund may receive a commitment fee based on the undrawn portion of the underlying line of credit portion of the loan. In certain circumstances, the Fund may receive a prepayment penalty fee upon the prepayment of a loan by a borrower. Other fees received by the Fund may include covenant waiver fees and covenant modification fees.
Borrower Covenants. A borrower under a loan may be required to comply with various restrictive covenants contained in a loan agreement or note purchase agreement between the borrower and the Lender or lending syndicate (the “Loan Agreement”). Such covenants, in addition to requiring the scheduled payment of interest and principal, may include restrictions on dividend payments and other distributions to stockholders, provisions requiring the borrower to maintain specific minimum financial ratios and limits on total debt. In addition, the Loan Agreement may contain a covenant requiring the borrower to prepay the loan with a certain portion of excess cash flow. Excess cash flow is generally defined as net income after scheduled debt service payments, taxes paid in cash and permitted capital expenditures but before depreciation and amortization among other adjustments includes the proceeds from asset dispositions or sales of securities. A breach of a covenant which is not waived by the Agent, or by the lenders directly, as the case may be, is normally an event of acceleration; i.e., the Agent, or the lenders directly, as the case may be, has the right to call the outstanding loan. The typical practice of an Agent or a Lender in relying exclusively or primarily on reports from the borrower may involve a risk of fraud by the borrower. In the case of a loan in the form of a participation, the agreement between the buyer and seller may limit the rights of the participant to vote on certain changes which may be made to the Loan Agreement, such as waiving a breach of a covenant.
Some of the loans in which the Fund may invest or to which the Fund may obtain exposure may contain fewer or less restrictive constraints on the borrower than certain other types of loans (“covenant-lite” loans). See “Investment Objective and Strategies—Principal Risk Factors—Loan risk—Restrictive Loan Covenants Risk” in the Fund’s most recent annual report on Form N-CSR for more information.
Administration of Loans. In certain loans, the Agent administers the terms of the Loan Agreement. In such cases, the Agent is normally responsible for the collection of principal and
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interest payments from the borrower and the apportionment of these payments to the credit of all institutions which are parties to the Loan Agreement. The Fund will generally rely upon the Agent or an intermediate participant to receive and forward to the Fund its portion of the principal and interest payments on the loan. Furthermore, unless under the terms of a participation agreement the Fund has direct recourse against the borrower, the Fund will rely on the Agent and the other members of the lending syndicate to use appropriate credit remedies against the borrower. The Agent is typically responsible for monitoring compliance with covenants contained in the Loan Agreement based upon reports prepared by the borrower. The Agent usually does, but is often not obligated to, notify holders of loans of any failures of compliance. In certain loans such as asset-backed loans, the Agent may monitor the value of the collateral, if any, and if the value of such collateral declines, may accelerate the loan, may give the borrower an opportunity to provide additional collateral or may seek other protection for the benefit of the participants in the loan. The Agent is compensated by the borrower for providing these services under a Loan Agreement, and such compensation may include special fees paid upon structuring and funding the loan and other fees paid on a continuing basis. With respect to loans for which the Agent does not perform such administrative and enforcement functions, the Adviser will perform such tasks on behalf of the Fund, although a collateral bank will typically hold any collateral on behalf of the Fund and the other lenders pursuant to the applicable Loan Agreement.
A financial institution’s appointment as Agent may usually be terminated in the event that it fails to observe the requisite standard of care or becomes insolvent, enters Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) receivership, or, if not FDIC insured, enters into bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings. A successor Agent would generally be appointed to replace the terminated Agent, and assets held by the Agent under the Loan Agreement should remain available to holders of loans. However, if assets held by the Agent for the benefit of the Fund were determined to be subject to the claims of the Agent’s general creditors, the Fund might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on a loan, or suffer a loss of principal and/or interest. In situations involving other intermediate participants, similar risks may arise.
Prepayments. Loans may require, in addition to scheduled payments of interest and principal, the prepayment of the loan from free cash flow, as defined above. The degree to which borrowers prepay loans, whether as a contractual requirement or at their election, may be affected by general business conditions, the financial condition of the borrower and competitive conditions among lenders, among others. As such, prepayments cannot be predicted with accuracy. Upon a prepayment, either in part or in full, the actual outstanding debt on which the Fund derives interest income will be reduced. However, the Fund may, but will not necessarily, receive both a prepayment penalty fee from the prepaying borrower and a facility fee upon the purchase of a new loan with the proceeds from the prepayment of the former.
Bridge Financings. Loans may be designed to provide temporary or “bridge” financing to a borrower pending the sale of identified assets or the arrangement of longer-term loans or the issuance and sale of debt obligations. Loans may also be obligations of borrowers who have obtained bridge loans from other parties. A borrower’s use of bridge loans involves a risk that the borrower may be unable to locate permanent financing to replace the bridge loan, which may impair the borrower’s perceived creditworthiness or its willingness or ability to repay the bridge loan.
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Senior Loans. Senior floating rate loans may be made to or issued by U.S. or non-U.S. banks or other corporations (“Senior Loans”). Senior Loans include senior floating rate loans and institutionally traded senior floating rate debt obligations issued by asset-backed pools and other issues, and interests therein. Senior Loan interests may be acquired from U.S. or foreign commercial banks, insurance companies, finance companies or other financial institutions that have made loans or are members of a lending syndicate or from other holders of loan interests. Senior Loans typically pay interest at rates which are re-determined periodically on the basis of a floating base lending rate (such as the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate, “LIBOR”) plus a premium. Senior Loans generally (but not always) hold the most senior position in the capital structure of a borrower and, if below investment grade quality, are often secured with collateral.
From time to time, the Adviser and its related parties may borrow money from various banks in connection with their business activities. Such banks may also sell Senior Loans to or acquire them from the Fund or may be intermediate participants with respect to Senior Loans in which the Fund owns interests. Such banks may also act as Agents for Senior Loans held by the Fund.
To the extent that the collateral, if any, securing a Senior Loan consists of the stock of the borrower’s subsidiaries or other affiliates, the Fund will be subject to the risk that this stock will decline in value. Such a decline, whether as a result of bankruptcy proceedings or otherwise, could cause the Senior Loan to be undercollateralized or unsecured. In most credit agreements there is no requirement to pledge additional collateral. In addition, a Senior Loan may be guaranteed by, or fully secured by assets of, shareholders or owners, even if the Senior Loans are not otherwise collateralized by assets of the borrower. There may be temporary periods when the principal asset held by a borrower is the stock of a related company, which may not legally be pledged to secure a secured Senior Loan. On occasions when such stock cannot be pledged, the secured Senior Loan will be temporarily unsecured until the stock can be pledged or is exchanged for or replaced by other assets, which will be pledged as security for such Senior Loan. However, the borrower’s ability to dispose of such securities, other than in connection with such pledge or replacement, will be strictly limited for the protection of the holders of secured Senior Loans.
If a borrower becomes involved in bankruptcy proceedings, a court under certain circumstances potentially could invalidate the Fund’s security interest in any loan collateral or subordinate the Fund’s rights under a secured Senior Loan to the interests of the borrower’s unsecured creditors. Such action by a court could be based, for example, on a “fraudulent conveyance” claim to the effect that the borrower did not receive “reasonably equivalent value” for granting the security interest in the loan collateral to the Fund. For secured Senior Loans made in connection with a highly leveraged transaction, consideration for granting a security interest may be deemed inadequate if the proceeds of such loan were not received or retained by the borrower, but were instead paid to other persons, such as shareholders of the borrower, in an amount which left the borrower insolvent or without sufficient working capital. There are also other events, such as the failure to perfect a security interest due to faulty documentation or faulty official filings, which could lead to the invalidation of the Fund’s security interest in any loan collateral. If the Fund’s security interest in loan collateral is invalidated or a secured Senior Loan is subordinated to other debt of a borrower in bankruptcy or other proceedings, it is unlikely that the Fund would be able to recover the full amount of the principal and interest due on the secured Senior Loan.
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Real Estate Loans. The Fund may acquire commercial whole mortgage loans secured by a first mortgage lien on commercial property, which may be structured to either permit the Fund to retain the entire loan, or sell the lower yielding senior portions of the loans and retain the higher yielding subordinate investment. Typically, borrowers under these loans are institutions and real estate operating companies and investors. These loans are generally secured by commercial real estate assets in a variety of industries with a variety of characteristics. The Fund may originate and own entire whole loans or in some cases may choose to originate and syndicate a portion of the risk or participate in syndications led by other institutions. In some cases, the Fund may originate and fund a first mortgage loan with the intention of selling the senior tranche, or an A-Note, and retaining the subordinated tranche, or a B-Note, or mezzanine loan tranche. The Fund may seek, in the future, to enhance the returns of all or a senior portion of its commercial mortgage loans through securitizations, should the market to securitize commercial mortgage loans recover. In addition to interest, the Fund may receive origination fees, extension fees, modification or similar fees in connection with whole mortgage loans.
The Fund may also acquire performing residential mortgage loans secured by a first mortgage lien on residential property. Typically, borrowers of these loans are individuals rather than institutions, and the quality of residential real estate loans can depend largely on the credit characteristics of the underlying borrowers. In the last decade, the residential mortgage market in the United States experienced difficulties that resulted in losses on residential mortgage loans (especially subprime and second-lien mortgage loans). There can be no assurance that such difficulties would not be experienced again, which could result in losses as a result of investments in residential real estate loans. For more information regarding these and other risks, see “Investment Objective and Strategies—Principal Risk Factors—Mortgage-Backed Securities Risks” in the Fund’s most recent annual report on Form N-CSR.
B-Notes. A B-Note is a mortgage loan typically (i) secured by a first mortgage on a single large commercial property or group of related properties and (ii) subordinated to an A-Note secured by the same first mortgage on the same collateral.
As a result, if a borrower defaults, there may not be sufficient funds remaining for B-Note holders after payment to the A-Note holders. Since each transaction is privately negotiated, B-Notes can vary in their structural characteristics and risks. For example, the rights of holders of B-Notes to control the process following a borrower default may be limited in certain investments. Further, B-Notes typically are secured by a single property, and so reflect the increased risks associated with a single property compared to a pool of properties.
Mezzanine Loans. Mezzanine loans are loans that are subordinate in the capital structure of the borrower, meaning that there may be significant indebtedness ranking ahead of the borrower’s obligation to the Fund in the event of the borrower’s insolvency. Such loans may be collateralized with tangible fixed assets such as real property or interests in real property, or may be uncollateralized. As with other loans to corporate borrowers, repayment of a mezzanine loan is dependent on the successful operation of the borrower. Mezzanine loans may also be affected by the successful operation of other properties, the interests in which are not pledged to secure the mezzanine loan. While mezzanine investments may benefit from the same or similar financial and other covenants as those enjoyed by the indebtedness ranking ahead of the mezzanine investments and may benefit from cross-default provisions and security over the
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borrower’s assets, some or all of such terms may not apply to particular mezzanine investments. Mezzanine investments generally are subject to various risks including, without limitation, (i) a subsequent characterization of an investment as a “fraudulent conveyance”; (ii) the recovery as a “preference” of liens perfected or payments made on account of a debt incurred in the 90 days before a bankruptcy filing; (iii) equitable subordination claims by other creditors; (iv) so-called “lender liability” claims by the issuer of the obligations; and (v) environmental liabilities that may arise with respect to collateral securing the obligations. In addition to interest, the Fund may receive origination fees, extension fees, modification or similar fees in connection with investments in mezzanine loans.
Privacy and Data Security Laws. U.S. Federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”) and other laws limit the disclosure of certain non-public personal information about a consumer to non-affiliated third parties and require financial institutions to disclose certain privacy policies and practices with respect to information sharing with both affiliates and non-affiliated third parties. Many states and a number of foreign jurisdictions have enacted privacy and data security laws requiring safeguards on the privacy and security of consumers’ personally identifiable information. Other laws deal with obligations to safeguard and dispose of private information in a manner designed to avoid its dissemination.
Privacy rules adopted by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission implement GLBA and other requirements and govern the disclosure of consumer financial information by certain financial institutions, ranging from banks to private investment funds. U.S. platforms following certain models generally are required to have privacy policies that conform to these GLBA and other requirements. In addition, such platforms typically have policies and procedures intended to maintain personal information of consumers securely and dispose of it properly.
Service providers to the Fund, including the Fund’s investment adviser and custodian, and, potentially, the Fund may obtain, hold or process such information in connection with providing services to the Fund. The Fund cannot guarantee the security or confidentiality of that data and cannot guarantee that service providers have been and will continue to comply with GLBA, other data security and privacy laws and any other related regulatory requirements. Violations of GLBA and other laws could subject the Fund to litigation and/or fines, penalties or other regulatory action, which, individually or in the aggregate, could have an adverse effect on the Fund. The Fund may also face regulations related to privacy and data security in the other jurisdictions in which the Fund invests.
Delayed Funding Loans and Revolving Credit Facilities
Delayed funding loans and revolving credit facilities are borrowing arrangements in which the lender agrees to make loans up to a maximum amount upon demand by the borrower during a specified term. A revolving credit facility differs from a delayed funding loan in that as the borrower repays the loan, an amount equal to the repayment may be borrowed again during the term of the revolving credit facility. Delayed funding loans and revolving credit facilities usually provide for floating or variable rates of interest. These commitments may have the effect of requiring the Fund to increase its exposure to a company at a time when it might not otherwise be desirable to do so (including a time when the company’s financial condition makes it unlikely that such amounts will be repaid or which the Fund needs to sell other assets to raise cash to satisfy its obligor).
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Delayed funding loans and revolving credit facilities may be subject to restrictions on transfer, and only limited opportunities may exist to resell such instruments. As a result, the Fund may be unable to sell such investments at an opportune time or may have to resell them at less than fair market value. For a further discussion of the risks involved in investing in loan participations and other forms of direct indebtedness see “—Loans, Assignments, and Participations.” Delayed funding loans and revolving credit facilities are subject to credit, interest rate and liquidity risk.
Zero-Coupon Bonds, Step-Ups and Payment-In-Kind Securities
Zero-coupon securities are debt obligations that do not entitle the holder to any periodic payments of interest either for the entire life of the obligation or for an initial period after the issuance of the obligations. Like zero-coupon bonds, “step-up” bonds pay no interest initially but eventually begin to pay a coupon rate prior to maturity, which rate may increase at stated intervals during the life of the security. Payment-in-kind securities (“PIKs”) pay dividends or interest in the form of additional securities of the issuer, rather than in cash. Zero-coupon bonds, step-ups and PIKs allow an issuer to avoid or delay the need to generate cash to meet current interest payments, and, as a result, may involve greater credit risk than bonds that pay interest currently or in cash. Each of these instruments is typically issued and traded at a deep discount from its face amount. The amount of the discount varies depending on such factors as the time remaining until maturity of the securities, prevailing interest rates, the liquidity of the security and the perceived credit quality of the issuer. The market prices of zero-coupon bonds, step-ups and PIKs generally are more volatile than the market prices of debt instruments that pay interest currently and in cash and are likely to respond to changes in interest rates to a greater degree than do other types of securities having similar maturities and credit quality. Because the Fund will not, on a current basis, receive cash payments from the issuer of these securities in respect of any accrued original issue discount, in some years the Fund may have to distribute cash obtained from selling other portfolio holdings of the Fund in order to satisfy the distribution requirement for treatment as a RIC under the Code. In some circumstances, such sales might be necessary in order to satisfy cash distribution requirements even though investment considerations might otherwise make it undesirable for the Fund to sell securities at such time. Under many market conditions, investments in zero-coupon bonds, step-ups and PIKs may be illiquid, making it difficult for the Fund to dispose of them or determine their current value.
Custodial Receipts
The Fund may invest in custodial receipts representing interests in securities held by a custodian. The securities so held may include U.S. Government Securities or other types of securities in which the Fund may invest. The custodial receipts may evidence ownership of future interest payments, principal payments or both on the underlying securities, or, in some cases, the payment obligation of a third party that has entered into an interest rate swap or other arrangement with the custodian or trustee. For certain securities laws purposes, custodial receipts may not be considered obligations of the U.S. government or other issuer of the securities held by the custodian or trustee. As a holder of custodial receipts, the Fund will bear its proportionate share of the fees and expenses charged to the custodial account.
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Inflation-Indexed Bonds
Inflation-indexed bonds are fixed income securities whose principal values are periodically adjusted according to a measure of inflation. If the index measuring inflation falls, the principal value of inflation-indexed bonds will be adjusted downward, and consequently the interest payable on these securities (calculated with respect to a smaller principal amount) will be reduced. Repayment of the original bond principal upon maturity (as adjusted for inflation) is guaranteed in the case of U.S. Treasury inflation-indexed bonds. For bonds that do not provide a similar guarantee, the adjusted principal value of the bond repaid at maturity may be less than the original principal. With regard to municipal inflation-indexed bonds and certain corporate inflation-indexed bonds, the inflation adjustment is reflected in the semi-annual coupon payment. As a result, the principal value of municipal inflation-indexed bonds and such corporate inflation-indexed bonds does not adjust according to the rate of inflation. The value of inflation-indexed bonds is expected to change in response to changes in real interest rates. Real interest rates are tied to the relationship between nominal interest rates and the rate of inflation. If nominal interest rates increase at a faster rate than inflation, real interest rates may rise, leading to a decrease in value of inflation-indexed bonds. Inflation-indexed bonds may cause a potential cash flow mismatch to investors, because an increase in the principal amount of an inflation-indexed bond will be treated as interest income currently subject to tax at ordinary income rates, even though investors will not receive repayment of principal until maturity. If the Fund invests in such bonds, it will be required to distribute such interest income in order to qualify for treatment as a RIC and eliminate Fund-level tax, without a corresponding receipt of cash, and therefore may be required to dispose of portfolio securities at a time when it may not be advantageous to do so in order to make such distributions.
Perpetual Bonds
Perpetual bonds offer a fixed return with no maturity date. Because they never mature, perpetual bonds can be more volatile than other types of bonds that have a maturity date and may have heightened sensitivity to changes in interest rates. An issuer of perpetual bonds is responsible for coupon payments in perpetuity but does not have to redeem the securities. Perpetual bonds are often callable after a set period of time, typically between 5 and 10 years. It is possible that one or more perpetual bonds in which the Fund may invest will be characterized as equity rather than debt for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Where such perpetual bonds are issued by non-U.S. issuers, they may be treated in turn as equity securities of a “passive foreign investment company.” See “Tax Matters” below for additional information on the tax considerations relating to the Fund’s equity investments in passive foreign investment companies (“PFICs”).
Event-Linked Bonds
Event-linked exposure may be gained by investing in “event-linked bonds” or “event-linked swaps,” or implement “event-linked strategies.” Event-linked exposure results in gains that typically are contingent on the non-occurrence of a specific “trigger” event, such as a hurricane, earthquake, or other physical or weather-related phenomena. Some event-linked bonds are commonly referred to as “catastrophe bonds.” They may be issued by government agencies, insurance companies, reinsurers, special purpose corporations or other on-shore or off-shore entities (such special purpose entities are created to accomplish a narrow and well-defined
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objective, such as the issuance of a note in connection with a reinsurance transaction). If a trigger event causes losses exceeding a specific amount in the geographic region and time period specified in a bond, the principal amount of the bond is reduced (potentially to zero), and the Fund may lose a portion or all of its principal invested in the bond. If no trigger event occurs, the Fund will recover its principal plus interest. For some event-linked bonds, the trigger event or losses may be based on company-wide losses, index-portfolio losses, industry indices, or readings of scientific instruments rather than specified actual losses. Often the event-linked bonds provide for extensions of maturity that are mandatory, or optional at the discretion of the issuer, in order to process and audit loss claims in those cases where a trigger event has, or possibly has, occurred. An extension of maturity may increase volatility. In addition to the specified trigger events, event-linked bonds also may expose an investor to certain unanticipated risks including but not limited to issuer risk, credit risk, counterparty risk, adverse regulatory or jurisdictional interpretations, and adverse tax consequences.
Event-linked bonds are a relatively new type of financial instrument. As such, there is no significant trading history of these securities, and there can be no assurance that a liquid market in these instruments will develop. See “–Illiquid Securities.” Lack of a liquid market may impose the risk of higher transaction costs and the possibility that the Fund may be forced to liquidate positions when it would not be advantageous to do so.
Derivative Instruments
Some of the instruments in which the Fund may invest may be referred to as “derivatives,” because their value “derives” from the value of an underlying asset, reference rate or index. These instruments include options, futures contracts, forward currency contracts, swap agreements and similar instruments. The market value of derivative instruments and securities sometimes may be more volatile than those of other instruments and each type of derivative instrument may have its own special risks.
Some over-the-counter derivative instruments may expose the Fund to the credit risk of its counterparty. In the event the counterparty to such a derivative instrument becomes insolvent, the Fund potentially could lose all or a large portion of its investment in the derivative instrument.
Investing for hedging purposes or to increase the Fund’s return may result in certain additional transaction costs that may reduce the Fund’s performance. In addition, when used for hedging purposes, no assurance can be given that each derivative position will achieve a close correlation with the security or currency that is the subject of the hedge, or that a particular derivative position will be available when sought by the Adviser. While hedging strategies involving derivatives can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other Fund investments. Certain derivatives may create a risk of loss greater than the amount invested.
Options
The Fund may purchase and write (sell) call and put options, including options listed on U.S. or foreign securities exchanges or written in over-the-counter transactions (“OTC Options”).
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Exchange-listed options are issued by the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”) (in the U.S.) or other clearing corporation or exchange which assures that all transactions in such options are properly executed. OTC Options are purchased from or sold (written) to dealers or financial institutions which have entered into direct agreements with the Fund. With OTC Options, such variables as expiration date, exercise price and premium will be agreed upon between the Fund and the transacting dealer, without the intermediation of a third party such as the OCC. In the event the counterparty to such a derivative instrument becomes insolvent, the Fund will lose all or substantially all of its investment in the derivative instrument, as well as the benefits derived therefrom. It is the position of the SEC that OTC Options are generally illiquid.
Purchasing Call and Put Options. The Fund may purchase a call option in order to offset a previously written call option (see “Call Writing” below), or to protect against an increase in price of a security it anticipates purchasing. The purchase of the call option to effect a closing transaction on a call written over-the-counter may be a listed or an OTC Option. In either case, the call purchased is likely to be on the same securities and have the same terms as the written option. If purchased over-the-counter, the option would generally be acquired from the dealer or financial institution which purchased the call written by the Fund.
The Fund may purchase put options on securities which it holds in its portfolio to protect itself against a decline in the value of the security and to close out written put option positions. If the value of the underlying security were to fall below the exercise price of the put purchased in an amount greater than the premium paid for the option, the Fund would incur no additional loss. In addition, the Fund may sell a put option which it has previously purchased prior to the sale of the securities underlying such option. Such a sale would result in a net gain or loss depending upon whether the amount received on the sale is more or less than the premium and other transaction costs paid on the put option which is sold. Such gain or loss could be offset in whole or in part by a change in the market value of the underlying security. If a put option purchased by the Fund expired without being sold or exercised, the premium would be lost.
Call Writing. The Fund is permitted to write covered and uncovered call options on securities. Generally, a call option is covered if the Fund owns, or has the right to acquire, without additional cash consideration (or for additional cash consideration held for the Fund by its custodian in a segregated account) the underlying security subject to the option, or otherwise segregates sufficient cash or U.S. Government securities or other liquid securities to cover the outstanding position. A call option is also covered if the Fund holds a call on the same security as the underlying security of the written option, where the exercise price of the call used for coverage is equal to or less than the exercise price of the call written.
The Fund is also permitted to write (i.e., sell) uncovered call options on securities or instruments in which it may invest but that are not currently held by the Fund. For example, the Fund may write uncovered call options to realize income without committing capital to the ownership of the underlying securities or instruments. The writing of uncovered call options, at least theoretically, presents the potential for an unlimited loss, since it assumes the risk of a theoretically unlimited increase in the market price of the security underlying the option above the exercise price of the option. When an uncovered call is exercised, the Fund must purchase the underlying security to meet its call obligations and the necessary securities may be unavailable for purchase. In addition, the purchase of securities to satisfy the exercise of a call option can cause the price of the underlying securities to rise further, sometimes by a significant amount, thereby exacerbating the loss.
The writer of an option receives from the purchaser, in return for a call it has written, a premium (i.e., the price of the option). Receipt of these premiums may better enable the Fund to earn a higher level of current income than it would earn from holding the underlying securities alone. Moreover, the premium received will offset a portion of the potential loss incurred by the Fund if the securities underlying the option are ultimately sold by the Fund at a loss. Furthermore, a premium received on a call written on a foreign currency will ameliorate any potential loss of value on the portfolio security due to a decline in the value of the currency.
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However, during the option period, the covered call writer has, in return for the premium on the option, given up the opportunity for capital appreciation above the exercise price should the market price of the underlying security increase, but has retained the risk of loss should the price of the underlying security decline. The premium received will fluctuate with varying economic market conditions. If the market value of the portfolio securities upon which call options have been written increases, the Fund may receive a lower total return from the portion of its portfolio upon which calls have been written than it would have had such calls not been written.
With respect to listed options and certain OTC Options, during the option period, the Fund may be required, at any time, to deliver the underlying security against payment of the exercise price on any calls it has written (exercise of certain listed and OTC Options may be limited to specific expiration dates). This obligation is terminated upon the expiration of the option period or at such earlier time when the writer effects a closing purchase transaction. A closing purchase transaction is accomplished by purchasing an option of the same series as the option previously written. However, once the Fund has been assigned an exercise notice, the Fund will be unable to effect a closing purchase transaction.
Closing purchase transactions are ordinarily effected to realize a profit or loss on an outstanding call option, to prevent an underlying security from being called, to permit the sale of an underlying security or to enable the Fund to write another call option on the underlying security with either a different exercise price or expiration date or both. The Fund may realize a net gain or loss from a closing purchase transaction depending upon whether the amount of the premium received on the call option is more or less than the cost of effecting the closing purchase transaction. Any loss incurred in a closing purchase transaction may be wholly or partially offset by unrealized appreciation in the market value of the underlying security. Conversely, a gain resulting from a closing purchase transaction could be offset in whole or in part or exceeded by a decline in the market value of the underlying security.
If a call option expires unexercised, the Fund realizes a gain in the amount of the premium on the option less the commission paid. Such a gain, however, may be offset by depreciation in the market value of the underlying security during the option period. If a call option is exercised, the Fund realizes a gain or loss from the sale of the underlying security equal to the difference between the purchase price of the underlying security and the proceeds of the sale of the security plus the premium received on the option less the commission paid.
Put Writing. The Fund is permitted to write covered and uncovered put options on securities. As a writer of a covered put option, the Fund incurs an obligation to buy the security underlying the option from the purchaser of the put at the option’s exercise price at any time during the option period at the purchaser’s election (certain listed and OTC put options written by the Fund will be exercisable by the purchaser only on a specific date). A put is covered if, at all times during the option period, the Fund maintains, in a segregated account, cash or other liquid assets in an amount equal to at least the exercise price of the option. Similarly, a short put position could be covered by the Fund by its purchase of a put option on the same security as the underlying security of the written option, where the exercise price of the purchased option is equal to or more than the exercise price of the put written or less than the exercise price of the put written if the marked to market difference is maintained by the Fund in cash or other liquid assets which the Fund holds in a segregated account.
The Fund is also permitted to write (i.e., sell) uncovered put options on securities or instruments in which it may invest but with respect to which the Fund does not currently have a corresponding short position or has not deposited as collateral cash equal to the exercise value of the put option with the broker-dealer through which it made the uncovered put option. For example, the Fund may write uncovered put options to receive premium income and to acquire such securities or instruments at a net cost below the current market value. The Fund has the obligation to buy the securities or instruments at an agreed upon price if the price of the securities or instruments decreases below the exercise price. If the price of the securities or instruments increases during the option period, the option will expire worthless and the Fund will retain the premium and will not have to purchase the securities or instruments at the exercise price.
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In writing puts, the Fund assumes the risk of loss should the market value of the underlying security decline below the exercise price of the option (any loss being decreased by the receipt of the premium on the option written). In the case of listed options, during the option period, the Fund may be required, at any time, to make payment of the exercise price against delivery of the underlying security. The operation of and limitations on covered put options in other respects are substantially identical to those of call options.
Options on Futures Contracts. The Fund may also purchase and write call and put options on futures contracts which are traded on an exchange and enter into closing transactions with respect to such options to terminate an existing position. An option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right (in return for the premium paid) to assume a position in a futures contract (a long position if the option is a call and a short position if the option is a put) at a specified exercise price at any time during the term of or at the expiration of the option.
The Fund will purchase and write options on futures contracts for identical purposes to those set forth above for the purchase of a futures contract (purchase of a call option or sale of a put option) and the sale of a futures contract (purchase of a put option or sale of a call option), or to close out a long or short position in futures contracts. If, for example, the Fund wished to protect against an increase in interest rates and the resulting negative impact on the value of a portion of its fixed-income portfolio, it might write a call option on an interest rate futures contract, the underlying security of which correlates with the portion of the portfolio the Fund seeks to hedge. Any premiums received in the writing of options on futures contracts may, of course, provide a further hedge against losses resulting from price declines in portions of the Fund’s portfolio. The writing of an option involves the risk of losing the entire investment or substantially more than the entire investment, thereby causing significant losses to the Fund in a relatively short period of time. The ability to trade in or exercise options may be restricted, including if trading in the underlying futures contract becomes restricted.
Commodities
The Fund may invest directly or indirectly in commodities (such as precious metals, industrial metals, natural gas or other energy commodities, and agriculture and livestock). Commodity prices can be more volatile than prices of other types of investments and can be affected by a wide range of factors, including changes in overall market movements, speculative activity of other investors, real or perceived inflationary trends, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates or currency exchange rates, population growth and changing demographics, nationalization, expropriation or other confiscation, economic or other sanctions, international regulatory, political, and economic developments (for example, regime changes, trade disputes, wars and changes in economic activity levels), and developments affecting supply, demand and/or other market fundamentals with respect to a particular sector, industry, or commodity, such as drought, floods, or other weather conditions, livestock disease, trade embargoes, competition from substitute products, transportation bottlenecks or shortages, insufficient storage capacity, fluctuations in supply and demand, wars, tariffs and international economic, political and regulatory developments. The Fund may at times have significant exposure to particular sectors through its commodities-related investments, including, without limitation, the energy, industrial metals, and agricultural and livestock sectors and may be exposed to greater risk associated with events affecting those sectors. Certain commodities may also originate from or be produced in countries or regions that are experiencing or may experience social and political unrest and may be subject to risks associated with economic, social or political developments in those countries or regions.
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The Fund may also use commodity-related derivatives such as commodity-linked swaps, commodity index-linked structured notes and other derivative instruments that provide exposure to the investment returns of the commodity markets without direct investment in physical commodities or commodities futures contracts. Commodity-linked swaps are derivative instruments whereby the cash flows agreed upon between counterparties are dependent upon the price of the underlying commodity or commodity index over the life of the swap. The value of the swap will rise and fall in response to changes in the underlying commodity or commodity index. These swaps expose the Fund economically to movements in commodity prices. The Fund may also invest in commodity-linked notes that pay a return linked to the performance of a commodities index or basket of futures contracts with respect to all of the commodities in an index. In some cases, the return is based on a multiple of the performance of the relevant index or basket. Structured notes may be structured by the issuer or the purchaser of the note. Structured notes are derivative debt instruments with principal payments generally linked to the value of commodities, commodity futures contracts or the performance of commodity indices and interest and coupon payments pegged to a market-based interest rate, such as an industry-standard floating rate or a bank’s prime rate. The value of these notes will rise or fall in response to changes in the underlying commodity or related index or investment. The Fund may also take long and/or short positions in commodities by investing in other investment companies, ETFs or other pooled investment vehicles, such as commodity pools. Certain of these other investment vehicles may seek to provide exposure to commodities without actually owning physical commodities, and may, therefore, produce different results than they would through ownership of the commodities.
The Fund may hold positions in commodity futures contracts. Commodity futures contracts are agreements between two parties in which one party agrees to buy an asset from another party at a later date at a price and quantity that is agreed upon at the time the contract is made. Commodity futures contracts are generally traded on futures exchanges. Upon entering a futures transaction, the Fund is typically required to deposit an initial margin payment to a futures commission merchant. Futures clearinghouses typically mark every futures contract to market at the end of each trading day. If the Fund’s futures positions have declined in value, the Fund may be required to post additional margin when its futures contracts are marked-to-market. Prior to the expiration of a futures contract, the Fund may elect to close out its position, at which time a final determination of variation margin is made. At that time, the Fund then realizes any loss or gain on the futures transaction.
The values of these derivatives may fluctuate more than the relevant underlying commodity or commodities or commodity index. The requirements for qualification as a RIC can limit the manner in or extent to which the Fund may enter into certain commodity-related derivatives, such as commodities futures contracts discussed above, and such derivatives may adversely affect the Fund’s ability to qualify as a RIC. See “Tax Matters” below.
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Futures Contracts
The Fund may purchase and sell (write) futures contracts, including interest rate futures and security index futures contracts, futures contracts on commodities or commodity-related derivatives, U.S. Treasury futures, currency and currency index futures contracts, provided that, with respect to futures on security indices and currencies, the securities and currencies underlying the futures contract are eligible for purchase by the Fund (each a “futures contract”).
Securities index futures contracts, which are contracts to buy or sell units of a securities index at a specified future date at a price agreed upon when the contract is made, are based on a specific index of securities (rather than on specified securities) and are settled in cash.
The following example illustrates generally the manner in which index futures contracts operate. The Standard & Poor’s 100 Stock Index (the “S&P 100 Index”) is composed of 100 selected common stocks, most of which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”). The S&P 100 Index assigns relative weightings to the common stocks included in that index, and the index fluctuates with changes in the market values of those common stocks. In the case of the S&P 100 Index, contracts are to buy or sell 100 units. Thus, if the value of the S&P 100 Index were $180, one contract would be worth $18,000 (100 units x $180). The stock index futures contract specifies that no delivery of the actual stocks making up the index will take place. Instead, settlement in cash must occur upon the termination of the contract, with the settlement being the difference between the contract price and the actual level of the stock index at the expiration of the contract. For example, if the Fund enters into a futures contract to buy 100 units of the S&P 100 Index at a specified future date at a contract price of $180 and the S&P 100 Index is at $184 on that future date, the Fund will gain $400 (100 units x gain of $4). If the Fund enters into a futures contract to sell 100 units of the stock index at a specified future date at a contract price of $180 and the S&P 100 Index is at $182 on that future date, the Fund will lose $200 (100 units x loss of $2).
Positions in index futures may be established or closed out only on the exchange or board of trade on which such futures contract is listed.
U.S. Treasury futures are futures contracts that track the prices of specific U.S. Treasury securities.
The Fund may purchase or sell interest rate futures for the purpose of hedging some or all of the value of its portfolio securities against changes in prevailing interest rates or to manage its duration or effective maturity. If an increase in interest rates is anticipated and, concomitantly, the price of certain of the Fund’s portfolio securities may fall, the Fund may sell futures contracts. If declining interest rates are anticipated, the Fund may purchase futures contracts to protect against a potential increase in the price of securities the Fund intends to purchase. Subsequently, appropriate securities may be purchased by the Fund in an orderly fashion; as securities are purchased, corresponding futures positions would be terminated by offsetting sales of contracts.
In order to hedge its investments successfully using futures contracts, the Fund must invest in futures contracts with respect to securities, indexes, sub-indexes, or other assets the movements of which will, in the Adviser’s judgment, have a significant correlation with movements in the prices of the Fund’s portfolio investments.
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There are special risks associated with entering into futures contracts. The skills needed to use futures contracts effectively are different from those needed to select the Fund’s investments. There may be an imperfect correlation between the price movements of futures contracts and the price movements of the assets in which the Fund invests. There is also a risk that the Fund will be unable to close a futures position when desired because there is no liquid market for it.
The risk of loss in trading futures contracts can be substantial due to the low margin deposits required and the extremely high degree of leverage involved in futures pricing. Relatively small price movements in a futures contract could have an immediate and substantial impact, which may be favorable or unfavorable to the Fund. It is possible for a price-related loss to exceed the amount of the Fund’s margin deposit.
Although some futures contracts by their terms call for the actual delivery or acquisition of the underlying asset at expiration, in most cases the contractual commitment is closed out before expiration. The offsetting of a contractual obligation is accomplished by purchasing (or selling as the case may be) on a commodities or futures exchange an identical futures contract calling for delivery in the same month. Such a transaction, if effected through a member of an exchange, cancels the obligation to make or take delivery of the underlying asset. The Fund will incur brokerage fees when it purchases or sells futures contracts, and will be required to maintain margin deposits. If a liquid market does not exist when the Fund wishes to close out a futures contract, it will not be able to do so and will continue to be required to make daily cash payments of variation margin in the event of adverse price movements. There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to enter into closing transactions.
The Fund may enter into futures contracts on underlying assets, including physical commodities and indexes of physical commodities.
At any time prior to expiration of a futures contract, the Fund may seek to close the position by taking an opposite position which would typically operate to terminate the Fund’s position in the futures contract. A final determination of any variation margin is then made, additional cash is required to be paid by or released to the Fund and the Fund realizes a loss or gain.
Margin Payments. When the Fund purchases or sells (writes) a futures contract, it is required to deposit with its broker an amount of cash, U.S. Treasury bills, or other permissible collateral equal to a percentage of the amount of the futures contract. This amount is known as initial margin. Initial margin requirements are established by the exchanges on which futures contracts trade and may, from time to time, change. The nature of initial margin is different from that of margin in security transactions in that it does not involve borrowing money to finance transactions. Rather, initial margin is similar to a performance bond or good faith deposit that is returned to the Fund upon termination of the contract, assuming the Fund satisfies its contractual obligations. In addition, brokers may establish margin deposit requirements in excess of those required by the exchanges.
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Subsequent payments to and from the broker occur on a daily basis in a process known as marking to market. These payments are called variation margin and are made as the value of the underlying futures contract fluctuates. For example, when the Fund sells a futures contract and the price of the underlying index rises above the delivery price, the Fund’s position declines in value. The Fund then pays the broker a variation margin payment equal to the difference between the delivery price of the futures contract and the value of the index underlying the futures contract. Conversely, if the price of the underlying index falls below the delivery price of the contract, the Fund’s futures position increases in value. The broker then must make a variation margin payment equal to the difference between the delivery price of the futures contract and the value of the index underlying the futures contract.
When the Fund terminates a position in a futures contract, a final determination of variation margin is made, additional cash is paid by or to the Fund, and the Fund realizes a loss or a gain. Such closing transactions involve additional commission costs.
Options on Futures Contracts. The Fund may purchase and sell/write call and put options on futures contracts. An option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a position in a futures contract (a long position if the option is a call or a short position if the option is a put) at a specified exercise price during the exercisable period of the option. Upon exercise of the option, the holder would assume the underlying futures position and would receive a variation margin payment of cash or securities approximating the increase in the value of the holder’s option position. If an option is exercised on the last trading day prior to the expiration date of the futures contract, the settlement will be made entirely in cash based on the difference between the exercise price of the option and the closing price of the futures contract on the expiration date. Purchasers of options who fail to exercise their options prior to the expiration date suffer a loss of the premium paid.
Special Risks of Transactions in Futures Contracts and Related Options. Investments in futures contracts involve risks and may result in losses in excess of the amount invested in the futures contracts.
Liquidity Risks. Positions in futures contracts may be closed out only on an exchange or board of trade which provides a market for such futures. Although the Fund may intend to purchase or sell futures only on exchanges or boards of trade where there appears to be an active market, there is no assurance that a liquid market on an exchange or board of trade will exist for any particular contract or at any particular time. If there is not a liquid market at a particular time, it may not be possible to close a futures position at such time and, in the event of adverse price movements, the Fund would continue to be required to make daily cash payments of variation margin. However, in the event futures contracts are used to hedge portfolio securities, such securities will not generally be sold until the futures contracts can be terminated. In such circumstances, if there is an increase in the price of the portfolio securities, such increase may partially or completely offset losses on the futures contracts.
The ability to establish and close out positions in options on futures contracts will be subject to the development and maintenance of a liquid market. It is not certain that such a market will develop. Although the Fund generally will purchase only those options for which there appears to be an active market, there is no assurance that a liquid market will exist for any particular
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option or at any particular time. In the event no such market exists for particular options, it might not be possible to effect closing transactions in such options, with the result that the Fund would have to exercise the options in order to realize any profit.
Hedging Risks. There are several risks in connection with the use by the Fund of futures contracts and related options as a hedging device. If a futures contract is used for hedging, an imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the futures contract and the price of the security, currency, or other investment being hedged creates risk. Correlation is higher when the investment being hedged underlies the futures contract. Correlation is lower when the investment being hedged is different than the security, currency, or other investment underlying the futures contract, such as when a futures contract on an index of securities or commodities is used to hedge a single security or commodity, a futures contract on one security is used to hedge a different security, or when a futures contract in one currency is used to hedge a security denominated in another currency.
Successful use of futures contracts and options by the Fund for hedging purposes is dependent upon correctly predicting movements in the direction of the market. Forecasting market movements is extremely difficult, and whether any hedging strategy will be successful is highly uncertain. It is possible that, where the Fund has purchased puts on futures contracts to hedge its portfolio against a decline in the market, the securities or index on which the puts are purchased may increase in value and the value of securities held in the portfolio may decline. If this occurred, the Fund would lose money on the puts and also experience a decline in the value of its portfolio securities. The Fund may also purchase futures contracts (or options on them) as an anticipatory hedge against a possible increase in the price of a currency in which securities the Fund anticipates purchasing is denominated. In such instances, the currency may instead decline. If the Fund does not then invest in those securities, the Fund may realize a loss on the futures contract that is not offset by a reduction in the price of the securities purchased. In addition, the prices of futures, for a number of reasons, may not correlate perfectly with movements in the underlying securities or index due to certain market distortions. First, all participants in the futures market are subject to margin deposit requirements. Such requirements may cause investors to close futures contracts through offsetting transactions which could distort the normal relationship between the underlying security or index and futures markets. Second, the margin requirements in the futures markets are less onerous than margin requirements in the securities markets in general, and as a result the futures markets may attract more speculators than the securities markets do. Increased participation by speculators in the futures markets may also cause temporary price distortions. Due to the possibility of price distortion, even a correct forecast of general market trends by the Adviser still may not result in a successful hedging transaction over a very short time period.
Other Risks. The Fund will incur brokerage fees in connection with its futures and options transactions. In addition, while futures contracts and options on futures contracts will be purchased and sold to reduce certain risks, those transactions themselves entail certain other risks. Thus, while the Fund may benefit from the use of futures and related options, unanticipated changes in interest rates or stock price movements may result in a poorer overall performance for the Fund than if it had not entered into any futures contracts or options transactions. Moreover, in the event of an imperfect correlation between the futures position and the portfolio position that is intended to be protected, the desired protection may not be obtained and the Fund may be exposed to risk of loss.
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The risks associated with purchasing and writing put and call options on futures contracts can be influenced by the market for futures contracts. An increase in the market value of a futures contract on which the Fund has written an option may cause the option to be exercised. In this situation, the benefit to the Fund would be limited to the value of the exercise price of the option and, if the Fund closes out the option, the cost of entering into the offsetting transaction could exceed the premium the Fund initially received for writing the option. In addition, the Fund’s ability to enter into an offsetting transaction depends upon the market’s demand for such futures contracts. If a purchased option expires unexercised, the Fund would realize a loss in the amount of the premium paid for the option.
If the Fund invests in futures contracts, it may be subject to risks related to rolling. When investing in futures contracts, the Fund may seek to “roll” its futures positions rather than hold them through expiration. In some circumstances, the prices of futures contracts with near-term expirations are lower than the prices of similar futures contracts with longer-term expirations, resulting in a cost to “roll” the futures contracts. The actual realization of a potential roll cost will depend on the difference in prices of futures contracts with near- and longer-term expirations, and the rolling of futures positions may result in losses to the Fund.
The Adviser has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” (“CPO”) under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”) pursuant to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) Rule 4.5 (the “Exclusion”). Accordingly, the Adviser is currently not subject to registration or regulation as a CPO under the CEA with respect to the Fund. The Adviser currently expects to operate the Fund in a manner that would permit the Adviser to continue to claim the Exclusion, which may adversely affect its ability to manage the Fund under certain market conditions and may adversely affect the Fund’s total returns. In the event the Adviser becomes unable to rely on the Exclusion with respect to the Fund and is required to register with the CFTC as a CPO with respect to the Fund, the Fund’s expenses may increase and the Fund may be adversely affected and the CPO of shareholders that are pooled investment vehicles may be unable to rely on certain exemptions from CPO registration. The Fund may be limited in its ability to use futures and options on futures and to engage in certain swaps transactions during any period where the Adviser is not registered as a CPO with respect to the Fund. Such limitations are not expected to affect the normal operations of the Fund.
Subject to certain limitations, the Fund may enter into futures contracts or options on such contracts to attempt to protect against possible changes in the market value of securities held in or to be purchased by the Fund resulting from interest rate or market fluctuations, to protect the Fund’s unrealized gains in the value of its portfolio securities, to facilitate the sale of such securities for investment purposes, to manage its effective maturity or duration, or to establish a position in the derivatives markets as a temporary substitute for purchasing or selling particular securities.
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Swap Agreements
The Fund may enter into swap agreements and other types of over-the-counter transactions such as caps, floors and collars with broker-dealers or other financial institutions for hedging or investment purposes. An example of one type of swap involves the exchange by the Fund with another party of their respective commitments to pay or receive cash flows, for example, an exchange of floating rate payments for fixed-rate payments. The purchase of a cap entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index or other underlying financial measure exceeds a predetermined value on a predetermined date or dates, to receive payments on a notional principal amount from the party selling the cap. The purchase of a floor entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index or other underlying financial measure falls or other underlying measure below a predetermined value on a predetermined date or dates, to receive payments on a notional principal amount from the party selling the floor. A collar combines elements of a cap and a floor.
Swap agreements and similar transactions can be individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Depending on their structures, such transactions may increase or decrease the Fund’s exposure to long-or short-term interest rates (in the United States or abroad), foreign currency values, mortgage securities, mortgage rates, corporate borrowing rates, or other factors such as security prices, inflation rates or the volatility of an index or one or more securities. For example, if the Fund enters into a swap agreement only to exchange payments in U.S. dollars for payments in a non-U.S. currency, the swap agreement would tend to decrease the Fund’s exposure to U.S. interest rates and increase its exposure to that non-U.S. currency and interest rates. The value of the Fund’s swap positions would increase or decrease depending on the changes in value of the underlying rates, currency values, volatility or other indices or measures. Caps and floors have an effect similar to buying or writing options. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements and similar transactions may increase or decrease the overall volatility of the Fund’s investments and its share price. The Fund’s ability to engage in certain swap or similar transactions may be limited by tax considerations.
The Fund’s ability to realize a profit from such transactions will depend on the ability of the financial institutions with which it enters into the transactions to meet their obligations to the Fund. If a counterparty’s creditworthiness declines, the value of the agreement would be likely to decline, potentially resulting in losses. If a default occurs by the other party to such transaction, the Fund will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction, which may be limited by applicable law in the case of a counterparty’s insolvency. Under certain circumstances, suitable transactions may not be available to the Fund, or the Fund may be unable to close out its position under such transactions at the same time, or at the same price, as if it had purchased comparable publicly traded securities. Swaps carry counterparty risks that cannot be fully anticipated. Also, because swap transactions typically involve a contract between the two parties, such swap investments can be extremely illiquid, as it is uncertain as to whether another counterparty would wish to take assignment of the rights under the swap contract at a price acceptable to the Fund.
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The Fund may also enter into options on swap agreements (“swaptions”). A swaption is a contract that gives a counterparty the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to shorten, extend, cancel or otherwise modify an existing swap agreement, at some designated future time on specified terms. The Fund may write (sell) and purchase put and call swaptions to the same extent it may make use of standard options on securities or other instruments. Swaptions are generally subject to the same risks involved in the Fund’s use of over-the-counter (non-exchange traded) options.
Credit Default Swaps. A credit default swap is an agreement between the Fund and a counterparty that enables the Fund to buy or sell protection against a credit event related to a particular issuer. One party, acting as a protection buyer, makes periodic payments, which may be based on, among other things, a fixed or floating rate of interest, to the other party, a protection seller, in exchange for a promise by the protection seller to make a payment to the protection buyer if a negative credit event (such as a delinquent payment or default) occurs with respect to a referenced bond or group of bonds. Credit default swaps may also be structured based on the debt of a basket of issuers, rather than a single issuer, and may be customized with respect to the default event that triggers purchase or other factors (for example, the Nth default within a basket, or defaults by a particular combination of issuers within the basket, may trigger a payment obligation).
As a credit protection seller in a credit default swap contract, the Fund would be required to pay the par (or other agreed-upon) value of a referenced debt obligation to the counterparty following certain negative credit events as to a specified third-party debtor, such as default by a U.S. or non-U.S. corporate issuer on its debt obligations. In return for its obligation, the Fund would receive from the counterparty a periodic stream of payments, which may be based on, among other things, a fixed or floating rate of interest, over the term of the contract provided that no event of default has occurred. If no default occurs, the Fund would keep the stream of payments, and would have no payment obligations to the counterparty. The Fund may sell credit protection in order to earn additional income and/or to take a synthetic long position in the underlying security or basket of securities.
The Fund may enter into credit default swap contracts as protection buyer in order to hedge against the risk of default on the debt of a particular issuer or basket of issuers or attempt to profit from a deterioration or perceived deterioration in the creditworthiness of the particular issuer(s) (also known as buying credit protection). This would involve the risk that the investment may expire worthless and would only generate gain in the event of an actual default by the issuer(s) of the underlying obligation(s) (or, as applicable, a credit downgrade or other indication of financial instability). It would also involve the risk that the seller may fail to satisfy its payment obligations to the Fund. The purchase of credit default swaps involves costs, which will reduce the Fund’s return.
Credit default swaps are generally subject to the same risks involved in the Fund’s use of swap transactions but also involve a number of special risks. A protection seller may have to pay out amounts following a negative credit event greater than the value of the reference obligation delivered to it by its counterparty and the amount of periodic payments previously received by it from the counterparty. When the Fund acts as a seller of a credit default swap, it is exposed to, among other things, leverage risk because if an event of default occurs the seller must pay the buyer the full notional value of the reference obligation. The value of the credit default swap to each party will change based on changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of the underlying issuer.
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Credit default swap agreements involve greater risks than if the Fund had invested in the reference obligation directly since, in addition to general market risks, credit default swaps are subject to illiquidity risk, counterparty risk and credit risk. A buyer generally also will lose its investment and recover nothing should no credit event occur and the swap is held to its termination date. If a credit event were to occur, the value of any deliverable obligation received by the seller, coupled with the upfront or periodic payments previously received, may be less than the full notional value it pays to the buyer, resulting in a loss of value to the seller.
The Fund may seek to realize gains on its credit default swap positions, or limit losses on its positions, by selling those positions in the secondary market. There can be no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist at any given time for any particular credit default swap or for credit default swaps generally.
The market for credit default swaps has at times become more volatile as the creditworthiness of certain counterparties has been questioned and/or downgraded. The Fund may exit its obligations under a credit default swap only by terminating the contract and paying applicable breakage fees, or by entering into an offsetting credit default swap position, which may cause the Fund to incur more losses. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to exit a credit default swap position effectively when it seeks to do so.
Total and Excess Return Swaps. The Fund may also enter into total and excess return swap agreements, which are contracts in which one party agrees to make periodic payments to another party based on the change in market value of the assets underlying the contract, which may include a specified security or commodity, basket of securities or commodities, or securities or commodities indices during the specified period, in return for periodic payments based on a fixed or variable interest rate or the total return from other underlying assets. Total and excess return swap agreements may be used to obtain exposure to a security, commodity, or market without owning or taking physical custody of such security or commodity or investing directly in such market. Total and excess return swap agreements may effectively add leverage to the Fund’s portfolio because, in addition to its total net assets, the Fund would be subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the swap.
Total and excess return swap agreements are generally subject to the same risks involved in the Fund’s use of swap transactions and, in some cases, are subject to the risk that a counterparty will default on its payment obligations to the Fund thereunder. Swap agreements also bear the risk that the Fund will not be able to meet its obligation to the counterparty. The Fund may enter into total and excess return swaps on a net basis (i.e., the two payment streams are netted against one another with the Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments).
Many swaps are complex and often valued subjectively. Many over-the-counter derivatives are complex and their valuation often requires modeling and judgment, which increases the risk of
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mispricing or incorrect valuation. The pricing models used may not produce valuations that are consistent with the values the Fund realizes when it closes or sells an over-the-counter derivative. Valuation risk is more pronounced when the Fund enters into over-the-counter derivatives with specialized terms because the market value of those derivatives in some cases is determined in part by reference to similar derivatives with more standardized terms. Incorrect valuations may result in increased cash payment requirements to counterparties, undercollateralization and/or errors in calculation of the NAV of the Fund’s Common Shares.
Structured Products and Structured Notes
Generally, structured investments are interests in entities organized and operated for the purpose of restructuring the investment characteristics of underlying investment interests or securities. These investment entities may be structured as trusts or other types of pooled investment vehicles. This type of restructuring generally involves the deposit with or purchase by an entity of the underlying investments and the issuance by that entity of one or more classes of securities backed by, or representing interests in, the underlying investments or referencing an indicator related to such investments. The cash flow or rate of return on the underlying investments may be apportioned among the newly issued securities to create different investment characteristics, such as varying maturities, credit quality, payment priorities and interest rate provisions.
Depending on the reference measure used and the use of the multipliers or deflators (if any), changes in interest rates and movement of the reference measure may cause significant price and cash flow fluctuations. Application of a multiplier is comparable to the use of financial leverage, a speculative technique. Leverage magnifies the potential for gain and the risk of loss. As a result, a relatively small decline in the value of the underlying investments or referenced indicator could result in a relatively large loss in the value of a structured product. Holders of structured products indirectly bear risks associated with the reference measure, are subject to counterparty risk, and typically do not have direct rights against the reference measure. The Fund generally has the right to receive payments to which it is entitled only from the structured product, and generally does not have direct rights against the issuer. While certain structured investment vehicles enable the investor to acquire interests in a pool of securities without the brokerage and other expenses associated with directly holding the same securities, investors in structured vehicles generally pay their share of the investment vehicle’s administrative and other expenses.
Structured products are generally privately offered and sold, and thus, are not registered under the securities laws and may be thinly traded or have a limited trading market and may have the effect of increasing the Fund’s illiquidity to the extent that the Fund, at a particular point in time, may be unable to find qualified buyers for these securities. In addition to the general risks associated with fixed income securities discussed herein, structured products carry additional risks including, but not limited to: (i) the possibility that distributions from underlying investments will not be adequate to make interest or other payments; (ii) the quality of the underlying investments may decline in value or default; (iii) the possibility that the security may be subordinate to other classes of the issuer’s securities; and (iv) the complex structure of the security may not be fully understood at the time of investment and may produce disputes with the issuer or unexpected investment results.
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Structured products include, among other things, CDOs, mortgage-backed securities, other types of asset-backed securities and certain types of structured notes. Other portions of this SAI provide more information about these specific structured products.
Structured notes are derivative securities for which the amount of principal repayment and/or interest payments is based on the movement of one or more “factors.” These factors may include, but are not limited to, currency exchange rates, interest rates (such as the prime lending rate or another industry-standard floating rate), referenced bonds and stock indices. Some of these factors may or may not correlate to the total rate of return on one or more underlying instruments referenced in such notes. In some cases, the impact of the movements of these factors may increase or decrease through the use of multipliers or deflators.
Investments in structured notes involve risks including interest rate risk, credit risk and market risk. Changes in interest rates and movement of the factor, when the return of the structured note is based on the movement of one or more factors, may cause significant price fluctuations. Additionally, changes in the reference instrument or security may cause the interest rate on the structured note to be reduced to zero and any further changes in the reference instrument may then reduce the principal amount payable on maturity. In the case of structured notes where the reference instrument is a debt instrument, such as credit-linked notes, the Fund will be subject to the credit risk of the issuer of the reference instrument and the issuer of the structured note.
The Adviser manages a wide variety of accounts and investment strategies. Investments made on behalf of one client or strategy can raise conflict of interest issues with other of the Adviser’s clients or strategies. For example, the Adviser may cause a client to purchase an issuer’s debt security and cause another client to purchase a different debt security of the same issuer, such as a different bond of the issuer or different tranche of a mortgage-backed security that is subordinated to the investment held by other clients.
Hybrid Securities
The Fund may acquire hybrid securities. A third party or Adviser may create a hybrid security by combining an income-producing debt security (“income-producing component”) and the right to receive payment based on the change in the price of an equity security (“equity component”). The income-producing component is achieved by investing in non-convertible, income-producing securities such as bonds, preferred stocks and money market instruments, which may be represented by derivative instruments. The equity component is achieved by investing in securities or instruments such as cash-settled warrants or options to receive a payment based on whether the price of a common stock surpasses a certain exercise price, or options on a stock index. A hybrid security comprises two or more separate securities, each with its own market value. Therefore, the market value of a hybrid security is derived from the values of its income-producing component and its equity component.
A holder of a hybrid security faces the risk of a decline in the price of the security or the level of the index involved in the equity component, causing a decline in the value of the security or instrument, such as a call option or warrant, purchased to create the hybrid security. The equity component has risks typical to a purchased call option. Should the price of the stock fall below the exercise price and remain there throughout the exercise period, the entire amount paid for the call option or warrant would be lost. Because a hybrid security includes the income-producing component as well, the holder of a hybrid security also faces risks typical to all debt securities.
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Reverse Repurchase Agreements and Dollar Rolls
A reverse repurchase agreement involves the sale of a portfolio-eligible security by the Fund, coupled with its agreement to repurchase the instrument at a specified time and price. Under a reverse repurchase agreement, the Fund continues to be entitled to receive any principal and interest payments on the underlying security during the term of the agreement. Reverse repurchase agreements involve leverage risk; the Fund may lose money as a result of declines in the values both of the security subject to the reverse repurchase agreement and the instruments in which the Fund invested the proceeds of the reverse repurchase agreement.
A “dollar roll” is similar to a reverse repurchase agreement in certain respects. In a “dollar roll” transaction, the Fund sells a mortgage-related security, such as a security issued by Ginnie Mae, to a dealer and simultaneously agrees to repurchase a similar security (but not the same security) in the future at a pre-determined price. A “dollar roll” can be viewed, like a reverse repurchase agreement, as a collateralized borrowing in which the Fund pledges a mortgage-related security to a dealer to obtain cash. However, unlike reverse repurchase agreements, the dealer with which the Fund enters into a dollar roll transaction is not obligated to return the same securities as those originally sold by the Fund, but only securities which are “substantially identical.” To be considered “substantially identical,” the securities returned to the Fund generally must: (1) be collateralized by the same types of underlying mortgages; (2) be issued by the same agency and be part of the same program; (3) have a similar original stated maturity; (4) have identical net coupon rates; (5) have similar market yields (and therefore price); and (6) satisfy “good delivery” requirements, meaning that the aggregate principal amounts of the securities delivered and received back must be within 2.5% of the initial amount delivered.
The Fund also may effect simultaneous purchase and sale transactions that are known as “sale-buybacks.” A sale-buyback is similar to a reverse repurchase agreement, except that in a sale-buyback, the counterparty who purchases the security is entitled to retain any principal or interest payments made on the underlying security pending settlement of the Fund’s repurchase of the underlying security.
In addition to the risks associated with leverage (see “Investment Objective and Strategies—Principal Risk Factors—Leverage Risk” in the Fund’s most recent annual report on Form N-CSR), the Fund’s use of reverse repurchase agreements, dollar rolls and similar transactions is subject to the risk that the market value of the securities that the Fund is obligated to purchase or repurchase under the agreement may decline below the purchase or repurchase price. In the event the buyer of securities under a reverse repurchase agreement or dollar roll files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, the Fund’s use of the proceeds of the agreement may be restricted pending a determination by the other party, or its trustee or receiver, whether to enforce the Fund’s obligation to purchase or repurchase the securities. Furthermore, these instruments may be “illiquid.”
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Repurchase Agreements
Repurchase agreements, which may be viewed as a type of secured lending by the Fund, typically involve the acquisition by the Fund of debt securities from a selling financial institution such as a bank, savings and loan association or broker-dealer. The repurchase agreements will provide that the Fund will sell back to the institution, and that the institution will repurchase, the underlying security (“collateral”) at a specified price and at a fixed time in the future. The collateral will be maintained in a segregated account and, with respect to United States repurchase agreements, will be marked to market daily to ensure that the full value of the collateral, as specified in the repurchase agreement, does not decrease below the repurchase price plus accrued interest. If such a decrease occurs, additional collateral will be requested and, when received, added to the account to maintain full collateralization. The Fund will accrue interest from the institution until the date the repurchase occurs. Although this date is deemed by the Fund to be the maturity date of a repurchase agreement, the maturities of the collateral securities are not subject to any limits and may exceed one year.
Credit-Linked Trust Certificates
Credit-linked trust certificates are investments in a limited purpose trust or other vehicle formed under state law which, in turn, invests in a basket of derivative instruments, such as credit default swaps, total return swaps, interest rate swaps and/or other securities, in order to provide exposure to the high yield or another debt securities market.
Like an investment in a bond, investments in credit-linked trust certificates represent the right to receive periodic income payments (in the form of distributions) and payment of principal at the end of the term of the certificate. However, these payments are conditioned on the trust’s receipt of payments from, and the trust’s potential obligations to, the counterparties to the derivative instruments and other securities in which the trust invests. For instance, the trust may sell one or more credit default swaps, under which the trust would receive a stream of payments over the term of the swap agreements provided that no event of default has occurred with respect to the referenced debt obligation upon which the swap is based. If a default occurs, the stream of payments may stop and the trust would be obligated to pay to the counterparty the par (or other agreed upon value) of the referenced debt obligation. This, in turn, would reduce the amount of income and principal that the Fund would receive as an investor in the trust. See “—Credit Default Swaps” herein for additional information about credit default swaps. The Fund’s investments in these instruments are indirectly subject to the risks associated with derivative instruments, including, among others, credit risk, default or similar event risk, counterparty risk, interest rate risk, valuation risk, leverage risk and management risk. It is expected that the trusts that issue credit-linked trust certificates will constitute “private” investment companies, exempt from registration under the 1940 Act. Therefore, the certificates will be subject to the risks described under “Exchange-Traded Funds and Other Investment Companies” herein and “Other Investment Companies” in the Prospectus, and will not be subject to applicable investment limitations and other regulation imposed by the 1940 Act (although the Fund will remain subject to such limitations and regulation, including with respect to its investments in the certificates). Although the trusts are typically private investment companies, they generally are not actively managed such as a “hedge fund” might be. It also is expected that the certificates will be exempt from registration under the Securities Act. Accordingly, there may be no established trading
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market for the certificates and they may constitute illiquid investments. See “Investment Objective and Strategies—Principal Risk Factors—Liquidity Risk” in the Fund’s most recent annual report on Form N-CSR. If market quotations are not readily available for the certificates, they will be valued by the Fund at fair value as determined by the Trustees or persons acting at their direction. See “Net Asset Value” in the Prospectus.
The market for credit-linked notes may suddenly become illiquid. The other parties to the transaction may be the only investors with sufficient understanding of the derivative to be interested in bidding for it. Changes in liquidity may result in significant, rapid and unpredictable changes in the prices for credit linked notes. In certain cases, a market price for a credit-linked note may not be available or the market may not be active.
When-Issued, Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments
When purchasing a security on a when-issued, delayed delivery, or forward commitment basis, the Fund assumes many of the benefits and risks of ownership of the security, including the risk of price and yield fluctuations, but does not take delivery of the security until a date substantially after the date the transaction is entered into. Because the Fund is not required to pay for the security until the delivery date, these transactions may create investment leverage. When the Fund has sold a security on a when-issued, delayed delivery, or forward commitment basis, the Fund does not participate in future gains or losses with respect to the security. If the other party to a transaction fails to deliver or pay for the securities, the Fund could miss a favorable price or yield opportunity or could suffer a loss. The Fund may dispose of or renegotiate a transaction after it is entered into, and may sell when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment securities before they are delivered, which may result in a capital gain or loss. There is no percentage limitation on the extent to which the Fund may purchase or sell securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery, or forward commitment basis.
Proposed amendments to rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) would impose mandatory margin requirements for certain types of when-issued, delayed delivery, or forward commitment transactions, with limited exceptions. Such transactions historically have not been required to be collateralized, and, if those rules are implemented, mandatory collateralization could increase the cost of such transactions and impose added operational complexity.
Equity Securities
The Fund may invest in equity securities. Equity securities are securities that represent an ownership interest (or the right to acquire such an interest) in a company and include common and preferred stock. Common stocks represent an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. Preferred stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has priority over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take priority over holders of preferred stock, whose claims take priority over the claims of those who own common stock. The value of a company’s stock may fall as a result of factors directly relating to that company, such as decisions made by its management or lower demand for the company’s products or services. A common stock’s value also may fall because of factors affecting not just
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the company, but also companies in the same industry or in a number of different industries, such as increases in production costs. The value of a company’s stock also may be affected by changes in financial markets that are relatively unrelated to the company or its industry, such as changes in interest rates or currency exchange rates. In addition, a company’s stock generally pays dividends only after the company invests in its own business and makes required payments to holders of its bonds, other debt and preferred stock. For this reason, the value of a company’s stock will usually react more strongly than its bonds, other debt and preferred stock to actual or perceived changes in the company’s financial condition or prospects, and historical trends would indicate that common stocks are generally subject to higher levels of volatility and market and issuer-specific risk than debt securities of the same issuer. Stocks of smaller companies are generally more vulnerable to adverse developments than those of larger companies. Companies with small market capitalizations often have limited product lines, markets or financial resources and may be dependent upon a relatively small management group. These securities may have limited marketability and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic movements in price than securities of companies with larger market capitalizations or market averages in general. Stocks of companies that DoubleLine believes are fast-growing may trade at a higher multiple of current earnings than other stocks. The value of such stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the values of other stocks.
While offering greater potential for long-term growth, equity securities generally are more volatile and riskier than some other forms of investment, although under certain market conditions various fixed-income investments have comparable or greater price volatility. Therefore, the value of an investment in the Fund may at times decrease instead of increase. The Fund’s investments may include securities traded over-the-counter as well as those traded on a securities exchange. Some securities, particularly over-the-counter securities, may be more difficult to sell under some market conditions.
ESG Considerations
The Adviser has adopted an ESG Investment Policy (the “ESG Policy”) to help ensure that risks and opportunities associated with environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) matters are appropriately considered within the Adviser’s investment management process. The Adviser adopts ESG integration for the purpose of (1) gaining a more holistic view of relevant investment risks; (2) understanding the potential drivers of performance; and (3) making better-informed decisions. Under the ESG Policy, the Adviser will, subject to the limitations described below, integrate the consideration of one or more ESG factors alongside other non-ESG factors (e.g., financial attributes), when making investment decisions. The Funds do not seek to implement a specific ESG, impact or sustainability strategy.
When performing an ESG assessment, the Adviser conducts a qualitative and/or quantitative assessment of relevant ESG factors that the Adviser believes may impact an investment’s risk-return profile. While ESG factors can vary for each investment, they are generally related to the issuer’s position on ESG issues. As part of this assessment, the Adviser has established a proprietary research framework to score certain issuers with respect to ESG attributes that may have a potential financial impact on the relevant investment (“Material ESG Factors”). Each scored issuer is assigned an environmental score, a social score, and a governance score, with the scoring based on whether the issuer is determined to be subject to material environmental, social, or governance risks that may negatively impact credit quality and/or valuations and/or whether the issuer is believed to not be sufficiently mitigating such risks. Each issuer’s environmental, social and governance scores are aggregated into a composite score, reflecting the Adviser’s overall ESG view of such issuer. Subject to its ESG Policy and the exceptions noted below, the Adviser seeks to assess the Material ESG Factors involving each investment made on an initial basis and, thereafter, as new material information regarding Material ESG Factors becomes known to the Adviser. Such assessments may prioritize those positions that are significant and where such assessments may have a material economic impact on client accounts.
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The Adviser has determined that ESG factors would be expected to have no, a limited or an immaterial impact on the economics or valuation of certain assess class and investment types and that modifying a Fund’s portfolio based on ESG factors may be inconsistent with the Fund’s investment objective. In such cases, the Adviser generally will not perform an ESG assessment or otherwise take any action based on any ESG factors.
The Adviser generally will not score issuers within certain sectors, such as sovereign debt and emerging market securities. Additionally, the Adviser generally will not assess an issuer for ESG factors altogether if sufficient relevant or reliable information is not readily available. Further, investments in U.S. Treasury securities; cash, cash equivalents and other similar investments; investments made for short-term purposes; collateralized loan obligations; commodities; equities; municipal securities; derivative instruments (irrespective of the reference asset or counter party); and indices (or their components), as well as investments made to obtain broad-based investment exposure or that are required by or integral to a Fund’s investment strategies, are generally not assessed for ESG purposes.
ESG Considerations Risk. ESG factors tend to have many subjective characteristics, can be difficult to analyze, and frequently involve a balancing of a company’s business plans, objectives, actual conduct and other factors. ESG factors can vary over different periods and can evolve over time. They may also be difficult to apply consistently across regions, countries, industries or sectors. For these reasons, ESG standards may be aspirational and tend to be stated broadly and applied flexibly. In addition, investors and others may disagree as to whether a certain company satisfies ESG standards given the absence of generally accepted criteria and given inconsistencies in reporting by issuers. Implementation of the Adviser’s ESG Policy will vary depending on asset type, and the specific method of implementation is determined by the applicable portfolio management team. There can be no guarantee that a company that a portfolio manager believes to meet one or more ESG standards will actually conduct its affairs in a manner that is less destructive to the environment, or will actually promote positive social and economic developments. Because fixed income investments generally represent a promise to pay principal and interest by an issuer, and not an ownership interest, and may involve complex structures, ESG-related investment considerations may have a more limited impact on risk and return (or may have an impact over a different investment time horizon) relative to other asset classes, and this may be particularly true for shorter-term investments.
The Adviser may review ESG factors through available public records, legal filings and disclosures, investor services or key party engagements, brokerage research and other data sources used in the normal course of the Adviser’s fundamental research and analysis, as well as information from third-party ESG data providers and consultants. Information and data obtained from third-party sources may be incomplete, inaccurate or unavailable, which could adversely affect the analysis of the ESG considerations relevant to a particular investment. With respect to certain investments, such as securitized investments, data on material ESG considerations may be limited.
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Short Sales and Short Positions
Short sales are transactions in which the Fund sells an instrument it does not own, in anticipation of a decline in the market value of that instrument. To complete such a transaction, the Fund must borrow the instrument to make delivery to the buyer. The Fund then is obligated to replace the instrument borrowed by purchasing it at the market price at or prior to the time of replacement. The price at such time may be more or less than the price at which the instrument was sold by the Fund. Until the instrument is replaced, the Fund is required to repay the lender any dividends or interest that accrues during the period of the loan. The Fund may also enter into a derivative transaction in order to establish a short position with respect to a reference asset. To borrow the instrument or establish the position, the Fund also may be required to pay a premium, which would increase the cost of the instrument sold or position established. The net proceeds of the short position will be retained by the broker (or by the Fund’s custodian in a special custody account), to the extent necessary to meet margin requirements, until the short position is closed out. The Fund also will incur transaction costs in effecting short positions.
The Fund will incur a loss as a result of the short position if the price of the instrument or the value of the reference asset increases between the date of the short sale or short position and the date on which the Fund replaces the borrowed instrument or otherwise closes out the transaction. The Fund will generally realize a gain if the instrument or the value of the reference asset declines in price between those dates. The amount of any gain will be decreased, and the amount of any loss increased, by the amount of the premium, dividends, interest, or expenses the Fund may be required to pay in connection with a short position. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to close out the position at any particular time or at an acceptable price. The Fund’s ability to engage in short sales may from time to time be limited or prohibited because of the inability to borrow certain instruments in the market, legal restrictions on short sales, or other reasons. The loss to the Fund from a short position is potentially unlimited.
The SEC has in the past adopted interim rules requiring reporting of all short positions above a certain de minimis threshold and may adopt (pursuant to recent proposals) rules requiring monthly public disclosure in the future. In addition, other non-U.S. jurisdictions where the Fund may trade have adopted reporting requirements. If the Fund’s short positions or its strategy become generally known, it could have a significant effect on the Adviser’s ability to implement its investment strategy. In particular, it would make it more likely that other investors could cause a short squeeze in the securities held short by the Fund forcing the Fund to cover its positions at a loss. Such reporting requirements may also limit the Adviser’s ability to access management and other personnel at certain companies where the Adviser seeks to take a short position. In addition, if other investors engage in copycat behavior by taking positions in the same issuers as the Fund, the cost of borrowing securities to sell short could increase drastically and the availability of such securities to the Fund could decrease drastically. Such events could make the Fund unable to execute its investment strategy. The SEC and regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions may adopt (and in certain cases, have adopted) bans on new or increases in short sales of certain securities, including short positions acquired through swaps or certain other derivatives, in response to market events. Bans on short selling and such short positions may make it impossible for the Fund to execute certain investment strategies and the Fund may be unable to execute its investment strategies as a result.
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Illiquid Securities
In the context of regulations that apply only to open-end registered investment companies, the SEC has defined illiquid securities to mean any investment that the fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. Illiquid securities may include, among other things, certain written over-the-counter options, certain securities or other liquid assets being used as cover for such options, certain loan participation interests, fixed time deposits which are not subject to prepayment or provide for withdrawal penalties upon prepayment (other than overnight deposits), and certain other securities whose disposition is restricted under the federal securities laws other than securities issued pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act and certain commercial paper. Securities that may otherwise have been liquid may become illiquid with little or no warning under adverse economic, market or other conditions. Illiquid securities may include privately placed securities, which are sold directly to a small number of investors, usually institutions. Unlike public offerings, such securities are not registered under the federal securities laws. Although certain of these securities may be readily sold, others may be illiquid, and their sale may involve substantial delays and additional costs.
Rule 144A/ Regulation S Securities
The Fund may invest in securities that are purchased in private placements and, accordingly, are subject to restrictions on resale as a matter of contract or under federal securities laws. Because there may be relatively few potential purchasers for such investments, especially under adverse market or economic conditions or in the event of adverse changes in the financial condition of the issuer, the Fund could find it more difficult to sell such securities when the Adviser believes it advisable to do so or may be able to sell such securities only at prices lower than if such securities were more widely held. At times, it may also be more difficult to determine the fair value of such securities for purposes of computing the NAV of the Fund’s Common Shares.
While such private placements may offer attractive opportunities for investment not otherwise available on the open market, the securities so purchased are often restricted securities, i.e., securities which cannot be sold to the public without registration under the Securities Act or the availability of an exemption from registration (such as Rules 144, 144A or Regulation S), or which are not readily marketable because they are subject to other legal or contractual delays in or restrictions on resale. There may also be limited public information available regarding investments in private funds, which will make such investment particularly dependent on the analytical abilities of the Fund’s portfolio managers.
The absence of a trading market can make it difficult to ascertain a market value for illiquid investments. Disposing of illiquid investments may involve time-consuming negotiation and legal expenses, and it may be difficult or impossible for the Fund to sell them promptly at an acceptable price. The Fund may have to bear the extra expense of registering such securities for resale and the risk of substantial delay in effecting such registration. In addition, market quotations are less readily available. The judgment of the Adviser may at times play a greater role in valuing these securities than in the case of publicly traded securities.
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Generally speaking, restricted securities may be sold only to qualified institutional buyers, or in a privately negotiated transaction to a limited number of purchasers, or in limited quantities after they have been held for a specified period of time and other conditions are met pursuant to an exemption from registration, or in a public offering for which a registration statement is in effect under the Securities Act. The Fund may be deemed to be an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act when selling restricted securities to the public, and in such event the Fund may be liable to purchasers of such securities if the registration statement prepared by the issuer, or the prospectus forming a part of it, is materially inaccurate or misleading.
Exchange-Traded Funds and Other Investment Companies
The Fund may invest in shares of both open- or closed-end investment companies (including money market funds, single country funds, and ETFs of any kind) and trusts, limited partnerships, limited liability companies or other forms of business organizations, including other pooled investment vehicles sponsored, advised, distributed or serviced by, or otherwise affiliated with, the Adviser, related parties of the Adviser or other service providers to the Fund. Investing in another pooled vehicle exposes the Fund to all the risks of that pooled vehicle.
As the shareholder of another investment company, the Fund would bear, along with other shareholders, its pro rata portion of the other investment company’s expenses, including advisory fees. Such expenses are in addition to the expenses the Fund pays in connection with its own operations. To the extent the Adviser determines to cause the Fund to invest in pooled or other investment vehicles sponsored or advised by the Adviser or related parties of the Adviser (“other DoubleLine Funds”), such a decision involves a conflict of interest because any such investment may benefit the Adviser directly or indirectly, including, for example, by affecting the fees the Adviser or its related parties earn from providing services to the other DoubleLine Fund or by providing scale to such other DoubleLine Fund that the Adviser or its related parties service or sponsor. If the Fund invests in other DoubleLine Funds, the Adviser will waive its advisory fee in an amount equal to the advisory fees paid to the Adviser or its related party by other DoubleLine Funds in respect of Fund assets so invested. The Fund’s investments in other investment companies may be limited by applicable law. It is possible that, under certain circumstances, the Fund may be prevented by applicable law from investing in other investment companies when doing so may otherwise be the most efficient way for the Fund to obtain exposure to a portfolio of debt securities.
Despite the possibility of greater fees and expenses, investments in other investment companies may nonetheless be attractive for several reasons, especially in connection with foreign investments. Because of restrictions on direct investment by U.S. entities in certain countries, investing indirectly in such countries (by purchasing shares of another fund that is permitted to invest in such countries) may be the most practical and efficient way for the Fund to invest in such countries. In other cases, when a portfolio manager desires to make only a relatively small investment in a particular country, investing through another fund that holds a diversified portfolio in that country may be more effective than investing directly in issuers in that country.
Among the types of investment companies in which the Fund may invest are Portfolio Depositary Receipts (“PDRs”) and Index Fund Shares (PDRs and Index Fund Shares are collectively referred to as ETFs). PDRs represent interests in a unit investment trust (“UIT”)
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holding a portfolio of securities that may be obtained from the UIT or purchased in the secondary market. Each PDR is intended to track the underlying securities, trade like a share of common stock, and pay to PDR holders periodic dividends proportionate to those paid with respect to the underlying securities, less certain expenses. Index Fund Shares are shares issued by an open-end management investment company that seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of a specified index (Index Fund). Individual investments in PDRs generally are not redeemable, except upon termination of the UIT. Similarly, individual investments in Index Fund Shares generally are not redeemable.
However, large quantities of PDRs known as “Creation Units” are redeemable from the sponsor of the UIT. The liquidity of smaller holdings of ETF shares will depend upon the existence of a secondary market. Block sizes of ETF shares, also known as “Creation Units,” are redeemable from the issuing ETF. The liquidity of smaller holdings of ETF shares will depend upon the existence of a secondary market.
Disruptions in the markets for the securities held by ETFs or other investment companies purchased or sold by the Fund could result in losses on investments in ETFs or other investment companies. ETFs also carry the risk that the price the Fund pays or receives may be higher or lower than the ETF’s NAV. ETFs are also subject to certain additional risks, including the risks of illiquidity and of possible trading halts due to market conditions or other reasons, based on the policies of the relevant exchange. ETFs and other investment companies in which the Fund may invest may be leveraged, which would increase the volatility of the value of the Fund’s Common Shares.
To the extent the Fund invests in another Fund (such Fund, the “underlying Fund”) in reliance on Section 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act, the Underlying Fund will not generally in turn invest in other registered investment companies in reliance on Section 12(d)(1)(G) or Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, but may make such investments as may otherwise be made in accordance with applicable law, including in reliance on Rule 12d1-4.
The provisions of the 1940 Act may impose certain limitations on the Fund’s investments in other investment companies. In particular, each Fund’s investments in investment companies are limited to, subject to certain exceptions, (i) 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of any one investment company; (ii) 5% of the Fund’s total assets with respect to any one investment company; and (iii) 10% of the Fund’s total assets with respect to investment companies in the aggregate (the “Fund-of-Funds Limitations”). Rule 12d1-4 of the 1940 Act permits the Fund to invest in other investment companies beyond the Fund-of-Funds Limitations, subject to certain conditions. Under Rule 12d1-4, if shares of the Fund are purchased by another fund beyond the Fund-of-Funds Limitations, and the Fund invests in another investment company or private fund exempt from the definition of “investment company” under the 1940 Act by Sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) thereof, the Fund generally will not be able to make new investments in other funds or other such private funds, if, as a result of such investment, more than 10% of the Fund’s assets would be invested in other investment companies and other such private funds. In addition, an affiliated fund-of-funds’ investment in unaffiliated funds may be made only in accordance with Rule 12d1-4. These regulations may limit the Fund’s ability to pursue its principal investment strategies by investing in other investment companies or private funds or to invest in those investment companies or private funds it believes are most desirable, including, potentially, other
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DoubleLine Funds. Separately, the Fund may limit or dispose of its investments in other investment companies and private funds in anticipation of, or to remain eligible investments for, investment by other DoubleLine Funds. Compliance with these regulations and the other matters discussed above may adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
Warrants
The Fund may invest in warrants, which are instruments that give the Fund the right to purchase certain securities from an issuer at a specific price (the “strike price”) for a limited period of time. The strike price of warrants typically is much lower than the current market price of the underlying securities, yet they are subject to similar price fluctuations. As a result, warrants may be more volatile investments than the underlying securities and may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss. Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying securities and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. Also, the value of the warrant does not necessarily change with the value of the underlying securities and a warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to the expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
In addition to warrants on securities, the Fund may purchase put warrants and call warrants whose values vary depending on the change in the value of one or more specified securities indices (“index warrants”). Index warrants are generally issued by banks or other financial institutions and give the holder the right, at any time during the term of the warrant, to receive upon exercise of the warrant a cash payment from the issuer based on the value of the underlying index at the time of exercise. In general, if the value of the underlying index rises above the exercise price of the index warrant, the holder of a call warrant will be entitled to receive a cash payment from the issuer upon exercise based on the difference between the value of the index and the exercise price of the warrant; if the value of the underlying index falls, the holder of a put warrant will be entitled to receive a cash payment from the issuer upon exercise based on the difference between the exercise price of the warrant and the value of the index. The holder of a warrant would not be entitled to any payments from the issuer at any time when, in the case of a call warrant, the exercise price is greater than the value of the underlying index, or, in the case of a put warrant, the exercise price is less than the value of the underlying index. If the Fund were not to exercise an index warrant prior to its expiration, then the Fund would lose the amount of the purchase price paid by it for the warrant.
The Fund will normally use index warrants in a manner similar to its use of options on securities indices. The risks of the Fund’s use of index warrants are generally similar to those relating to its use of index options. Unlike most index options, however, index warrants are issued in limited amounts and are not obligations of a regulated clearing agency, but are backed only by the credit of the bank or other institution which issues the warrant. Also, index warrants generally have longer terms than index options. Index warrants are not likely to be as liquid as certain index options backed by a recognized clearing agency. In addition, the terms of index warrants may limit the Fund’s ability to exercise the warrants at such time, or in such quantities, as the Fund would otherwise wish to do.
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Securities Loans
The Fund may make secured loans of its portfolio securities, on either a short-term or long-term basis thereby potentially realizing additional income. The risks in lending portfolio securities, as with other extensions of credit, consist of possible delay in recovery of the securities or possible loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. If a borrower defaults, the value of the collateral may decline before the Fund can dispose of it. As a matter of policy, securities loans are made to broker-dealers pursuant to agreements requiring that the loans be continuously secured by collateral consisting of cash or short-term debt obligations at least equal at all times to the value of the securities on loan, marked-to-market daily. The borrower pays to the Fund an amount equal to any dividends or interest received on securities lent. The Fund retains all or a portion of the interest received on investment of the cash collateral or receives a fee from the borrower. The Fund bears the risk of any loss on the investment of the collateral; any such loss may exceed, potentially by a substantial amount, any profit to the Fund from its securities lending activities. Although voting rights, or rights to consent, with respect to the loaned securities may pass to the borrower, the Fund retains the right to call the loans at any time on reasonable notice, and it will do so to enable the Fund to exercise voting rights on any matters materially affecting the investment. The Fund may also call such loans in order to sell the securities. The Fund may pay fees in connection with arranging loans of its portfolio securities.
The Fund may invest the cash collateral received (generally in money market investments or money market funds) or receive a fee from the borrower. In the case of cash collateral, the Fund typically pays a rebate to the borrower. Although control over, and voting rights or rights to consent with respect to, the loaned securities pass to the borrower, the Fund, as the lender, retains the right to call the loans and obtain the return of the securities loaned at any time on reasonable notice. The Fund may call such loans in order to sell the securities involved or, if the holders of the securities are asked to vote upon or consent to matters which the Adviser believes materially affect the investment, in order to vote the securities. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, the Fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. When engaged in securities lending, the Fund’s performance will continue to reflect changes in the value of the securities loaned and will also reflect the receipt of either interest, through investment of cash collateral by the Fund in permissible investments, or a fee, if the collateral is U.S. Government securities. It is possible that the Fund will realize losses on the investment of any cash collateralizing a securities loan; any such losses would be for the account of the Fund, not the borrower.
Participation on Creditors’ Committees
Participation on committees formed by creditors to negotiate with the management of financially troubled issuers of securities held by the Fund may subject the Fund to expenses such as legal fees and may make the Fund an “insider” of the issuer for purposes of the federal securities laws, and therefore may restrict the Fund’s ability to trade in or acquire additional positions in a particular security when it might otherwise desire to do so. Participation by the Fund on such committees also may expose the Fund to potential liabilities under the federal bankruptcy laws or other laws governing the rights of creditors and debtors.
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Short-Term Investments / Temporary Defensive Strategies
When attempting to respond to adverse market, economic, political, or other conditions, the Fund may take temporary defensive positions that may be inconsistent (including materially inconsistent) with the Fund’s principal investment strategies. The Adviser then may, but is not required to, temporarily use alternative strategies that are mainly designed to limit the Fund’s exposure to such adverse conditions under the circumstances. In implementing these strategies, the Fund may invest primarily in, among other things, U.S. Government and agency obligations, fixed or floating rate investments, derivative instruments, cash or money market instruments (including, money market funds), or any other securities or instruments that the portfolio managers consider consistent with such defensive strategies or deemed consistent with the then existing market conditions. By way of example, the Fund may hold a higher than normal proportion of its assets in cash in times of extreme market stress. The Fund may also use derivatives, such as futures contracts, interest rate swaps, and credit default swaps, as an efficient means to adjust the Fund’s interest rate, credit, and other exposures in connection with taking such temporary defensive positions. During periods when the Fund has taken temporary defensive positions, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.
Money Market Instruments
The Fund may invest in money market instruments. These instruments include, but are not limited to, commercial paper, money market instruments, money market mutual funds and the following instruments:
U.S. Government Securities. Obligations issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the United States or its agencies (such as the Export-Import Bank of the United States, Federal Housing Administration and Ginnie Mae) or its instrumentalities (such as the Federal Home Loan Bank), including U.S. Treasury bills, notes and bonds.
Bank Obligations. Obligations including certificates of deposit, fixed time deposits and bankers’ acceptances, commercial paper (see below) and other debt obligations of banks subject to regulation by the U.S. Government and having total assets of $1 billion or more, and instruments secured by such obligations (See “Bank Obligations” above), not including obligations of foreign branches of domestic banks except as permitted below.
Eurodollar Certificates of Deposit. Eurodollar certificates of deposit issued by foreign branches of domestic banks having total assets of $1 billion or more (investments in Eurodollar certificates may be affected by changes in currency rates or exchange control regulations, or changes in governmental administration or economic or monetary policy in the United States and abroad).
Obligations of Savings Institutions. Certificates of deposit of savings banks and savings and loan associations, having total assets of $1 billion or more (investments in savings institutions above $100,000 in principal amount are not protected by federal deposit insurance).
Fully Insured Certificates of Deposit. Certificates of deposit of banks and savings institutions, having total assets of less than $1 billion, if the principal amount of the obligation is insured by the Bank Insurance Fund or the Savings Association Insurance Fund (each of which is administered by the FDIC).
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Other Short-Term Obligations. Debt securities initially issued with a remaining maturity of 397 days or less.
Guaranteed Investment Contracts (Funding Agreements)
Guaranteed investment contracts, or funding agreements, are short-term, privately placed debt instruments issued by insurance companies. Pursuant to such contracts, the Fund may make cash contributions to a deposit fund of the insurance company’s general account. The insurance company then credits to the Fund payments at negotiated, floating or fixed interest rates. In general, guaranteed investment contracts are not assignable.
Counterparty Risk
The Fund will be subject to the credit risk presented by another party (whether a clearing corporation in the case of exchange-traded or cleared instruments or another third party in the case of over-the-counter instruments) to the extent the party promises to honor an obligation to the Fund (an obligor) with respect to a transaction, such as securities loans, repurchase agreements or certain derivatives (including swaps). There can be no assurance that an obligor will be able or willing to meet its obligations. If a counterparty becomes bankrupt or insolvent or otherwise fails or is unwilling to perform its obligations to the Fund due to financial difficulties or for other reasons, the Fund may experience significant losses or delays in enforcing contractual remedies and obtaining any recovery under its contract with the counterparty, including realizing on any collateral the counterparty has provided in respect of the counterparty’s obligations to the Fund or recovering collateral that the Fund has provided and is entitled to recover. The Fund may have to provide or may hold at various times significant amounts of collateral with respect to one or more counterparties. If the Fund’s claim against its counterparty is unsecured, the Fund will likely be treated as a general creditor of such counterparty to the extent of such unsecured claim. The Fund may obtain only a limited recovery or may obtain no recovery in such circumstances. Regulatory requirements may also limit the ability of the Fund to protect its interests in the event of an insolvency of a derivatives counterparty. In the event of a counterparty’s (or its affiliate’s) insolvency, the Fund’s ability to exercise remedies, such as the termination of transactions, netting of obligations and realization on collateral, could be stayed or eliminated under new special resolution regimes adopted in the United States, the European Union (“EU”), the United Kingdom (“UK”) and various other jurisdictions. Such regimes provide government authorities with broad authority to intervene when a financial institution is experiencing financial difficulty. In particular, with respect to counterparties who are subject to such proceedings in the EU or the UK, the liabilities of such counterparties to the Fund could be reduced, eliminated, or converted to equity in such counterparties (sometimes referred to as a “bail in”). Subject to certain U.S. federal income tax limitations, the Fund is not subject to any limit with respect to the number or the value of transactions it can enter into with a single counterparty. To the extent that the Fund enters into multiple transactions with a single or a small number of counterparties, it will be subject to increased counterparty risk.
Qualified Financial Contracts: Regulations adopted by federal banking regulators under the Dodd-Frank Act require that certain qualified financial contracts (“QFCs”) with counterparties that are part of U.S. or foreign global systemically important banking organizations be amended
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to include contractual restrictions on close-out and cross-default rights. QFCs include, but are not limited to, securities contracts, commodities contracts, forward contracts, repurchase agreements, securities lending agreements and swaps agreements, as well as related master agreements, security agreements, credit enhancements, and reimbursement obligations. If a covered counterparty of the Fund or certain of the covered counterparty’s affiliates were to become subject to certain insolvency proceedings, the Fund may be temporarily, or in some cases permanently, unable to exercise certain default rights, and the QFC may be transferred to another entity. These requirements may impact the Fund’s credit and counterparty risks.
Clearing Broker and Central Clearing Counterparty Risk: Some derivative transactions (including futures contracts and certain interest rate and index credit default swaps) are required to be or are capable of being centrally cleared. In a transaction involving such cleared derivative transactions (“cleared derivatives”), the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house, rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives transactions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through their accounts at clearing members. Entering into a cleared derivative transaction subjects the Fund to the credit risk of the clearing house and the clearing member through which it holds its cleared positions. Clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house.
There is a risk that assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for futures contracts or cleared swaps may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy, as the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. Although a clearing member is required to segregate assets from customers with respect to cleared derivatives positions from the clearing member’s proprietary assets, if a clearing member does not comply with the applicable regulations, or in the event of fraud or misappropriation of customer assets by a clearing member, the Fund could have only an unsecured creditor claim in an insolvency of the clearing member with respect to the assets held by the clearing member. Similarly, all customer funds held by a clearing member and at a clearing organization in connection with cleared derivatives are generally held on a commingled omnibus basis and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. All customer funds held at a clearing organization with respect to cleared derivatives transactions of customers of a clearing member are also held by account class in an omnibus account, but with respect to cleared swaps, CFTC rules require that the clearing member notify the clearing organization of the amount of the initial margin provided by the clearing member to the clearing organization that is attributable to each customer. With respect to futures and options contracts, a clearing organization may use assets of a non-defaulting customer held in an omnibus account at the clearing organization to satisfy payment obligations of a defaulting customer of the clearing member to the clearing organization. With respect to cleared swaps, a clearing organization generally cannot do so, but may do so if the clearing member does not provide accurate reporting to the clearing organization as to the attribution of margin among its clients. Also, since clearing members generally provide to clearing organizations the net amount of variation margin required for cleared derivatives for all of
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their customers in the aggregate, rather than the gross amount of each customer, the Fund is subject to the risk that a clearing organization will not make variation margin payments owed to the Fund if another customer of the clearing member has suffered a loss and is in default. As a result, in the event of a default of the clearing member’s other clients or the clearing member’s failure to extend its own funds in connection with any such default, the Fund may not be able to recover the full amount of assets deposited by the clearing member on behalf of the Fund with the clearing organization. In addition, in the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of a clearing member or clearing house, the Fund might experience a loss of funds deposited through its clearing member as margin with the clearing house, a loss of unrealized profits on its open positions, and the loss of funds owed to it as realized profits on closed positions. Such a bankruptcy or insolvency might also cause a substantial delay before the Fund could obtain the return of funds owed to it by a clearing member who was a member of such clearing house. Credit risk of market participants with respect to cleared derivatives transactions is concentrated in a few clearing houses, and it is not clear how an insolvency proceeding of a clearing house would be conducted and what impact an insolvency of a clearing house would have on the financial system.
In some ways, cleared derivative arrangements can be less favorable to mutual funds than bilateral arrangements. For example, the Fund may be required to provide more margin for cleared derivatives positions than for bilateral derivatives positions. Also, in contrast to a bilateral derivatives position, following a period of notice to the Fund, a clearing member generally can require termination of an existing cleared derivatives position at any time or an increase in margin requirements above the margin that the clearing member required at the beginning of a transaction. Clearing houses also have broad rights to increase margin requirements for existing positions or to terminate those positions at any time. Any increase in margin requirements or termination of existing cleared derivatives positions by the clearing member or the clearing house could interfere with the ability of the Fund to pursue its investment strategy. Further, any increase in margin requirements by a clearing member could expose the Fund to greater credit risk to its clearing member because margin for cleared derivatives positions in excess of a clearing house’s margin requirements may be held by the clearing member. Also, the Fund is subject to risk if it enters into a derivatives transaction that is required to be cleared (or that the Adviser expects to be cleared), and no clearing member is willing or able to clear the transaction on the Fund’s behalf. In those cases, the position might have to be terminated, and the Fund could lose some or all of the benefit of the position, including loss of an increase in the value of the position and/or loss of hedging protection, or could realize a loss. In addition, the documentation governing the relationship between the Fund and clearing members is drafted by the clearing members and generally is less favorable to the Fund than typical bilateral derivatives documentation.
Some types of cleared derivatives are required to be executed on an exchange or on a swap execution facility. A swap execution facility is a trading platform where multiple market participants can execute derivatives by accepting bids and offers made by multiple other participants in the platform. While this execution requirement is designed to increase transparency and liquidity in the cleared derivatives market, trading on a swap execution facility can create additional costs and risks for the Fund. For example, swap execution facilities typically charge fees, and if the Fund executes derivatives on a swap execution facility through a broker intermediary, the intermediary may impose fees as well. Also, the Fund may be required
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to indemnify a swap execution facility, or a broker intermediary who executes cleared derivatives on a swap execution facility on the Fund’s behalf, against any losses or costs that may be incurred as a result of the Fund’s transactions on the swap execution facility.
These and other new rules and regulations could, among other things, restrict the Fund’s ability to engage in, or increase the cost to the Fund of, derivatives transactions, for example, by making some types of derivatives no longer available to the Fund, increasing margin or capital requirements, or otherwise limiting liquidity or increasing transaction costs. The implementation of the clearing requirement has increased the costs of derivatives transactions for the Fund, since the Fund has to pay fees to its clearing members and is typically required to post more margin for cleared derivatives than it has historically posted for uncleared derivatives. These regulations are relatively new and evolving, so their ultimate impact on the Fund and the financial system are not yet known. While such regulations and central clearing of some derivatives transactions are designed to reduce systemic risk (e.g., the risk that the interdependence of large derivatives dealers could cause them to suffer liquidity, solvency or other challenges simultaneously), there is no assurance that clearing mechanisms will achieve that result. While these systems are introduced into the market, as noted above, central clearing and related requirements expose the Fund to risks and costs, not all of which are known as these relatively new processes emerge and evolve.
Exchange-Traded Notes (“ETNs”)
The Fund may invest in ETNs. ETNs have many features of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt securities. Their returns are linked to the performance of a particular asset, such as a market index, less applicable fees and expenses. ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. The Fund may hold the ETN until maturity, at which time the issuer is obligated to pay a return linked to the performance of the relevant asset. ETNs do not typically make periodic interest payments and principal is not protected.
The market value of an ETN may be influenced by, among other things, time to maturity, level of supply and demand of the ETN, volatility and lack of liquidity in the underlying assets, changes in the applicable interest rates, the current performance of the asset to which the ETN is linked, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. ETNs represent an unsecured obligation and therefore carry with them the risk that the counterparty will default and the Fund may not be able to recover the current value of its investment. The market value of an ETN may differ from the performance of the applicable asset and there may be times when an ETN trades at a premium or discount to the underlying asset’s value. This difference in price may be due to the fact that the supply and demand in the market for ETNs at any point in time is not always identical to the supply and demand in the market for the assets on which the ETN’s return is based. A change in the issuer’s credit rating may also affect the value of an ETN despite the underlying asset remaining unchanged.
ETNs are also subject to tax risk. For tax purposes, no assurance can be given that the IRS will accept, or a court will uphold, how the Fund characterizes and treats ETNs or amounts realized thereon; further, the requirements for qualification as a RIC may limit the extent to which the Fund may invest in certain ETNs. See “Tax Matters” below.
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An ETN that is tied to a specific market index may not be able to replicate and maintain exactly the composition and relative weighting of securities, commodities or other components in the applicable market index. ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable market index, and the Fund would bear a proportionate share of any fees and expenses borne by the ETN in which it invests. The Fund’s decision to sell its ETN holdings may be limited by the availability of a secondary market. In addition, although an ETN may be listed on an exchange, the issuer may not be required to maintain the listing and there can be no assurance that a secondary market will exist for an ETN. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying market index can, at times, be relatively illiquid and may therefore be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.
ETNs are generally similar to structured investments and hybrid instruments. For discussion of these investments and the risks generally associated with them, see “Hybrid Securities” and “Structured Investments” in this SAI.
Floating Rate and Variable Rate Demand Notes
The Fund may purchase taxable or tax-exempt floating rate and variable rate demand notes for short-term cash management or other investment purposes. Floating rate and variable rate demand notes and bonds may have a stated maturity in excess of one year, but may have features that permit a holder to demand payment of principal plus accrued interest upon a specified number of days notice. Frequently, such obligations are secured by letters of credit or other credit support arrangements provided by banks. The issuer has a corresponding right, after a given period, to prepay in its discretion the outstanding principal of the obligation plus accrued interest upon a specific number of days’ notice to the holders. The interest rate of a floating rate instrument may be based on a known lending rate, such as a bank’s prime rate, and is reset whenever such rate is adjusted. The interest rate on a variable rate demand note is reset at specified intervals at a market rate.
Inflation-Protected Securities
The Fund may invest in U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (“U.S. TIPS”), which are fixed income securities issued by the U.S. Department of Treasury, the principal amounts of which are adjusted daily based upon changes in the rate of inflation. The Fund may also invest in other inflation-protected securities issued by non-U.S. governments or by private issuers. U.S. TIPS pay interest on a semi-annual basis, equal to a fixed percentage of the inflation-adjusted principal amount. The interest rate on these bonds is fixed at issuance, but over the life of the bond this interest may be paid on an increasing or decreasing principal value that has been adjusted for inflation.
Repayment of the original bond principal upon maturity (as adjusted for inflation) is guaranteed for U.S. TIPS, even during a period of deflation. However, because the principal amount of U.S. TIPS would be adjusted downward during a period of deflation, the Fund will be subject to
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deflation risk with respect to its investments in these securities. In addition, the current market value of the bonds is not guaranteed, and will fluctuate. If the Fund purchases in the secondary market U.S. TIPS whose principal values have been adjusted upward due to inflation since issuance, the Fund may experience a loss if there is a subsequent period of deflation. The Fund may also invest in other inflation-related bonds which may or may not provide a guarantee of principal. If a guarantee of principal is not provided, the adjusted principal value of the bond repaid at maturity may be less than the original principal amount.
The periodic adjustment of U.S. TIPS is currently tied to the CPI-U, which is calculated by the U.S. Department of Treasury. The CPI-U is a measurement of changes in the cost of living, made up of components such as housing, food, transportation and energy. Inflation-protected bonds issued by a non-U.S. government are generally adjusted to reflect a comparable inflation index, calculated by that government. There can no assurance that the CPI-U or any non-U.S. inflation index will accurately measure the real rate of inflation in the prices of goods and services. If interest rates rise due to reasons other than inflation (for example, due to changes in currency exchange rates), investors in these securities may not be protected to the extent that the increase is not reflected in the bond’s inflation measure. In addition, there can be no assurance that the rate of inflation in a non-U.S. country will be correlated to the rate of inflation in the United States.
In general, the value of inflation-protected bonds is expected to fluctuate in response to changes in real interest rates, which are in turn tied to the relationship between nominal interest rates and the rate of inflation. Therefore, if inflation were to rise at a faster rate than nominal interest rates, real interest rates might decline, leading to an increase in value of inflation-protected bonds. In contrast, if nominal interest rates increased at a faster rate than inflation, real interest rates might rise, leading to a decrease in value of inflation-protected bonds. If inflation is lower than expected during the period the Fund holds the security, the Fund may earn less on the security than on a conventional bond. Any increase in principal value is taxable in the year the increase occurs, even though holders do not receive cash representing the increase at that time. As a result, if the Fund invests in inflation-protected securities, it could be required at times to liquidate other investments, including when it is not advantageous to do so, in order to satisfy its distribution requirements as a RIC and to eliminate any fund-level income tax liability under the Code.
Infrastructure Investments
The Fund may invest in securities and other obligations of U.S. and non-U.S. issuers providing exposure to infrastructure investments. Infrastructure investments include, without limitation, fixed or floating-rate debt instruments or loans issued to finance (or re-finance) the ownership, development, construction, maintenance, renovation, enhancement, or operation of infrastructure assets. Infrastructure investments also include investments in the debt securities of or loans made to issuers of various types including issuers that invest in, own or hold infrastructure assets; or issuers that operate infrastructure assets or provide services, products or raw materials related to the development, construction, maintenance, renovation, enhancement or operation of infrastructure assets. Issuers in which the Fund may invest may include, among others, operating companies, special purpose vehicles, including vehicles created to hold or finance infrastructure assets, municipal issuers, and government-related issuers.
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Infrastructure investments include assets or projects that support the operation, function, growth or development of a community or economy. The infrastructure assets to which the Fund may have exposure, directly or indirectly, include, without limitation, those related to transportation (e.g., airports, metro systems, subways, railroads, ports, toll roads, airplanes); electric utilities and power (e.g., power generation, transmission and distribution); energy (e.g., exploration & production, pipeline, storage, refining and distribution of energy); renewable energies (e.g., wind, solar, hydro, geothermal); communication networks and equipment; water and sewage treatment; social infrastructure (e.g., health care facilities, government accommodations, and other public service facilities); metals and mining; and shipping, cement, steel, and other resources and services related to infrastructure assets (e.g., chemical companies).
The values of the Fund’s infrastructure investments may be entirely dependent upon the successful development, construction, maintenance, renovation, enhancement or operation of infrastructure assets or infrastructure-related projects. Accordingly, the Fund may have significant exposure to adverse economic, regulatory, political, legal, demographic, environmental and other developments affecting the success of the infrastructure assets or projects in which it directly or indirectly invests.
Initial Public Offerings
The Fund may purchase debt or equity securities in IPOs. These securities, which are often issued by unseasoned companies, may be subject to many of the same risks of investing in companies with smaller market capitalizations. Securities issued in IPOs have no trading history, and information about the companies may be available for very limited periods. Securities issued in an IPO frequently are very volatile in price, and the Fund may hold securities purchased in an IPO for a very short period of time. As a result, the Fund’s investments in IPOs may increase portfolio turnover, which increases brokerage and administrative costs and may result in distributions taxable to shareholders subject to tax.
At any particular time or from time to time the Fund may not be able to invest in securities issued in IPOs, or invest to the extent desired because, for example, only a small portion (if any) of the securities being offered in an IPO may be made available to the Fund. In addition, under certain market conditions a relatively small number of companies may issue securities in IPOs. Similarly, as the number of funds advised by the Adviser to which IPO securities are allocated increases, the number of securities issued to any one fund may decrease. The investment performance of the Fund during periods when it is unable to invest significantly or at all in IPOs may be lower than during periods when the Fund is able to do so. In addition, as the Fund increases in size, the impact of IPOs on the Fund’s performance will generally decrease. There can be no assurance that investments in IPOs will be available to the Fund or improve the Fund’s performance.
Private Investment Vehicles
The Fund may also invest in private investment funds, pools, vehicles, or other structures such as, without limitation, hedge funds, private equity funds or other pooled investment vehicles, which may take the form of corporations, partnerships, trusts, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, or any other form of business organization (collectively, “private funds”),
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including those sponsored or advised by the Adviser or its related parties. Private funds may utilize leverage without limit and, to the extent the Fund invests in private funds that utilize leverage, the Fund will indirectly be exposed to the risks associated with that leverage and the values of its shares may be more volatile as a result. If a private fund in which the Fund invests is not publicly offered or there is no public market for its shares, the Fund will typically be prohibited by the terms of its investment from selling its shares in the private fund, or may not be able to find a buyer for those shares at an acceptable price. Securities issued by private funds are generally issued in private placements and are restricted securities. An investment in a private fund may be highly volatile and difficult to value. The Fund would bear its pro rata share of the expenses of any private fund in which it invests. See “—Private Placement and Restricted Securities” in the Prospectus.
An investment in private funds sponsored or advised by the Adviser or its related parties presents certain conflicts of interest. Private funds may pay the Adviser (or its related parties) different levels of fees, each based on the amount of assets invested in them. Accordingly, the Adviser or its related parties will earn fees if the Adviser invests the Fund’s assets in private funds that pay fees to the Adviser or its related parties, and will earn more in payments if the Fund’s assets are allocated to those private funds paying fees at the highest rates. This provides the Adviser an incentive to allocate the Fund’s assets into those private funds that pay the highest rate of fees to the Adviser and its related parties; however, the Adviser has a duty to disregard that incentive and allocate the Fund’s assets based on the best interest of the Fund.
Redeemable Securities
Certain securities held by the Fund may permit the issuer at its option to call or redeem its securities. If an issuer were to redeem securities held by the Fund during a time of declining interest rates, the Fund may not be able to reinvest the proceeds in securities providing the same investment return as the securities redeemed.
Short-Term Investments
Short-term, high quality investments, including, for example, commercial paper, bankers’ acceptances, certificates of deposit, bank time deposits, repurchase agreements, and investments in money market mutual funds or similar pooled investments.
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies
The Fund may invest in stock, warrants, and other securities of special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) or similar special purpose entities that pool funds to seek potential acquisition opportunities. Unless and until an acquisition meeting the SPAC’s requirements is completed, a SPAC generally invests its assets (less a portion retained to cover expenses) in U.S. Government securities, money market securities and cash; if an acquisition that meets the requirements for the SPAC is not completed within a pre-established period of time, the invested funds are returned to the entity’s shareholders. Because SPACs and similar entities have no operating history or ongoing business other than seeking acquisitions, the value of their securities is particularly dependent on the ability of the entity’s management to identify and complete a profitable acquisition. Some SPACs may pursue acquisitions only within certain industries or
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regions, which may increase the volatility of their prices. In addition, these securities, which are typically traded in the over-the-counter market, may be considered illiquid and/or be subject to restrictions on resale. The Fund’s affiliates may create a SPAC for purchase by the Fund to assist the Fund in purchasing certain assets not otherwise available to the Fund.
Stapled Securities
The Fund may invest in stapled securities, which are financial instruments comprised of two or more different instruments that are contractually bound to form a single salable unit; they cannot be bought or sold separately. Stapled securities may often include a share in a company and a unit in a trust related to that company. The resulting security is influenced by both parts, and must be treated as one unit at all times, such as when buying or selling a security. The value of stapled securities and the income, if any, derived from them may fall as well as rise. The market for stapled securities may be illiquid at times, even for those securities that are listed on a domestic or foreign exchange.
Structured Investments
A structured investment is a security having a return tied to an underlying index or other security or asset class. Structured investments generally are individually negotiated agreements and may be traded over-the-counter. Structured investments are organized and operated to restructure the investment characteristics of the underlying security. This restructuring involves the deposit with or purchase by an entity, such as a corporation or trust, or specified instruments (such as commercial bank loans) and the issuance by that entity or one or more classes of securities (“structured securities”) backed by, or representing interests in, the underlying instruments. The cash flow on the underlying instruments may be apportioned among the newly issued structured securities to create securities with different investment characteristics, such as varying maturities, payment priorities and interest rate provisions, and the extent of such payments made with respect to structured securities is dependent on the extent of the cash flow on the underlying instruments. Because structured securities typically involve no credit enhancement, their credit risk generally will be equivalent to that of the underlying instruments. Investments in structured securities are generally of a class of structured securities that is either subordinated or unsubordinated to the right of payment of another class. Subordinated structured securities typically have higher yields and present greater risks than unsubordinated structured securities. Structured securities are typically sold in private placement transactions, and there currently is no active trading market for structured securities. Investments in government and government-related and restructured debt instruments are subject to special risks, including the inability or unwillingness to repay principal and interest, requests to reschedule or restructure outstanding debt and requests to extend additional loan amounts.
Mezzanine Loans
The Fund may invest in mezzanine loans, which are loans that are subordinate in the capital structure of the borrower, meaning that there may be significant indebtedness ranking ahead of the borrower’s obligation to the Fund in the event of the borrower’s insolvency. Although the Fund has no present intention to do so, the Fund may originate mezzanine loans. Such loans may be collateralized with tangible fixed assets such as real property or interests in real property, or
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may be uncollateralized. As with other loans to corporate borrowers, repayment of a mezzanine loan is dependent on the successful operation of the borrower. Mezzanine loans may also be affected by the successful operation of other properties, the interests in which are not pledged to secure the mezzanine loan.
While mezzanine investments may benefit from the same or similar financial and other covenants as those enjoyed by the indebtedness ranking ahead of the mezzanine investments and may benefit from cross-default provisions and security over the borrower’s assets, some or all of such terms may not apply to particular mezzanine investments. Mezzanine investments generally are subject to various risks including, without limitation, (i) a subsequent characterization of an investment as a “fraudulent conveyance”; (ii) the recovery as a “preference” of liens perfected or payments made on account of a debt incurred in the 90 days before a bankruptcy filing; (iii) equitable subordination claims by other creditors; (iv) so-called “lender liability” claims by the issuer of the obligations; and (v) environmental liabilities that may arise with respect to collateral securing the obligations. In addition to interest, the Fund may receive origination fees, extension fees, modification or similar fees in connection with investments in mezzanine loans.
Income Deposit Securities
The Fund may purchase income deposit securities (“IDSs”). Each IDS represents two separate securities, shares of common stock and subordinated notes issued by the same company, that are combined into one unit that trades like a stock on an exchange. Holders of IDSs receive dividends on the Common Shares and interest at a fixed rate on the subordinated notes to produce a blended yield. An IDS is typically listed on a stock exchange, but the underlying securities typically are not listed on the exchange until a period of time after the listing of the IDS or upon the occurrence of certain events (e.g., a change of control of the issuer of the IDS). When the underlying securities are listed, the holders of IDSs generally have the right to separate the components of the IDSs and trade them separately.
There may be a thinner and less active market for IDSs than that available for other securities. The value of an IDS will be affected by factors generally affecting common stock and subordinated debt securities, including the issuer’s actual or perceived ability to pay interest and principal on the notes and pay dividends on the stock.
The U.S. federal income tax treatment of IDSs is not entirely clear and there is no authority that directly addresses the tax treatment of securities with terms substantially similar to IDSs. Among other things, although it is expected that the subordinated notes portion of an IDS will be treated as debt, if it were characterized as equity rather than debt, then it would be possible that the interest paid on the notes might be treated as dividends to the extent paid out of the issuer’s earnings and profits, but it is not at all clear that such dividends would qualify for favorable long-term capital gains rates currently available to dividends on other types of equity.
Indexed Securities
The Fund may purchase securities whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indices, currencies, precious metals or other commodities, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose value at
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maturity or coupon rate is determined by reference to a specific instrument or statistic. Gold-indexed securities, for example, typically provide for a maturity value that depends on the price of gold, resulting in a security whose price tends to rise and fall together with gold prices. Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities of equivalent issuers. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put option on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities also may have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the security, currency, commodity or other instrument to which they are indexed, and also may be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. At the same time, indexed securities are subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer’s creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Master Limited Partnerships
The Fund may invest in master limited partnerships (“MLPs”), which are limited partnerships in which ownership units are publicly traded. MLPs often own or own interests in properties or businesses that are related to oil and gas industries, including pipelines, although MLPs may invest in other types of investments, including credit-related investments. Generally, an MLP is operated under the supervision of one or more managing general partners. Limited partners (like the Fund when it invests in an MLP) are not involved in the day-to-day management of the partnership. The Fund also may invest in companies who serve (or whose affiliates serve) as the general partner of an MLP.
Investments in MLPs are generally subject to many of the risks that apply to partnerships. For example, holders of the units of MLPs may have limited control and limited voting rights on matters affecting the partnership. There may be fewer corporate protections afforded investors in an MLP than investors in a corporation. Conflicts of interest may exist among unit holders, subordinated unit holders and the general partner of an MLP, including those arising from incentive distribution payments. MLPs that concentrate in a particular industry or region are subject to risks associated with such industry or region. MLPs holding credit-related investments are subject to interest rate risk and the risk of default on payment obligations by debt issuers. Investments held by MLPs may be illiquid. MLP units may trade infrequently and in limited volume, and they may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than securities of larger or more broadly based companies.
The Fund may also hold investments in limited liability companies that have many of the same characteristics and are subject to many of the same risks as MLPs.
The manner and extent of the Fund’s investments in MLPs and limited liability companies may be limited by its intention to qualify as a RIC under the Code, and any such investments by the
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Fund may adversely affect the ability of the Fund to so qualify. Subject to any future regulatory guidance to the contrary, any distribution of income attributable to qualified publicly traded partnership income from the Fund’s investment in an MLP will ostensibly not qualify for the deduction that would be available to a non-corporate shareholder were the shareholder to own such MLP directly. Subject to any future regulatory guidance to the contrary, any distribution of income attributable to qualified publicly traded partnership income from the Fund’s investment in an MLP will ostensibly not qualify for the deduction that would be available to a non-corporate shareholder were the shareholder to own such MLP directly.
Bank Capital Securities
The Fund may invest in bank capital securities of both non-U.S. (foreign) and U.S. issuers. Bank capital securities may be issued by banks to help fulfill their regulatory capital requirements. Bank capital securities may be of any credit quality. Bank capital securities may include, among other investments, fixed-maturity dated subordinated notes; hybrid securities with characteristics of both debt obligations and preferred stocks; perpetual callable securities with no maturity date and a cumulative interest deferral feature, which permits the issuer bank to withhold payment of interest until a later undetermined date; and convertible debt securities that can be converted at the issuer’s option to equity securities. Investments in bank capital securities are subject to the risks of other debt investments, such as default and non-payment, as well as certain other risks, such as the risk that bank regulators may force the bank to dissolve, merge, restructure its capitalization or take other actions intended to prevent its failure or ensure its orderly resolution. Bank regulators in certain jurisdictions have broad authorities they may use to prevent the failure of banking institutions or to stabilize the banking industry, all of which may adversely affect the values of investments in bank capital securities and other bank obligations, including those of other banks.
Litigation
The Fund or the Adviser on behalf of the Fund may participate in bankruptcy, insolvency or other similar proceedings relating to securities held by the Fund and join creditors’ committees to preserve and pursue the Fund’s rights. Further, the Adviser or the Fund may, on occasion, initiate litigation against an issuer or related parties in connection with securities presently or previously held by the Fund (whether by opting out of an existing class action lawsuit or otherwise). There can be no assurance of any recovery in any such proceeding and there may be significant delay in achieving any recovery. The Fund will bear its own costs in pursuing such actions, including, potentially, retaining counsel to represent the Fund on a contingency or other fee basis. The Fund may encounter substantial difficulties in obtaining and enforcing judgments against individuals and companies located in certain foreign jurisdictions. It may be difficult or impossible to obtain or enforce remedies against governments, their agencies and sponsored entities. The Fund could be subject to claims against it and any litigation it pursues could result in counterclaims against it, all of which could adversely affect the Fund.
Tax Considerations
The requirements for qualification and treatment as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes limit the extent to which the Fund may invest in certain securities and transactions described
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above. In addition, the Fund’s utilization of certain investment instruments may alter the character and timing of income attributable to the Fund relative to other means of achieving similar investment exposure. In certain circumstances, accelerated attribution of income may require the Fund to sell assets in order to meet RIC distribution requirements even when investment considerations make such sales otherwise undesirable. For more information concerning these requirements and the taxation of investments, see “Tax Matters” below.
Legal and Regulatory Risk
Legal, tax and regulatory changes could occur and may adversely affect the Fund and its ability to pursue its investment strategies and/or increase the costs of implementing such strategies. New (or revised) laws or regulations may be imposed by the CFTC, the SEC, the IRS, the U.S. Federal Reserve or other banking regulators, other governmental regulatory authorities or self-regulatory organizations that supervise the financial markets that could adversely affect the Fund. In particular, these agencies have implemented or are in the process of implementing a variety of new rules pursuant to financial reform legislation in the United States. The EU, the United Kingdom, and some other jurisdictions have implemented or are in the process of implementing similar requirements. The Fund also may be adversely affected by changes in the enforcement or interpretation of existing statutes and rules by these governmental regulatory authorities or self-regulatory organizations.
In addition, the securities and derivatives markets are subject to comprehensive statutes, regulations and margin requirements. The Fund and the Adviser have historically been eligible for exemptions from certain regulations. However, there is no assurance that the Fund and the Adviser will continue to be eligible for such exemptions. The CFTC, the SEC, the FDIC, other regulators and self-regulatory organizations and exchanges are also authorized by statute, regulation and otherwise to take extraordinary actions in the event of market emergencies. To the extent the Fund invests in the derivatives and futures markets, see also “Risks Arising from Government Regulation of Derivatives” below and “Clearing Broker and Central Clearing Counterparty Risk” above.
The CFTC and U.S. futures exchanges have established (and continue to evaluate and revise) speculative position limits, referred to as “position limits,” on the maximum net long or net short positions which any person, or group of persons acting in concert, may hold or control in certain futures and options on futures contracts. In addition, federal position limits will apply to swaps that are economically equivalent to futures contracts that are subject to CFTC set speculative limits. All positions owned or controlled by the same person or entity, even if in different accounts, must be aggregated for purposes of determining whether the applicable position limits have been exceeded, unless an exemption applies. Thus, even if the Fund does not intend to exceed applicable position limits, it is possible that different clients managed by the Adviser and its related parties may be aggregated for this purpose. Any modifications of trading decisions or elimination of open positions that may be required to avoid exceeding such limits may adversely affect the performance of the Fund and its ability to pursue its investment strategies. A violation of position limits could also lead to regulatory action materially adverse to the Fund’s investment strategies.
Rules implementing the credit risk retention requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act for asset-backed securities require the sponsor of certain securitization vehicles (or a majority owned
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affiliate of such sponsor) to retain, and to refrain from transferring, selling, conveying to a third party, or hedging the credit risk on a portion of the assets transferred, sold, or conveyed through the issuance of the asset-backed securities of such vehicle, subject to certain exceptions. These requirements may increase the costs to originators, securitizers, and, in certain cases, collateral managers of securitization vehicles in which the Fund may invest, which costs could be passed along to the Fund as an investor in such vehicles. In addition, the costs imposed by the risk retention rules on originators, securitizers and/or collateral managers may result in a reduction of the number of new offerings of asset-backed securities and thus in fewer investment opportunities for the Fund. A reduction in the number of new securitizations could also reduce liquidity in the markets for certain types of financial assets that are typically held by securitization vehicles, which in turn could negatively affect the returns on the Fund’s investment in asset-backed securities.
Investors should also be aware that some EU-regulated institutions (including banks, certain investment firms, and authorized managers of alternative investment funds) are restricted from investing in securitizations (including U.S.-related securitizations), unless, in summary: (i) the institution is able to demonstrate that it has undertaken certain due diligence in respect of various matters, including its investment position, the underlying assets, and (in the case of authorized managers of alternative investment funds) the sponsor and the originator of the securitization; and (ii) the originator, sponsor, or original lender of the securitization has explicitly disclosed to the institution that it will retain, on an ongoing basis, a net economic interest of not less than 5% of specified credit risk tranches or asset exposures related to the securitization. Although these requirements do not apply directly to the Fund, the costs of compliance, in the case of any securitization within the EU risk retention rules in which the Fund has invested or is seeking to invest, could be indirectly borne by the Fund and the other investors in the securitization.
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Risks Arising from Government Regulation of Derivatives
The regulation of derivatives transactions and funds that engage in such transactions is an evolving area of law and is subject to modification by government, self-regulatory organization and judicial action. Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act, which became effective August 19, 2022, governs the use of derivative investments and certain financing transactions (e.g. reverse repurchase agreements) by registered investment companies. Among other things, Rule 18f-4 requires funds that invest in derivative instruments beyond a specified limited amount to apply a value-at-risk based limit to their use of certain derivative instruments and financing transactions and to adopt and implement a derivatives risk management program. A fund that uses derivative instruments in a limited amount is not subject to the full requirements of Rule 18f-4. Compliance with Rule 18f-4 could restrict the Fund’s ability to engage in certain derivatives transactions and/or increase the costs of such derivatives transactions, which could adversely affect the value or performance of the Fund.
The Dodd-Frank Act has caused broad changes to the OTC derivatives market and granted significant authority to the SEC and the CFTC to regulate OTC derivatives and market participants. Pursuant to such authority, rules have been enacted that currently require clearing of many OTC derivatives transactions and may require clearing of additional OTC derivatives transactions in the future and that impose minimum margin and capital requirements for uncleared OTC derivatives transactions. Similar regulations have been or are being adopted in other jurisdictions around the world. The implementation of the clearing requirement has increased the costs of derivatives transactions since investors have to pay fees to clearing members and are typically required to post more margin for cleared derivatives than had historically been the case. While the new rules and regulations and central clearing of some derivatives transactions are designed to reduce systemic risk (i.e., the risk that the interdependence of large derivatives dealers could cause them to suffer liquidity, solvency or other challenges simultaneously), there is no assurance that they will achieve that result, and mandatory clearing of derivatives may expose the Fund to new kinds of costs and risks.
Additionally, new regulations may result in increased uncertainty about credit/counterparty risk and may limit the flexibility of the Fund to protect its interests in the event of an insolvency of a derivatives counterparty. In the event of a counterparty’s (or its affiliate’s) insolvency, the Fund’s ability to exercise remedies, such as the termination of transactions, netting of obligations and realization on collateral, could be stayed or eliminated under the rules of the applicable exchange or clearing corporation or under relatively new special resolution regimes adopted in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and various other jurisdictions. Such regimes provide government authorities with broad authority to intervene when a financial institution is experiencing financial difficulty. In particular, with respect to counterparties who are subject to such proceedings in the United Kingdom and the European Union, the liabilities of such counterparties to the Fund could be reduced, eliminated, or converted to equity in such counterparties (sometimes referred to as a “bail in”).
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Portfolio Turnover
A portfolio turnover rate is, in summary, the percentage computed by dividing the lesser of the Fund’s purchases or sales of securities (excluding short-term securities and certain derivatives) by the average market value of the Fund. The Adviser manages the Fund’s assets by buying and selling securities to help attain its investment objective. This may result in increases or decreases in the Fund’s current income and gains available for distribution to its shareholders. The Fund may dispose of investments (including money market instruments) regardless of the holding period if, in the opinion of the Adviser, it is in the best interest of the Fund to do so, for example, because an issuer’s creditworthiness or perceived changes in a company’s growth prospects or asset value make selling them advisable. Such an investment decision may result in capital gains, including short-term capital gains taxable as ordinary income when distributed to taxable shareholders, or losses and could result in a high portfolio turnover rate during a given period. Transactions in equity securities typically involve the payment of brokerage commissions, which are borne by the Fund and negatively affect the Fund’s performance. Debt securities are normally traded on a principal basis, involving a mark-up or mark-down of the price, which is an indirect transaction cost, and therefore the Fund incurs transaction costs when trading them. Its costs are incorporated in purchase or sale prices and negatively affect the Fund’s performance. The trading costs and tax effects associated with portfolio turnover may adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
The portfolio turnover rates of the Fund for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2022 are as follows:
| 2021 | 2022 | |||
| Portfolio Turnover Rate |
44% | 19% |
The Board is responsible for overseeing the management and operations of the Fund. The Board approves all significant agreements between the Fund and the persons or companies that furnish services to the Fund, including agreements with its distributor, investment manager, administrator, custodian and transfer agent.
Role of the Board of Trustees, Leadership Structure and Risk Oversight
The information contained under the headings “Proposals: Re-Election of Trustees—Board Leadership Structure” and “Proposals: Re-Election of Trustees—Board Committees and Meetings” in the Fund’s Proxy Statement, dated January 20, 2023, is incorporated herein by reference.
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Securities Ownership
The information contained under the heading “Proposals: Re-Election of Trustees—Equity Ownership in the Funds” in the Fund’s Proxy Statement, dated January 20, 2023, is incorporated herein by reference.
Compensation
The information contained under the heading “Proposals: Re-Election of Trustees—Compensation of Independent Trustees” in the Fund’s Proxy Statement, dated January 20, 2023, is incorporated herein by reference.
Control Persons and Principal Holders of Securities
Except as noted below in the table, to the Fund’s knowledge, no persons owned of record 5% or more of any class of Common Shares. The following information is provided as of August 31, 2023. A shareholder who beneficially owns 25% or more of the Fund is presumed to control the Fund and such shareholders will be able to affect the outcome of matters presented for a vote of the Fund’s shareholders. Persons controlling the Fund may be able to determine the outcome of any proposal submitted to the shareholders for approval, including changes to the Fund’s fundamental policies or the terms of the Investment Management Agreement with the Adviser. As of August 31, 2023, the Fund’s officers and Trustees as a group owned less than 1% of the outstanding Common Shares.
| Shareholder Name & Address |
|
% held as of August 31, 2023 | ||||
| DoubleLine Yield Opportunities Fund |
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC | 16.16% | ||||
| 225 South 6th St. #5100 | ||||||
| Minneapolis, MN 55402 | ||||||
| UBS Group AG | 13.59% | |||||
| 1285 Avenue of the Americas | ||||||
| New York, NY 10019 | ||||||
| National Financial Service (Fidelity) | 11.06% | |||||
| 100 Salem St. | ||||||
| Smithfield, RI 02917 | ||||||
| First Clearing | 10.25% | |||||
| One North Jefferson H0005-072 | ||||||
| St. Louis, MO 63103 | ||||||
| Charles Schwab | 10.04% | |||||
| 215 Fremont St. | ||||||
| San Francisco, CA 94105 | ||||||
| Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated | 8.44% | |||||
| 250 Vesey St. | ||||||
| New York, NY 10281 | ||||||
| TD Ameritrade 6996 France Ave. South Edina, MN 55435 |
|
5.08% |
Code of Ethics
Both the Fund and the Adviser have adopted a joint code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act (the “Code of Ethics”). While the Code of Ethics permits personnel subject thereto to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund, they also subject such personnel, other than Trustees of the Fund that are not interested persons of the Fund within the meaning of Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act, to a number of procedures and prohibitions with respect to investment activities. These procedures include (1) reporting, including on a quarterly and annual basis, of accounts, position and transaction information, other than positions in certain securities that are excluded from the reporting requirements of Rule 17j-1(d); (2) pre-clearance of securities transactions other than transactions in certain excluded securities and
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other than certain exclusions based on de minimis trade sizes; and (3) a pre-approval requirement with respect to the purchase of any securities in a private placement, IPO or limited offering. The Code of Ethics also prohibits the investment by subject personnel in (1) any security on the Adviser’s list of restricted securities; (2) uncovered short sales; and (3) uncovered options. Additional restrictions and prohibitions also apply to certain investment personnel subject to the Code of Ethics, including portfolio managers.
The code of ethics is filed as an exhibit to the Fund’s registration statement and is available on the EDGAR database of the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, copies of the code of ethics may be obtained, after mailing the appropriate duplicating fee, by e-mail request to [email protected].
The Fund and the Adviser are parties to an Investment Management Agreement (“Investment Management Agreement”). DoubleLine Capital was organized in 2009 as a Delaware limited liability company, and was converted into a Delaware limited partnership on December 23, 2009. The general partner of DoubleLine Capital is DoubleLine Capital GP LLC, an entity that is majority owned by Jeffrey E. Gundlach. As a result, Mr. Gundlach may be deemed to control DoubleLine Capital. As of June 30, 2023, DoubleLine Capital had approximately $95.0 billion of assets under management. All investment personnel of DoubleLine Capital are employees of DoubleLine Group LP and provide services to DoubleLine Capital pursuant to contractual arrangements. The general partner of DoubleLine Group LP is DoubleLine Capital GP LLC, an entity that is majority owned by Jeffrey E. Gundlach. As a result, Mr. Gundlach may be deemed to control DoubleLine Group LP. Under the Investment Management Agreement, the Fund retains the Adviser to manage the investment of its assets, to place orders for the purchase and sale of its portfolio securities, to administer its day-to-day operations, and to be responsible for overall management of the Trust’s business affairs subject to the oversight of the Board. The Adviser is responsible for obtaining and evaluating economic, statistical, and financial data and for formulating and implementing investment programs in furtherance of the Fund’s investment objective.
Investment Advisory Services
The Adviser furnishes to the Fund office space and equipment, provides certain bookkeeping and clerical services, and pays all salaries, fees, and expenses of officers and Trustees of the Fund who are officers or employees of the Adviser.
The Adviser receives an annual fee, computed and paid monthly, in an amount equal to 1.35% of the Fund’s average daily total managed assets. “Total managed assets” means the total assets of the Fund (including assets attributable to any reverse repurchase agreements, dollar roll transactions, or similar transactions, borrowings, and preferred shares that may be outstanding) minus accrued liabilities (other than liabilities in respect of reverse repurchase agreements, dollar roll transactions, or similar transactions, and borrowings). For purposes of calculating “total managed assets,” the liquidation preference of any preferred shares outstanding is not considered a liability. With respect to any reverse repurchase agreement, dollar roll or similar transaction, “total managed assets” includes any proceeds from the sale of an asset of the Fund to a
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counterparty in such a transaction, in addition to the value of the asset subject to the reverse repurchase agreement or dollar roll transaction, as of the relevant measuring date. Cash and cash equivalents are included when calculating the Fund’s total managed assets. For purposes of calculating total managed assets, the Fund’s derivative investments generally will be valued based on their market value (i.e., the notional value of such investments will not be used for purposes of calculating total managed assets). The average daily total managed assets of the Fund for any month is determined by taking an average of all of the determinations of total managed assets during such month at the close of business on each business day during such month.
Except for expenses specifically assumed by the Adviser under the Investment Management Agreement or otherwise, the Fund bears all expenses incurred in its operations including, without limitation, (a) all costs and expenses incident to the public offering of securities of the Fund not otherwise assumed by the Adviser, including those relating to the registration of its securities under the Securities Act and any filings required under state securities laws and any fees payable in connection therewith; (b) the charges and expenses of any custodian(s) appointed by the Fund for the safekeeping of the cash, portfolio securities, and other property of the Fund; (c) the charges and expenses of independent accountants; (d) the charges and expenses of any stock transfer and dividend disbursing agent or agents and registrar or registrars appointed by the Fund; (e) the charges and expenses of any administrator appointed by the Fund to provide administrative services to the Fund; (f) the charges and expenses of any accounting and/or sub-accounting agent appointed by the Fund to provide accounting or sub-accounting services to the Fund; (g) the costs and expenses of any wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund to the extent such costs or expenses are not directly borne by the subsidiary; (h) brokerage commissions, dealer spreads, and other costs incurred in connection with proposed or consummated portfolio securities transactions; (i) all taxes, including securities issuance and transfer taxes, and corporate fees payable by the Fund to federal, state, local, or other governmental agencies; (j) the cost and expense of printing and issuing certificates, if any, representing securities of the Fund; (k) fees involved in registering and maintaining registrations of the Fund under the 1940 Act; (l) all expenses of shareholders’ and Trustees’ meetings, and of preparing, printing, and mailing proxy statements and reports to shareholders; (m) fees and expenses of Trustees of the Fund who are not officers or employees of the Adviser or a non-investment company entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Adviser; (n) all fees and expenses incident to the Fund’s dividend reinvestment plan; (o) charges and expenses of legal counsel (or any other consultant or adviser) to the Fund or to the Independent Trustees of the Fund; (p) trade association dues; (q) costs, including dividend and/or interest expenses and other costs (including, without limitation, offering and related legal costs, fees to brokers, fees to auction or liquidity agents, fees to transfer agents, fees to rating agencies and fees to auditors associated with satisfying rating agency requirements for preferred shares or other senior securities issued by the Fund and other related requirements in the Fund’s organizational documents) associated with the Fund’s issuance, offering, redemption and maintenance of preferred shares or other senior securities; (r) any shareholder relations expense; (s) premiums for a fidelity bond and any errors and omissions insurance maintained by the Fund; and (t) any other ordinary or extraordinary expenses incurred by the Fund in the course of its business.
The Investment Management Agreement will continue in effect as to the Fund initially for two years and thereafter from year to year if such continuance is approved at least annually by (a) the
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Board or by the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, and (b) vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees, cast in a manner consistent with the 1940 Act, and any applicable guidance or interpretations of the SEC or its staff, at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. The Investment Management Agreement may be terminated without penalty at any time on not more than 60 days’ written notice, by the Board or by affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund. The Adviser may at any time, without paying any penalty, terminate the Investment Management Agreement by not less than 60 days’ written notice to the Fund. The Investment Management Agreement terminates automatically in the event of its assignment.
The Investment Management Agreement also provides that in the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Adviser, or reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under the Investment Management Agreement, the Adviser, including its officers, directors, and partners, shall not be subject to any liability to the Fund, or to any shareholder, officer, director, partner, or Trustee of the Fund, for any act or omission in the course of, or connected with, rendering services under the Investment Management Agreement.
Advisory fees, fee waivers and expense reimbursements/(recoupment) for the past three fiscal years were as follows:
| Fiscal year ending: | Gross Advisory Fee Accrued |
Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement |
Fees and/or Expenses Recouped by Adviser |
Net Advisory Fee Paid |
||||||||||||
| February 26, 2020 - September 30, 2020 |
$7,766,642 | $0 | $0 | $7,766,642 | ||||||||||||
| September 30, 2021 |
$16,755,449 | $0 | $0 | $16,755,449 | ||||||||||||
| September 30, 2022 |
$15,667,153 | $0 | $0 | $15,667,153 | ||||||||||||
Administrative Services
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, with offices at 777 E. Wisconsin Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53202 and doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, (“USBGFS” or the “Administrator”) is the Fund’s administrator, fund accountant and transfer agent pursuant to a Master Services Agreement (the “Master Services Agreement”) between the Fund and USBGFS. As administrator, USBGFS provides certain services, including, among other things, certain compliance monitoring services; furnishing the Fund with various services required by the Fund’s operations; compiling data for and preparing filings or notices to the SEC; calculating the Fund’s daily NAV, providing pricing information and certain other financial data; preparing reports that are required by the securities, investment, tax or other laws and regulations of the United States; coordinating federal and state tax returns; monitoring the Fund’s expense accruals; and generally assisting in the overall operations of the Fund.
U.S. Bank National Association (the “Custodian”), an affiliate of USBGFS, serves as custodian for the Fund and is responsible for maintaining custody of the Fund’s cash and investments. The Fund pays USBGFS and the Custodian a combined asset based fee, payable monthly, at the annual rate of 0.02% of the Fund’s average daily total managed assets. For these purposes, the Fund’s average daily total managed assets will be calculated in the same manner as they are for
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purposes of calculating the fee payable under the Investment Management Agreement. See “Management of the Fund—Investment Management Agreement” in the Prospectus. The Fund will also pay the Custodian additional charges for transactions in book-entry securities, repurchase agreements, short sales, options, futures, mutual funds, margin variation, physical security transactions and segregated accounts and reimburse USBGFS and the Custodian for their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses in performing their duties under the Master Services Agreement and the Custody Agreement.
Fees paid to the Administrator for the past three fiscal years were as follows:
| Fiscal year ending: | Fees Paid | |||
| February 26, 2020 - September 30, 2020 |
$184,960 | |||
| September 30, 2021 |
$389,201 | |||
| September 30, 2022 |
$428,737 | |||
The following table sets forth certain additional information with respect to the portfolio managers for the Fund. Unless noted otherwise, all information is provided as of September 30, 2022.
Other Accounts Managed by Portfolio Managers
The table below identifies, for each portfolio manager, the number of accounts for which he or she has day-to-day management responsibilities and the total assets in such accounts, within each of the following categories: (i) the number of registered investment companies, pooled investment vehicles and other accounts managed by the portfolio manager; and (ii) the total assets of such companies, vehicles and accounts, and the number and total assets of such companies, vehicles and accounts with respect to which the advisory fee is based on performance.
| Performance Fee Accounts
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portfolio Manager |
Registered Investment Companies |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
Other Accounts |
Registered Investment Companies |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
Other Accounts | ||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| # of Accts |
Total Assets ($B) |
# of Accts |
Total Assets ($B) |
# of Accts |
Total Assets ($B) |
# of Accts |
Total Assets ($) |
# of Accts |
Total Assets ($B) |
# of Accts |
Total Assets ($MM) | |||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jeffrey E. Gundlach | 32 | 73.029 | 19 | 9.919 | 77 | 14.653 | None | None | 2 | 1.329 | 3 | 1.035 | ||||||||||||
| Jeffrey J. Sherman | 26 | 37.275 | 12 | 3.055 | 21 | 4.161 | None | None | None | None | None | None | ||||||||||||
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Conflicts of Interest
From time to time, potential and actual conflicts of interest may arise between a portfolio manager’s management of the investments of the Fund, on the one hand, and the management of other accounts, on the other. Potential and actual conflicts of interest also may result because of the Adviser’s other business activities. Other accounts managed by a portfolio manager might have similar investment objectives or strategies as the Fund, be managed (benchmarked) against the same index that a portfolio investment of the Fund tracks, or otherwise hold, purchase, or sell securities that are eligible to be held, purchased or sold by the Fund. The other accounts might also have different investment objectives or strategies than the Fund.
Affiliated Investments. The Adviser is, and may be in the future, affiliated with certain large financial institutions (“affiliates”) that hold interests in an entity that are of a different class or type than the class or type of interest held by the Fund. Conflicts may arise in cases where the Fund and affiliates invest in different parts of an issuer’s capital structure, such as when an affiliate holds securities in an entity that are senior or junior to the securities held by the Fund, which could mean that the affiliate will be entitled to different payments or other rights, or that in a workout or other distressed scenario the interests of the affiliate might be adverse to those of the Fund and the affiliate and the Fund might have disparate investment outcomes. For example, an affiliate may acquire a loan, loan participation, or a loan assignment of a particular borrower in which one or more Funds have an equity investment. In negotiating the terms and conditions of any such investments, or any subsequent amendments or waivers, the Adviser may find that its own interests, the interests of an affiliate, and/or the interests of the Fund could conflict. The Adviser may seek to avoid such conflicts in certain circumstances when investing on behalf of its clients, including the Fund, and, as a result, the Adviser may choose not to make certain investments on behalf of the Fund and/or its other clients. Those foregone investment opportunities may adversely affect the Fund’s performance if similarly attractive opportunities are not available or cannot be identified.
Knowledge and Timing of Fund Trades. A potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the portfolio managers’ management of the Fund. Because of their position with the Fund, the portfolio managers know the size, timing and possible market impact of the Fund’s trades. It is theoretically possible that the portfolio managers could use this information to the advantage of other accounts under management, and also theoretically possible that actions could be taken (or not taken) to the detriment of the Fund.
Investment Opportunities. A potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the portfolio managers’ management of a number of accounts with varying investment guidelines. Often, an investment opportunity may be suitable for both the Fund and other accounts managed by the portfolio managers, but securities may not be available in sufficient quantities for both the Fund and the other accounts to participate fully. Similarly, there may be limited opportunity to sell an investment held by the Fund and another account. The Adviser has adopted policies and procedures reasonably designed to allocate investment opportunities on a fair and equitable basis over time.
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Under the Adviser’s allocation procedures, investment opportunities are allocated among various investment strategies based on individual account investment guidelines, the Adviser’s investment outlook, cash availability and a series of other factors. The Adviser has also adopted additional internal practices to complement the general trade allocation policy that are designed to address potential conflicts of interest due to the side-by-side management of the Fund and certain pooled investment vehicles, including investment opportunity allocation issues.
Conflicts potentially limiting the Fund’s investment opportunities may also arise when the Fund and other clients of the Adviser invest in, or even conduct research relating to, different parts of an issuer’s capital structure, such as when the Fund owns senior debt obligations of an issuer and other clients own junior tranches of the same issuer. In such circumstances, decisions over whether to trigger an event of default, over the terms of any workout, or how to exit an investment may result in conflicts of interest. In order to minimize such conflicts, a portfolio manager may avoid certain investment opportunities that would potentially give rise to conflicts with other clients of the Adviser or result in the Adviser receiving material, non-public information, or the Adviser may enact internal procedures designed to minimize such conflicts, which could have the effect of limiting the Fund’s investment opportunities. Additionally, if the Adviser acquires material non-public confidential information in connection with its business activities for other clients, a portfolio manager or other investment personnel may be restricted from purchasing securities or selling certain securities for the Fund or other clients. When making investment decisions where a conflict of interest may arise, the Adviser will endeavor to act in a fair and equitable manner between the Fund and other clients; however, in certain instances the resolution of the conflict may result in the Adviser acting on behalf of another client in a manner that may not be in the best interest, or may be opposed to the best interest, of the Fund.
Investors in the Fund may also be advisory clients of the Adviser or the Fund may invest in a product managed or sponsored or otherwise affiliated with the Adviser. Accordingly, the Adviser may in the course of its business provide advice to advisory clients whose interests may conflict with those of the Fund, may render advice to the Fund that provides a direct or indirect benefit to the Adviser or a related party of the Adviser or may manage or advise a product in which the Fund is invested in such a way that would not be beneficial to the Fund. For example, the Adviser may advise a client who has invested in the Fund to sell its investment in the Fund, which may cause the market value of the Fund’s shares to decline. The Adviser could also, for example, make decisions with respect to a structured product managed or sponsored by the Adviser in a manner that could have adverse effects on investors in the product, including, potentially, the Fund. The Adviser and/or its related parties currently provide asset allocation investment advice, which may include recommending the purchase and/or sale of shares of the Fund, to another investment advisor which itself makes that advice available to a number of unaffiliated registered representatives, who then may provide identical or similar recommendations to their clients.
Broad and Wide-Ranging Activities. The portfolio managers, the Adviser and its related parties engage in a broad spectrum of activities. In the ordinary course of their business activities, the
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portfolio managers, the Adviser and its related parties may engage in activities where the interests of certain divisions of the Adviser and its related parties or the interests of their clients may conflict with the interests of the shareholders of the Fund.
Potential conflicts may be inherent in the Adviser’s use of multiple strategies. For example, conflicts will arise in cases where different clients (for purposes of this discussion, references to a “client” should be read to include potentially one or more of the DoubleLine Funds potentially as well as potentially other client accounts, including those in which the Adviser or its related persons and employees may have interests), invest in different parts of an issuer’s capital structure, including circumstances in which one or more clients may own securities or obligations of an issuer and other clients of the Adviser, may own or seek to acquire different securities of the same issuer. For example, the Fund may acquire a loan, loan participation or a loan assignment of a particular borrower in which one or more other clients of the Adviser have an equity investment, or may invest in senior debt obligations of an issuer for one client and junior debt obligations or equity of the same issuer for another client.
The Adviser may also, for example, direct a client to invest in a tranche of a structured finance vehicle, such as a mortgage-backed security (“MBS”), CLO or CDO, where the Adviser is also, at the same or different time, directing another client to make investments in a different tranche of the same vehicle, which tranche’s interests may be adverse to other tranches. The Adviser may also cause a client to purchase from, or sell assets to, an entity, such as a structured finance vehicle, in which other clients may have an interest, potentially in a manner that will have an adverse effect on the other clients. There may also be conflicts where, for example, a client holds certain debt or equity securities of an issuer, and that same issuer has issued other debt, equity or other instruments that are owned by other clients or by an entity, such as a structured finance vehicle, in which other clients have an interest.
In each of the situations described above, the Adviser may take actions with respect to the assets held by one client that are adverse to the interests of other clients, for example, by foreclosing on loans, by putting an issuer into default, or by exercising rights to purchase or sell to an issuer, causing an issuer to take actions adverse to certain classes of securities, or otherwise. In negotiating the terms and conditions of any such investments, or any subsequent amendments or waivers or taking any other actions, the Adviser may find that the interests of a client and the interests of one or more other clients could conflict. In these situations, decisions over items such as whether to make the investment or take an action, proxy voting, reorganizations, how to exit an investment, or bankruptcy or similar matters (including, for example, whether to trigger an event of default or change the terms of any workout) may result in conflicts of interest.
Similarly, if an issuer in which a client and one or more other clients directly or indirectly hold different classes of securities (or other assets, instruments or obligations issued by such issuer or underlying investments of such issuer) encounters financial problems, decisions over the terms of any workout will raise conflicts of interests (including, for example, conflicts over proposed waivers and amendments to debt covenants). For example, a debt holder may be better served by a liquidation of the issuer in which it may be paid in full, whereas an equity or junior bond holder might prefer a reorganization that holds the potential to create value for the equity holders. In some cases the Adviser may refrain from taking certain actions or making certain investments on behalf of clients in order to avoid or mitigate certain conflicts of interest or to prevent adverse
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regulatory or other effects on the Adviser, or may sell investments for certain clients (in each case potentially disadvantaging the clients on whose behalf the actions are not taken, investments not made, or investments sold). Foregone investment opportunities or actions may adversely affect the performance of a client’s account if similarly attractive opportunities are not available or cannot be identified. In other cases, the Adviser may not refrain from taking actions or making investments on behalf of certain clients that have the potential to disadvantage other clients. In addition, the Adviser may take actions or refrain from taking actions in order to mitigate legal risks to the Adviser or its affiliates or its clients even if disadvantageous to a client. Moreover, a client may invest in a transaction in which one or more other clients are expected to participate, or already have made or will seek to make, an investment.
Possible Future Activities. The Adviser and its related parties may expand the range of services that it provides over time. Except as provided herein, the Adviser and its related parties will not be restricted in the scope of its business or in the performance of any such services (whether now offered or undertaken in the future) even if such activities could give rise to conflicts of interest, and whether or not such conflicts are described herein. The Adviser and its related parties have, and will continue to develop, relationships with a significant number of companies, financial sponsors and their senior managers, including relationships with clients who may hold or may have held investments similar to those intended to be made by the Fund. These clients may themselves represent appropriate investment opportunities for the Fund or may compete with the Fund for investment opportunities.
Performance Fees and Personal Investments. A portfolio manager may advise certain accounts with respect to which the advisory fee is based entirely or partially on performance or in respect of which the portfolio manager may have made a significant personal investment. Such circumstances may create a conflict of interest for the portfolio manager in that the portfolio manager may have an incentive to allocate the investment opportunities that he or she believes might be the most profitable to such other accounts instead of allocating them to the Fund. The Adviser has adopted policies and procedures reasonably designed to allocate investment opportunities between the Fund and performance fee based accounts on a fair and equitable basis over time.
Joint Insurance Policies. The Fund has entered into (and paid a portion of the premiums of) a joint errors and omissions/trustees and officers insurance policy with the Adviser and certain private funds advised by the Adviser. Participation in the joint policy could potentially limit the recovery of the Fund as a result of, among other reasons, claims by other insureds (such as the Adviser or a private fund) exhausting the available coverage. Such arrangements are reviewed annually by the Board. The Adviser may engage an independent third party to assess the allocation of the portions of the premiums paid by the Fund and the Adviser. Any such expenses borne by the Fund are indirectly borne by the Fund’s shareholders.
Use of Leverage. During periods in which the Fund is using leverage, the fees paid to the Adviser for investment advisory services, which may directly or indirectly affect the portfolio managers’ compensation, will be higher than if the Fund did not use leverage because the fees paid will be calculated on the basis of the Fund’s total managed assets, including assets attributable to borrowings, any preferred shares that may be outstanding, reverse repurchase agreements, dollar roll transactions and/or similar transactions, which may create an incentive for a portfolio manager to leverage the Fund or to leverage using strategies that increase the Adviser’s fee.
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Portfolio Manager Compensation
The overall objective of the compensation program for portfolio managers is for the Adviser to attract competent and expert investment professionals and to retain them over the long-term. Compensation is comprised of several components which, in the aggregate are designed to achieve these objectives and to reward the portfolio managers for their contribution to the success of their clients and the Adviser. Portfolio managers are compensated through a combination of base salary, discretionary bonus and equity participation in the Adviser. Bonuses and equity generally represent most of the portfolio managers’ compensation. However, in some cases, portfolio managers may have a profit sharing interest in the revenue or income related to the areas for which the portfolio managers are responsible. Such profit sharing arrangements can comprise a significant portion of a portfolio manager’s overall compensation.
Salary. Salary is agreed to with managers at time of employment and is reviewed from time to time. It does not change significantly and often does not constitute a significant part of a portfolio manager’s compensation.
Discretionary Bonus/Guaranteed Minimums. Portfolio managers receive discretionary bonuses. However, in some cases, pursuant to contractual arrangements, some portfolio managers may be entitled to a mandatory minimum bonus if the sum of their salary and profit sharing does not reach certain levels.
Equity Incentives. Portfolio managers may participate in equity incentives based on overall firm performance of the Adviser, through direct ownership interests in the Adviser or participation in stock option or stock appreciation plans of the Adviser. These ownership interests or participation interests provide eligible portfolio managers the opportunity to participate in the financial performance of the Adviser as a whole. Participation is generally determined in the discretion of the Adviser, taking into account factors relevant to a portfolio manager’s contribution to the success of the Adviser.
Other Plans and Compensation Vehicles. Portfolio managers may elect to participate in the Adviser’s 401(k) plan, to which they may contribute a portion of their pre- and post-tax compensation to the plan for investment on a tax-deferred basis. The Adviser may also choose, from time to time, to offer certain other compensation plans and vehicles, such as a deferred compensation plan, to portfolio managers.
Summary. As described above, an investment professional’s total compensation is determined through a subjective process that evaluates numerous quantitative and qualitative factors, including the contribution made to the overall investment process. Not all factors apply to each investment professional and there is no particular weighting or formula for considering certain factors. Among the factors considered are: relative investment performance of portfolios (although there are no specific benchmarks or periods of time used in measuring performance); complexity of investment strategies; participation in the investment team’s dialogue; contribution to business results and overall business strategy; success of marketing/business development efforts and client servicing; seniority/length of service with the firm; management and supervisory responsibilities; and fulfillment of the Adviser’s leadership criteria.
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The following table sets forth the dollar range of securities of the Fund owned by each portfolio manager of the Fund as of September 30, 2022:
| Portfolio Manager | Securities Ownership | |
| Jeffrey E. Gundlach |
None | |
| Jeffrey J. Sherman |
None |
Proxy Voting Policies
The determination of how to vote proxies relating to the Fund’s portfolio securities is made by the Adviser pursuant to its written proxy voting policies and procedures (the “Proxy Policy”), which have been adopted pursuant to Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”). The Proxy Policy also applies to any voting rights and/or consent rights on behalf of the portfolio securities, with respect to debt securities and equities, including but not limited to, plans of reorganization, and waivers and consents under applicable indentures.
The Proxy Policy is designed and implemented in a manner reasonably expected to ensure that voting and consent rights are exercised in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders. To assist DoubleLine in carrying out its proxy voting obligations, on behalf of the Adviser, DoubleLine Group LP has retained a third-party proxy voting service provider, currently Glass, Lewis & Co. (“Glass Lewis”), as its proxy voting agent. Pursuant to an agreement with DoubleLine Group LP, Glass Lewis obtains proxy ballots with respect to securities held by the Fund, evaluates the individual facts and circumstances relating to any proposal, and generally votes on any such proposal in accordance with the guidelines set forth in Appendix B attached hereto (the “Guidelines”). In the event that a proposal is not adequately addressed by the Guidelines, Glass Lewis will make a recommendation to the Adviser as to how to vote on such proposal, which the Adviser may accept or reject in accordance with the Proxy Policy. The Adviser’s personnel are responsible for managing the relationship with Glass Lewis and/or any other third-party proxy voting service provider and for overseeing its compliance with the Proxy Policy. The Adviser, in its discretion, may retain another third-party proxy voting service provider in addition to or in lieu of Glass Lewis.
In connection with exercising a voting or consent right on behalf of the Fund, the Adviser will monitor for material conflicts of interest arising between the Adviser and the Fund in accordance with the Proxy Policy. If no conflict exists, the Adviser will vote the proxy on a case-by-case basis in the best interest of each client under the circumstances in accordance with the Proxy Policy, as discussed above.
If a material conflict does exist, the Adviser will seek to resolve any such conflict in accordance with the Proxy Policy, which seeks to resolve such conflict in the Fund’s best interest by pursuing any one of the following courses of action: (i) voting (or not voting) in accordance with the guidelines included in the Proxy Policy; (ii) convening a Proxy Voting Committee meeting to assess available measures to address the conflict and implementing those measures; (iii) voting
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in accordance with the recommendation of an independent third-party service provider chosen by the Proxy Voting Committee; (iv) voting (or not voting) in accordance with the instructions of the Fund’s Board, or any committee thereof; or (v) not voting with respect to the proposal if consistent with DoubleLine’s fiduciary obligations. In voting proxies, including those in which a material conflict may be determined to exist, the Adviser may also consider the factors and guidelines included in its Proxy Policy.
In certain limited circumstances, particularly in the area of structured finance, the Adviser may enter into voting agreements or other contractual obligations that govern the voting of shares and, in such cases, will vote any proxy in accordance with such agreement or obligation.
In addition, where the Adviser determines that there are unusual costs and/or difficulties associated with voting a proxy, which more typically might be the case with respect to proposals relating to non-U.S. issuers, the Adviser reserves the right to not vote on such a proposal unless it determines that the potential benefits of voting on such proposal exceed the expected cost to the Fund.
The Adviser supervises and periodically reviews its proxy voting activities and implementation of the Proxy Policy.
Information about how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities held during the most recent twelve-month period ended June 30th (Form N-PX) is available no later than the following August 31st without charge, upon request, by calling (877) DLine11 (877-354-6311) and on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.
The written Proxy Policy is attached hereto as Appendix B.
Copies of the written Proxy Policy are also available by calling 877-DLine11 (877-354-6311).
The Adviser is responsible for the placement of the Fund’s portfolio transactions and, with respect thereto, the negotiation of prices, brokerage commissions, if any, and mark-ups and mark-downs or spreads on principal transactions. The Adviser may also purchase securities on behalf of the Fund in underwritten offerings at fixed prices that include discounts to underwriters and/or concessions to dealers.
In placing a portfolio transaction, the Adviser seeks to achieve best execution. This means that, in selecting broker-dealers to execute portfolio transactions for the Fund, the Adviser seeks to select broker-dealers that will execute securities transactions in a manner such that the total cost or proceeds of each transaction is the most favorable under the circumstances. This does not mean, however, that portfolio transactions are always executed at the lowest available commission or spread, and the Adviser may effect transactions that cause the Fund to pay a commission or spread in excess of a commission or spread that another broker-dealer would have charged if the Adviser determines that, notwithstanding such commission or spread, such transaction is in the Fund’s best interest. In making this determination, the Adviser may take a variety of factors into consideration, including, without limitation, (i) execution quality in light of order size, difficulty of execution and other relevant factors; (ii) associated expenses and costs; (iii) the quality, reliability, responsiveness and value of the provided services; (iv) the operational compatibility between the broker-dealer and the Adviser; (v) the broker-dealer’s
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safety and soundness; and (vi) the provision of research and brokerage products and services. The provision of research and brokerage products and services is not typically considered in respect of transactions by the Fund when trading fixed income securities.
From time to time, the Adviser receives unsolicited research from various brokers, which may or may not be counterparties to trades placed on behalf of clients. While the Adviser may review and consider certain of the research received, the provision of unsolicited research does not factor into the Adviser’s broker selection process with respect to trading fixed-income securities. Research services include items such as reports on industries and companies, economic analyses, review of business conditions and portfolio strategy and various trading and quotation services. Such services also include advice from broker-dealers as to the value of securities, availability of securities, availability of buyers, and availability of sellers. These services also include recommendations as to purchase and sale of individual securities and timing of transactions.
Investment decisions for the Fund and for the other investment advisory clients of the Adviser are made with a view to achieving their respective investment objectives. Investment decisions are the product of many factors in addition to basic suitability for the particular client involved (including the Fund). Some securities considered for investment by the Fund also may be appropriate for other clients served by the Adviser. Thus, a particular security may be bought or sold for certain clients even though it could have been bought or sold for other clients at the same time, including accounts in which the Adviser, its officers or employees may have a financial interest. If a purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of the Fund and one or more of these clients served by the Adviser is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the Fund and other clients pursuant to the Adviser’s trade allocation policy that is designed to ensure that all accounts, including the Fund, are treated fairly and equitably over time.
As of the date of this SAI, the Adviser does not expect to cause the Fund to pay brokers or dealers amounts of commissions for effecting portfolio investment transactions that are in excess of the amount of commission that another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting transactions to compensate the brokers or dealers for “brokerage and research services” (as defined in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) or to accumulate credits to purchase such services. The Adviser may modify its practice in this regard without prior notice to shareholders and, in the event the Adviser does so, the following disclosure regarding such practices shall apply.
As permitted by Section 28(e) of the Exchange Act, the Adviser may, on behalf of a client, pay a broker or dealer, including those acting in the capacity of a futures commission merchant, that provides “brokerage and research services” (as defined in the Exchange Act) to the Adviser an amount of commission for effecting a portfolio investment transaction in excess of the amount of commission that another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction, if the Adviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission was reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer, viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the Adviser’s overall responsibilities to the client and to other client accounts over which the Adviser exercises investment discretion. Such research services include proprietary research created internally by a broker or by a third-party provider (and made available to the Adviser by a broker) such as, for example, individual stock
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information and research, industry and sector analysis, trend analysis and forecasting, discussions with individual stock analysts, and meetings arranged with various sources of information regarding particular issuers, industries, governmental policies, specific information about local markets and applicable regulations, economic trends, and other matters. In addition, a broker may accumulate credits for the Adviser’s account and use them to purchase brokerage and research services at the Adviser’s discretion and based on the Adviser’s determination of the relative benefits of the various services available for purchase. These arrangements are commonly known as “commission sharing arrangements.” Accordingly, the Adviser’s clients may be deemed to be paying for research and these other services with “soft” or commission dollars. Research furnished by brokers or dealers or pursuant to credits accumulated at brokers or dealers through commission sharing arrangements may be used in servicing any or all of the Adviser’s clients and may be used for client accounts other than those that pay commissions to the broker or dealer providing the research. The Adviser also may receive soft dollar credits based on certain “riskless” principal securities transactions with brokerage firms. With respect to certain products and services used for both research/brokerage and non-research/brokerage purposes, the Adviser generally allocates the costs of such products and services between their research/brokerage and non-research/brokerage uses, and generally uses soft dollars to pay only for the portion allocated to research/brokerage uses. Examples of products and services used for non-research/brokerage purposes (and not paid for with soft dollars) include equipment and exchange data (e.g., quotes, volume). Some of these services may be of value to the Adviser and its related parties in advising various of their clients (including the Fund), although not all of these services are necessarily useful and of value in managing the Fund. The management fee paid by the Fund is not reduced because the Adviser or its related parties receive these services even though the Adviser might otherwise be required to purchase some of these services for cash. The Adviser’s authority to cause the Fund to pay any such greater commissions is also subject to such policies as the Trustees may adopt from time to time.
The Adviser’s relationships with brokerage firms that provide soft dollar services to the Adviser (including brokerage firms that participate in commission sharing arrangements) may influence the Adviser’s judgment and create conflicts of interest, both in allocating brokerage business between firms that provide soft dollar services and firms that do not, and in allocating the costs of mixed-use products between their research and non-research uses. When the Adviser uses client brokerage commissions to obtain research or other products or services, the Adviser receives a benefit because it does not have to produce or pay for such research, products, or services. As such, that Adviser has an incentive to select or recommend a broker-dealer based on the Adviser’s interest in receiving the research or other products or services, rather than on the Adviser’s clients’ interest in receiving most favorable execution. Client trades executed through these brokers or any other brokerage firm may not be at the lowest price otherwise available. The Adviser maintains policies and procedures designed to address such conflicts of interest.
Aggregated Transactions. In an effort to achieve efficiencies in execution and reduce trading costs, the Adviser and its related parties may, but will not necessarily, aggregate securities transactions on behalf of a number of accounts, including accounts of the Fund, at the same time. In addition, the Adviser may execute securities transactions alongside or interspersed between aggregated orders when the Adviser believes that such execution will not interfere with its ability to execute in a manner believed to be most favorable to its clients as a whole. The Adviser may exclude trades for accounts that direct brokerage or that are managed in part for tax considerations from aggregate orders.
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When executing aggregate orders, trades will be allocated among accounts using procedures that the Adviser considers to be reasonably designed to be non-preferential and fair and equitable over time. This may include making the allocation on a pro rata basis or on a non-pro rata basis based on various factors, including liquidity requirements, reserves and cash flow considerations; diversification requirements; portfolio duration; amount of capital available for investment by a client, including new clients, as well as projected future capacity for investment; variance of the portfolio from models, target weights or indexes; risk management considerations; the size of the investment relative to the size of the account; client-specific industry and other allocation targets, including each account’s target average credit quality, liquidity, sector targets, and composition; minimum and maximum investment size requirements; tax considerations; legal, contractual, or regulatory constraints specific to or imposed by a client; and any other relevant limitations imposed by or conditions set forth in the applicable offering or other organizational documents of a client.
The Adviser shares allocations of public offerings and other desirable but limited opportunities to buy or sell securities in a manner that the Adviser considers reasonably designed to be non-preferential and fair and equitable over time, such that no account or group of accounts receives consistently favorable or unfavorable treatment. Generally, such allocations will be made after taking into account cash availability and need, suitability, investment objectives and guidelines and other factors deemed appropriate in making investment allocation decisions for each client. Shares obtained in IPOs will be allocated using these criteria unless the number of shares made available to the Adviser is de minimis, in which case, the shares will be allocated among the eligible accounts based on the Adviser’s assessment of the circumstances.
In addition, and particularly with respect to fixed-income securities, if a small amount of an investment is allocated to the Adviser, the Adviser may allocate it disproportionately, taking into consideration lot size, existing or targeted account weightings in particular securities and/or sectors, account size, diversification requirements and investment objectives/restrictions.
The dollar amount of brokerage commissions paid by the Fund for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2022, September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2020 were $0, $0 and $0, respectively. Changes in the amounts of brokerage commissions from year to year are generally the result of active trading strategies employed by the Fund’s investment team in response to market conditions, changes in the total assets of the Fund, and/or a determination by the Adviser to engage in brokerage practices as described above.
Certain diligence-related transaction costs. The Adviser may aggregate the Fund’s order for an investment in, or sale of, an interest in certain instruments, including, for example, a subordinated tranche CMBS, including investments at original issuance, or certain loan instruments, with orders of one or more other DoubleLine Funds or other DoubleLine accounts. Certain diligence-related or structuring costs and expenses will be allocated to all of the accounts, including the Fund, participating in the aggregated transaction pro rata based on the size of the accounts considering the investment opportunity or the amount of investment made by each account participating in the transaction. The Fund’s participation in any such aggregated
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transaction will be subject to a number of conditions intended to result in the fair and equitable treatment of each participating account, including the Fund. For example, where the Adviser aggregates the Fund’s order for an investment in, or sale of, an interest in a subordinated tranche CMBS with orders of one or more other DoubleLine Funds or other DoubleLine accounts, the Fund will not incur diligence- or structuring-related expenses in connection with any such transaction in excess of 0.50% of the value of the Fund’s investment in the structured product without the Board’s approval of those expenses. The Adviser may advance diligence- or structuring-related expenses relating to a transaction on behalf of the Fund and seek to receive reimbursement (without interest) of any such expenses advanced on behalf of the Fund from the Fund at a later date. The Fund may incur diligence-related expenses in connection with the evaluation of investment opportunities that the Adviser ultimately determines not to pursue on behalf of the Fund. In some cases, the diligence- or structuring-related expenses that would otherwise be incurred by the Fund or the Adviser may be borne by the sponsor or seller of an investment.
Regular Broker-Dealers. As of the close of the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022, the Fund did not own securities of its regular broker-dealers as defined by Rule 10b-1 under the 1940 Act. (Generally, a regular broker or dealer of an investment company is one of the ten brokers or dealers that received the greatest dollar amount of brokerage commissions from participating in portfolio transactions, engaged as principal in the largest dollar amount of portfolio transactions, or sold the largest dollar amount of portfolio securities during the Fund’s most recent fiscal year).
ANTI-TAKEOVER AND OTHER PROVISIONS IN THE DECLARATION OF TRUST AND BYLAWS
Shareholder Liability
Under Massachusetts law, shareholders could, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for the obligations of the Fund. However, the Declaration contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the Fund and requires that notice of such limited liability be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the Fund or the Trustees. The Declaration also provides for indemnification out of the Fund’s assets and property for all loss and expense of any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the Fund. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability should be limited to circumstances in which the Fund is unable to meet its obligations. The Fund believes that the likelihood of such circumstances is remote.
Anti-Takeover and Other Provisions
The Declaration includes provisions that could limit the ability of other entities or persons to acquire control of the Fund, convert the Fund to open-end status or to change the composition of its Board, and could have the effect of depriving shareholders of opportunities to sell their shares at a premium over prevailing market prices by discouraging a third party from seeking to obtain control of the Fund.
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The Fund’s Trustees are divided into three classes (Class I, Class II and Class III), having initial terms of one, two and three years, respectively. At each annual meeting of shareholders, the term of one class will expire and each Trustee elected to that class will hold office for a term of three years. The classification of the Board in this manner could delay for an additional two years the replacement of a majority of the Board. In addition, the Declaration provides that a Trustee may be removed from office, for any reason or for no reason, only (i) by action of at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the outstanding shares of the classes or series of shares entitled to vote for the election of such Trustee, or (ii) by at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the remaining Trustees.
Except as provided in the next paragraph, the affirmative vote or consent of at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the Board and at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the holders of shares of the Fund (including Common Shares and preferred shares) outstanding and entitled to vote thereon is required to authorize any of the following transactions (each a “Material Transaction”): (1) a merger, consolidation or share exchange of the Fund or any series or class of shares of the Fund with or into any other person or company, or of any such person or company with or into the Fund or any such series or class of shares; (2) the issuance or transfer by the Fund or any series or class of shares (in one or a series of transactions in any twelve-month period) of any securities of the Fund or such series or class to any other person or entity for cash, securities or other property (or combination thereof) having an aggregate fair market value of $1,000,000 or more, excluding sales of securities of the Fund or such series or class in connection with a public offering, issuances of securities of the Fund or such series or class pursuant to a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (the “Plan”) adopted by the Fund and issuances of securities of the Fund or such series or class upon the exercise of any stock subscription rights distributed by the Fund; or (3) a sale, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge, transfer or other disposition by the Fund or any series or class of shares (in one or a series of transactions in any twelve-month period) to or with any person of any assets of the Fund or such series or class having an aggregate fair market value of $1,000,000 or more, except for transactions in securities effected by the Fund or such series or class in the ordinary course of its business. The same affirmative votes are required with respect to any shareholder proposal as to specific investment decisions made or to be made with respect to the Fund’s assets or the assets of any series or class of shares of the Fund.
Notwithstanding the approval requirements specified in the preceding paragraph, the Declaration requires no vote or consent of the Fund’s shareholders to authorize a Material Transaction if the transaction is approved by a vote of both a majority of the Board and seventy-five percent (75%) of the Continuing Trustees (as defined below), so long as all other conditions and requirements, if any, provided for in the Bylaws and applicable law (including any shareholder voting rights under the 1940 Act) have been satisfied.
In addition, the Declaration provides that the Fund may be terminated at any time by vote or consent of at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the Fund’s shares entitled to vote or, alternatively, by vote or consent of both a majority of the Board and seventy-five percent (75%) of the Continuing Trustees (as defined below) upon written notice to shareholders of the Fund.
In certain circumstances, the Declaration also imposes shareholder voting requirements that are more demanding than those required under the 1940 Act in order to authorize a conversion of the Fund from a closed-end to an open-end investment company. See “Repurchase of Common Shares; Conversion to Open-End Fund” below.
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The overall effect of these provisions is to render more difficult the accomplishment of a merger or the assumption of control of the Fund by a third party. They provide, however, the advantage of potentially requiring persons seeking control of the Fund to negotiate with its management regarding the price to be paid and facilitating the continuity of the Fund’s investment objective and policies. The provisions of the Declaration described above could have the effect of depriving the holders of common shares of beneficial interest (“Common Shareholders”) of opportunities to sell their Common Shares at a premium over the then current market price of the Common Shares by discouraging a third party from seeking to obtain control of the Fund in a tender offer or similar transaction. The Board has considered the foregoing anti-takeover provisions and concluded that they are in the best interests of the Fund and its Common Shareholders.
A “Continuing Trustee,” as used in the discussion above, is any member of the Board who either (i) has been a member of the Board for a period of at least thirty-six months (or since the commencement of the Fund’s operations, if less than thirty-six months) or (ii) was nominated to serve as a member of the Board by a majority of the Continuing Trustees then members of the Board.
The Bylaws provide that, with respect to an election of Trustees, a nominee receiving the affirmative vote of a plurality of the shares voted at any meeting at which a quorum as to the election of Trustees is present shall be elected, except that, with respect to a Contested Election, a nominee receiving the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares outstanding and entitled to vote with respect to the election of Trustees at any meeting at which a quorum as to the election of Trustees is present shall be elected (the “Majority Voting Standard”). A “Contested Election” means any election of Trustees in which the number of persons nominated for election as Trustees with respect to a given class or series of shares in accordance with the Bylaws exceeds the number of Trustees to be elected with respect to such class or series, with the determination that any election of Trustees is a Contested Election to be made by the Secretary or any Assistant Secretary of the Fund prior to such election of Trustees. The Bylaws provide that, in the event that the Majority Voting Standard is held by a federal or state court sitting within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to be inconsistent with applicable law governing Massachusetts business trusts, then, with respect to any Contested Election until such ruling is reversed, overturned, vacated, stayed or otherwise nullified, a nominee receiving the affirmative vote of a plurality of the shares voted at any meeting at which a quorum as to the election of Trustees is present shall be elected. In the event of a Contested Election, if one or more nominees are elected who were not Trustees prior to such Contested Election (“Non-Incumbents”), then the Non-Incumbents shall first be deemed to have been elected to fill any vacancies and then, if all vacancies have been filled, to succeed those Trustees who served as Trustees prior to such Contested Election and stood for reelection at such Contested Election and received the fewest affirmative votes, the designation of the specific Non-Incumbents to fill such vacancies and to succeed such Trustees to be made by a majority of the Continuing Trustees by resolution following such Contested Election. If, at any annual meeting (the “Current Annual Meeting”), shareholders will consider the election of a Trustee whose term is set to expire at the time of such Current Annual Meeting and upon the election and qualification of his or her successor (an
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“Expiring Trustee”), and the Expiring Trustee is not reelected and no successor to such Expiring Trustee is elected and qualified (in either case, because the required vote or quorum is not obtained or for any other reason), then such Expiring Trustee shall continue to serve as a Trustee and remain a member of the relevant class of Trustees, holding office until the annual meeting held in the third succeeding year following the year for which the Current Annual Meeting was called in the initial notice thereof and until the election and qualification of such Expiring Trustee’s successor, if any, or until such Expiring Trustee sooner dies, resigns, retires or is disqualified or removed from office. The Board has considered the foregoing voting standard and concluded that it is in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders, including Common Shareholders.
Under Massachusetts law, shareholders could, in certain circumstances, be held personally liable for the obligations of the Fund. However, the Declaration contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for debts or obligations of the Fund and requires that notice of such limited liability be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the Fund or the Trustees. The Declaration further provides for indemnification out of the assets and property of the Fund for all loss and expense of any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the Fund. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which the Fund would be unable to meet its obligations. The Fund believes that the likelihood of such circumstances is remote.
The Bylaws provide that unless the Fund consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Fund or the shareholders, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any Trustee, officer or other employee of the Fund to the Fund or the Fund’s shareholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any applicable provision of the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts or the Declaration or the Bylaws, (iv) any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of the Declaration or the Bylaws or (v) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine shall be within the federal or state courts sitting within The Commonwealth of Massachusetts (each, a “Covered Action”).
The Bylaws further provide that if any Covered Action is filed in a court other than in a federal or state court sitting within The Commonwealth of Massachusetts (a “Foreign Action”) in the name of any shareholder, such shareholder shall be deemed to have consented to (i) the personal jurisdiction of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts in connection with any action brought in any such courts to enforce the preceding sentence (an “Enforcement Action”) and (ii) having service of process made upon such shareholder in any such Enforcement Action by service upon such shareholder’s counsel in the Foreign Action as agent for such shareholder.
Any person purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in shares of beneficial interest of the Fund will be (i) deemed to have notice of and consented to the foregoing paragraphs and (ii) deemed to have waived any argument relating to the inconvenience of the forum referenced above in connection with any action or proceeding described in the foregoing paragraphs.
This forum selection provision may limit a shareholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with Trustees, officers or other agents of the Fund and
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its service providers, which may discourage such lawsuits with respect to such claims and increase the costs for a shareholder to pursue such claims. If a court were to find the forum selection provision contained in the Bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, the Fund may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions. This forum selection provision shall not apply to claims made under federal securities laws.
The foregoing is intended only as a summary and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Declaration and the Bylaws, both of which are on file with the SEC.
Liability of Trustees
The Declaration provides that the obligations of the Fund are not binding upon the Trustees of the Fund individually, but only upon the assets and property of the Fund, and that the Trustees shall not be liable for errors of judgment or mistakes of fact or law. Nothing in the Declaration, however, protects a Trustee against any liability to which he would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office.
Direct and Derivative Claims
The Declaration provides that, except with respect to claims asserted under the federal securities laws, shareholders must obtain authorization from the Trustees to bring or maintain a direct action or claim for monetary damages against the Fund or the Trustees predicated upon an express or implied right of action under the Declaration or for a single shareholder to bring or maintain a direct action with respect to an alleged injury suffered by similarly situated shareholders. The Declaration also provides that, except with respect to claims asserted under the federal securities laws, shareholders must make a demand on the Trustees requesting the Trustees to bring or maintain any action, proceeding or claim on behalf of the Fund or any class of shareholders unless the plaintiff makes a specific showing that irreparable nonmonetary injury to the Fund or a series or class of shares would otherwise result.
REPURCHASE OF COMMON SHARES; CONVERSION TO OPEN-END FUND
The Fund is a closed-end investment company and as such its shareholders will not have the right to cause the Fund to redeem their shares. Instead, the Common Shares will trade in the open market at a price that will be a function of the Fund’s NAV and of other factors relating to the Fund such as dividend levels and stability (which will in turn be affected by Fund expenses, including the costs of any preferred shares issued by the Fund, borrowings and other leverage, the Fund’s reverse repurchase agreements, dollar roll transactions and similar transactions, levels of dividend and interest payments by the Fund’s portfolio holdings, levels of appreciation/depreciation of the Fund’s portfolio holdings, regulations affecting the timing and character of Fund’s distributions, and other factors) portfolio credit quality, liquidity, call protection, market supply and demand, and similar factors relating to the Fund’s portfolio holdings. The market price of the Common Shares may also be affected by general market or economic conditions, including market trends affecting securities values generally or values of closed-end fund shares more specifically. Shares of a closed-end investment company may frequently trade at prices lower than NAV. The Board will regularly monitor the relationship
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between the market price and NAV of the Common Shares. If the Common Shares were to trade at a substantial discount to NAV for an extended period of time, the Board may consider the repurchase of its Common Shares on the open market or in private transactions, the making of a tender offer for such shares or the conversion of the Fund to an open-end investment company. If the Board determines in the future to conduct a tender offer for its common shares, Fund shareholders to whom the tender offer is made will be provided notice, instructions regarding how to participate in the tender offer, and information regarding the terms of the tender offer that such shareholders should consider before determining whether to participate (including, if applicable, information regarding any applicable repurchase fee). The Fund cannot assure you that the Board will decide to take or propose any of these actions, or that share repurchases or tender offers will actually reduce any market discount. The Fund has no present intention to repurchase its Common Shares.
If the Fund were to convert to an open-end investment company, the Common Shares likely would no longer be listed on the NYSE. In contrast to a closed-end investment company, shareholders of an open-end investment company may require the company to redeem their shares at any time (except in certain circumstances as authorized by or under the 1940 Act) at their NAV, less any redemption charge that is in effect at the time of redemption.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, at any time when the Fund has any preferred shares outstanding, the Fund may not repurchase or otherwise acquire any of its Common Shares unless (1) all accrued dividends on any such preferred shares have been paid and (2) at the time of such repurchase or acquisition, the NAV of the Fund’s portfolio (determined after deducting the acquisition price of the Common Shares) is at least 200% of the liquidation value of the outstanding preferred shares (expected to equal the original purchase price per share plus any accrued and unpaid dividends thereon) plus the aggregate amount of any senior securities representing indebtedness.
Subject to its investment limitations, the Fund may borrow to finance the repurchase of shares or to make a tender offer. Interest on any borrowings to finance share repurchase transactions or the accumulation of cash by the Fund in anticipation of share repurchases or tenders will reduce the Fund’s net income. Any share repurchase, tender offer or borrowing that might be approved by the Board would have to comply with the Exchange Act and the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.
If the Board were to determine in the future to convert the Fund to an open-end company, such a conversion would require the affirmative vote or consent of holders of at least seventy-five percent (75%) of each class of the Fund’s shares entitled to vote on the matter, unless the conversion is authorized by both a majority of the Trustees and seventy-five percent (75%) of the Continuing Trustees. That seventy-five percent (75%) shareholder approval requirement is higher than is required under the 1940 Act. In the event that a conversion is approved by the Board and the Continuing Trustees as described above, the minimum shareholder vote required under the 1940 Act would be necessary to authorize the conversion. Currently, the 1940 Act would require approval of the holders of a “majority of the outstanding” Common Shares and, if issued, preferred shares voting together as a single class, and the holders of a “majority of the outstanding” preferred shares (if any) voting as a separate class, in order to authorize a conversion. If the Fund converted to an open-end company, it would be required to redeem any
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preferred shares then outstanding (requiring in turn that it liquidate a portion of its investment portfolio), and the Fund’s Common Shares likely would no longer be listed on the NYSE. Shareholders of an open-end investment company may require the company to redeem their shares on any business day (except in certain circumstances as authorized by or under the 1940 Act) at their NAV, less a redemption charge, if any, as might be in effect at the time of redemption. Such redemptions typically are made in cash. To limit the need to maintain large cash positions or liquidate favorable investments to meet redemptions, open-end companies typically engage in a continuous offering of their shares. Open-end companies are thus subject to periodic asset in-flows and out-flows that can complicate portfolio management. Open-end companies also are generally subject to greater restrictions than closed-end companies on their ability to engage in leverage, which may affect adversely the Fund’s performance. In determining whether to submit to Fund shareholders a proposal to convert to an open-end company, the Board would consider all factors it determined to be relevant, including, potentially, the relationship of the market price of the Common Shares to NAV; the extent to which the Fund’s capital structure is leveraged and the possibility of re-leveraging; the spread, if any, between the yields on securities in the Fund’s portfolio and interest and dividend charges on outstanding Fund borrowings or any preferred shares issued by the Fund; the liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio; the impact of any action that might be taken on the Fund or its shareholders; and general market and economic conditions. Based on these considerations, even if the Common Shares should trade at a discount, the Board may determine that, in the interest of the Fund and its shareholders, no action should be taken.
The repurchase by the Fund of its shares at prices below NAV will result in an increase in the NAV of those shares that remain outstanding. However, there can be no assurance that share repurchases or tenders at or below NAV will result in the Fund’s shares trading at a price equal to their NAV. Nevertheless, the fact that the Fund’s shares may be the subject of repurchase or tender offers at NAV from time to time, or that the Fund may be converted to an open-end company, may reduce any spread between market price and NAV that might otherwise exist.
In addition, a purchase by the Fund of its Common Shares will decrease the Fund’s total assets. This would likely have the effect of increasing the Fund’s expense ratio. Any purchase by the Fund of its Common Shares at a time when Fund borrowings or preferred shares are outstanding will increase the leverage applicable to the outstanding Common Shares then remaining. See “Investment Objective and Strategies—Principal Risk Factors—Leverage Risk” in the Fund’s most recent annual report on Form N-CSR.
Before deciding whether to take any action if the Fund’s Common Shares trade below NAV, the Board would consider all relevant factors, including the extent and duration of the discount, the liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio, the impact of any action that might be taken on the Fund or its shareholders and market considerations. Based on these considerations, even if the Fund’s Common Shares should trade at a discount, the Board may determine that, in the interest of the Fund and its shareholders, no action should be taken.
The following discussion of U.S. federal income tax consequences is based on the Code, existing U.S. Treasury regulations, and other applicable authority, as of the date of this SAI. These
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authorities are subject to change by legislative or administrative action, possibly with retroactive effect. The following discussion is only a summary of some of the important U.S. federal tax considerations generally applicable to investments in the Fund. It does not address special tax rules applicable to certain classes of investors, such as investors holding Common Shares through tax-advantaged accounts (such as 401(k) plan accounts or IRAs), tax-exempt entities, foreign investors, insurance companies, financial institutions and investors making in-kind contributions to the Fund. Common Shareholders should consult their own tax adviser for more information about their particular situation, including possible other federal, state, local, and, where applicable, foreign tax consequences of investing in the Fund.
U.S. Federal Income Taxation of the Fund
The Fund has elected to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code and intends each year to qualify and to be eligible to be treated as such. In order to qualify for the special tax treatment accorded RICs and their Common Shareholders, the Fund must, among other things: (a) derive at least 90% of its gross income for each taxable year from (i) dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including but not limited to gains from options, futures, or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities, or currencies, and (ii) net income derived from interests in “qualified publicly traded partnerships” (as defined below); (b) diversify its holdings so that, at the close of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund’s total assets consists of cash, cash items, U.S. Government securities, securities of other RICs and other securities limited in respect of any one issuer to a value not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets and not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is invested, including through corporations in which the Fund owns a 20% or more voting stock interest (x) in the securities (other than those of the U.S. Government or other RICs) of any one issuer or of two or more issuers that the Fund controls and that are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or (y) in the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships (as defined below); and (c) distribute with respect to each taxable year at least 90% of the sum of its investment company taxable income (as that term is defined in the Code without regard to the deduction for dividends paid – generally, taxable ordinary income and the excess, if any, of net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses) and net tax-exempt interest income, if any, for such year.
In general, for purposes of the 90% gross income requirement described in (a) above, income derived from a partnership will be treated as qualifying income only to the extent such income is attributable to items of income of the partnership that would be qualifying income if realized directly by the RIC. However, 100% of the net income derived from an interest in a “qualified publicly traded partnership” (a partnership (x) the interests in which are traded on an established securities market or are readily tradable on a secondary market or the substantial equivalent thereof, and (y) that derives less than 90% of its income from the qualifying income described in (a)(i) above) will be treated as qualifying income. In general, such entities will be treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes because they meet the passive income requirement under Code Section 7704(c)(2). In addition, although in general the passive loss rules of the Code do not apply to RICs, such rules do apply to a RIC with respect to items attributable to an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership. MLPs, if any, in which the Fund invests generally will qualify as qualified publicly traded partnerships.
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Gains from foreign currencies (including foreign currency futures and foreign currency forward contracts) currently constitute “qualifying income” for purposes of the 90% test described in (a) above. However, the U.S. Treasury has the authority to issue regulations (possibly with retroactive effect) excluding from the definition of qualifying income the Fund’s foreign currency gains to the extent that such income is not directly related to the Fund’s principal business of investing in stock or securities. This could adversely affect the qualification of the Fund as a RIC.
For purposes of the diversification test in (b) above, the term “outstanding voting securities of such issuer” will include the equity securities of a qualified publicly traded partnership. Also, for purposes of the diversification test in (b) above, the identification of the issuer (or, in some cases, issuers) of a particular Fund investment can depend on the terms and conditions of that investment. In some cases, identification of the issuer (or issuers) is uncertain under current law, and an adverse determination or future guidance by the IRS with respect to issuer identification for a particular type of investment may adversely affect the Fund’s ability to meet the diversification test in (b) above.
If the Fund qualifies as a RIC that is accorded special tax treatment, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on income or gains distributed in a timely manner to its Common Shareholders in the form of dividends (including Capital Gain Dividends, as defined below).
The Fund’s intention to qualify for treatment as a RIC may negatively affect the Fund’s return to Common Shareholders by limiting the Fund’s ability to acquire or continue to hold positions that would otherwise be consistent with its investment strategy or by requiring it to engage in transactions it might otherwise not engage in, resulting in additional transaction costs. If the Fund were to fail to meet the income, diversification or distribution test described above, the Fund could in some cases cure such failure, including by paying a Fund-level tax, paying interest, making additional distributions, or disposing of certain assets. If the Fund were ineligible to or otherwise did not cure such failure for any year, or if the Fund were otherwise to fail to qualify as a RIC accorded special tax treatment for such year, the Fund would be subject to tax on its taxable income at corporate rates, and all distributions from earnings and profits, including any distributions of net tax-exempt income and net long-term capital gains would be taxable to Common Shareholders as ordinary income. Some portions of such distributions may be eligible for the dividends-received deduction in the case of corporate Common Shareholders and may be eligible to be treated as qualified dividend income in the case of Common Shareholders taxed as individuals, provided, in both cases, the Common Shareholder meets certain holding period and other requirements in respect of the Fund’s shares (as described below). In addition, the Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest, and make substantial distributions before re-qualifying as a RIC that is accorded special tax treatment.
The Fund intends to distribute at least annually to its Common Shareholders all or substantially all of its investment company taxable income (computed without regard to the dividends-paid deduction), its net tax-exempt income (if any) and its net capital gain (that is, the excess of net
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long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss, in each case determined with reference to any loss carryforwards). Any taxable income including any net capital gain retained by the Fund will be subject to tax at the Fund level at regular corporate rates. In the case of net capital gain, the Fund is permitted to designate the retained amount as undistributed capital gain in a timely notice to its Common Shareholders who would then, in turn, be (i) required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their shares of such undistributed amount, and (ii) entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the tax paid by the Fund on such undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds on a properly-filed U.S. tax return to the extent the credit exceeds such liabilities. If the Fund makes this designation, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the tax basis of shares owned by a Common Shareholder of the Fund would be increased by an amount equal to the difference between the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the Common Shareholder’s gross income under clause (i) of the preceding sentence and the tax deemed paid by the Common Shareholder under clause (ii) of the preceding sentence. The Fund is not required to, and there can be no assurance the Fund will, make this designation if it retains all or a portion of its net capital gain in a taxable year.
In determining its net capital gain, including in connection with determining the amount available to support a Capital Gain Dividend (as defined below), its taxable income, and its earnings and profits, a RIC generally may elect to treat part or all of any post-October capital loss (defined as any net capital loss attributable to the portion, if any, of the taxable year after October 31 or, if there is no such loss, the net long-term capital loss or net short-term capital loss attributable to such portion of the taxable year) or late-year ordinary loss (generally, the sum of its (i) net ordinary loss from the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of property, attributable to the portion, if any, of the taxable year after October 31, and its (ii) other net ordinary loss, if any, attributable to the portion, if any, of the taxable year after December 31) as if incurred in the succeeding taxable year.
If the Fund were to fail to distribute in a calendar year at least an amount equal to the sum of 98% of its ordinary income for such year and 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the one-year period ending October 31 of such year, plus any such amounts retained from the prior year, the Fund would be subject to a nondeductible 4% excise tax on the undistributed amounts. For purposes of the required excise tax distribution, a RIC’s ordinary gains and losses from the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of property that would otherwise be taken into account after October 31 of a calendar year generally are treated as arising on January 1 of the following calendar year. Also, for these purposes, the Fund will be treated as having distributed any amount on which it has been subject to corporate income tax for the taxable year ending within the calendar year. The Fund intends generally to make distributions sufficient to avoid imposition of the 4% excise tax, although there can be no assurance that it will be able to do so.
Capital losses in excess of capital gains (“net capital losses”) are not permitted to be deducted against the Fund’s net investment income. Instead, potentially subject to certain limitations, the Fund may carry net capital losses from any taxable year forward to subsequent taxable years to offset capital gains, if any, realized during such subsequent taxable year. The Fund may carry net capital losses forward to one or more subsequent taxable years without expiration; any such carryforward losses will retain their character as short-term or long-term and the Fund must apply such carryforwards first against gains of the same character. The Fund’s available capital loss carryforwards, if any, will be set forth in its annual shareholder report for each fiscal year.
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Fund Distributions
For U.S. federal income tax purposes, distributions of investment income are generally taxable to Common Shareholders as ordinary income. Taxes on distributions of capital gains are determined by how long the Fund owned (or is deemed to have owned) the investments that generated the gains, rather than by how long a Common Shareholder has owned his or her shares. In general, the Fund will recognize long-term capital gain or loss on investments it has owned (or is deemed to have owned) for more than one year, and short-term capital gain or loss on investments it has owned (or is deemed to have owned) for one year or less. Distributions of net capital gain that are properly reported by the Fund to its Common Shareholders as capital gain dividends (“Capital Gain Dividends”) will be taxable to Common Shareholders as long-term capital gains includible in net capital gain and taxed to individuals at reduced rates relative to ordinary income. Distributions from capital gains are generally made after applying any available capital loss carryforwards. Distributions of net short-term capital gain (as reduced by any net long-term capital loss for the taxable year) will be taxable to Common Shareholders as ordinary income.
In general, distributions of investment income reported by the Fund to its Common Shareholders as derived from qualified dividend income are taxed in the hands of individuals at the rates applicable to net capital gain, provided holding period and other requirements are met at both the Common Shareholder and Fund level. In order for some portion of the dividends received by the Common Shareholder to be “qualified dividend income” that is eligible for taxation at long-term capital gain rates, the Fund must meet holding period and other requirements with respect to some portion of the dividend-paying stocks in its portfolio and the Common Shareholder must meet holding period and other requirements with respect to the Fund’s shares. In general, a dividend will not be treated as qualified dividend income (at either the Fund or Common Shareholder level) (1) if the dividend is received with respect to any share of stock, or any Common Share of stock, held for fewer than 61 days during the 121-day period beginning on the date which is 60 days before the date on which such share, or Common Share, becomes ex-dividend with respect to such dividend (or, in the case of certain preferred stock, 91 days during the 181-day period beginning 90 days before such date), (2) to the extent that the recipient is under an obligation (whether pursuant to a short sale or otherwise) to make related payments with respect to positions in substantially similar or related property, (3) if the recipient elects to have the dividend income treated as investment income for purposes of the limitation on deductibility of investment interest, or (4) if the dividend is received from a foreign corporation that is (a) not eligible for the benefits of a comprehensive income tax treaty with the United States (with the exception of dividends paid on stock of such a foreign corporation readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States) or (b) treated as a passive foreign investment company. The Fund does not expect a significant portion of Fund distributions to be derived from qualified dividend income.
In general, dividends of net investment income received by corporate Common Shareholders of the Fund will qualify for the dividends-received deduction generally available to corporations only to the extent of the amount of eligible dividends received by the Fund from domestic
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corporations for the taxable year. A dividend received by the Fund will not be treated as a dividend eligible for the dividends-received deduction (1) if it has been received with respect to any share of stock that the Fund has held for less than 46 days (91 days in the case of certain preferred stock) during the 91-day period beginning on the date which is 45 days before the date on which such share becomes ex-dividend with respect to such dividend (during the 181-day period beginning 90 days before such date in the case of certain preferred stock) or (2) to the extent that the Fund is under an obligation (pursuant to a short sale or otherwise) to make related payments with respect to positions in substantially similar or related property. Moreover, the dividends received deduction may otherwise be disallowed or reduced (1) if the corporate Common Shareholder fails to satisfy the foregoing requirements with respect to its Common Shares or (2) by application of various provisions of the Code (for instance, the dividends-received deduction is reduced in the case of a dividend received on debt-financed portfolio stock (generally, stock acquired with borrowed funds)). The Fund does not expect that a significant portion of its distributions will be eligible for the corporate dividends-received deduction.
Any distribution of income that is attributable to (i) income received by the Fund in lieu of dividends with respect to securities on loan pursuant to a securities lending transaction or (ii) dividend income received by the Fund on securities it temporarily purchased from a counterparty pursuant to a repurchase agreement that is treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a loan by the Fund, will not constitute qualified dividend income to individual Common Shareholders and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction for corporate Common Shareholders.
Pursuant to proposed regulations on which the Fund may rely, distributions by the Fund to its Common Shareholders that the Fund properly reports as “section 199A dividends,” as defined and subject to certain conditions described below, are treated as REIT dividends in the hands of non-corporate Common Shareholders. Non-corporate Common Shareholders are permitted a U.S. federal income tax deduction equal to 20% of qualified REIT dividends received by them, subject to certain limitations. Very generally, a “section 199A dividend” is any dividend or portion thereof that is attributable to certain dividends received by a RIC from REITs, to the extent such dividends are properly reported as such by the RIC in a written notice to its Common Shareholders. A section 199A dividend is treated as a qualified REIT dividend only if the Common Shareholder receiving such dividend holds the dividend-paying RIC shares for at least 46 days of the 91-day period beginning 45 days before the shares become ex-dividend, and is not under an obligation to make related payments with respect to a position in substantially similar or related property. The Fund is permitted to report such part of its dividends as section 199A dividends as are eligible, but is not required to do so. Distributions of income or gain attributable to derivatives with respect to REIT securities, including swaps, will not constitute qualified REIT dividends.
Subject to any future regulatory guidance to the contrary, any distribution of income attributable to qualified publicly traded partnership income from the Fund’s investment in an MLP will ostensibly not qualify for the deduction that would be available to a non-corporate Common Shareholder were the Common Shareholder to own such MLP directly. Furthermore, distributions of income or gain attributable to swaps on MLP securities will not constitute qualified publicly traded partnership income and will not be eligible for such deduction.
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If, in and with respect to any taxable year, the Fund makes a distribution to a Common Shareholder in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, the excess distribution will be treated as a return of capital to the extent of such Common Shareholder’s tax basis in its shares, and thereafter as capital gain. A return of capital is not taxable, but it reduces a Common Shareholder’s tax basis in its shares, thus reducing any loss or increasing any gain on a subsequent taxable disposition by the Common Shareholder of its shares. Where one or more such distributions occur in and with respect to any taxable year of the Fund, the available earnings and profits will be allocated first to the distributions made to holders of preferred shares, and only thereafter to distributions made to holders of Common Shares. As a result, holders of preferred shares would receive a disproportionate share of the distributions treated as dividends, and the holders of Common Shares would receive a disproportionate share of the distributions treated as a return of capital.
The Code generally imposes a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on the net investment income of certain individuals, trusts and estates to the extent their income exceeds certain threshold amounts. For these purposes, “net investment income” generally includes, among other things, (i) distributions paid by the Fund of net investment income and capital gains as described above, and (ii) any net gain from the sale, repurchase, exchange or other taxable disposition of Fund shares. Common Shareholders are advised to consult their tax advisers regarding the possible implications of this additional tax on their investment in the Fund.
The IRS requires a RIC that the IRS recognizes as having two or more “classes” of stock for U.S. federal income tax purposes to allocate to each such class proportionate amounts of each type of the RIC’s income (such as ordinary income and capital gains) based upon the percentage of total dividends distributed to each class for the tax year. Accordingly, the Fund intends each tax year to allocate Capital Gain Dividends between and among its Common Shares and each series of its preferred shares, in proportion to the total dividends paid to each class with respect to such tax year. Dividends qualifying and not qualifying for the dividends received deduction or as qualified dividend income will similarly be allocated between and among Common Shares and any series of preferred shares.
As required by federal law, detailed federal tax information with respect to each calendar year will be furnished to Common Shareholders early in the succeeding year.
Distributions are taxable as described herein whether Common Shareholders receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional Common Shares.
A dividend paid to Common Shareholders by the Fund in January generally is deemed to have been paid by the Fund on December 31 of the preceding year, if the dividend was declared and payable to Common Shareholders of record on a date in October, November, or December of that preceding year.
Distributions on the Fund’s shares are generally subject to U.S. federal income tax as described herein to the extent they do not exceed the Fund’s realized income and gains, even though such distributions may economically represent a return of a particular Common Shareholder’s investment. Such distributions are likely to occur in respect of shares purchased at a time when the Fund’s NAV reflects either unrealized gains, or realized but undistributed income or gains,
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that were therefore included in the price the Common Shareholder paid. Such distributions may reduce the fair market value of the Fund’s shares below the Common Shareholder’s cost basis in those shares. As described above, the Fund is required to distribute realized income and gains regardless of whether the Fund’s NAV also reflects unrealized losses.
If at any time when preferred shares are outstanding the Fund does not meet applicable asset coverage requirements, it will be required to suspend distributions to Common Shareholders until the requisite asset coverage is restored. Any such suspension may cause the Fund to pay a U.S. federal income and excise tax on undistributed income or gains and may, in certain circumstances, prevent the Fund from qualifying for treatment as a RIC. The Fund may repurchase or otherwise retire preferred shares in an effort to comply with the distribution requirement applicable to RICs.
Tax Implications of Certain Fund Investments
Special Rules for Debt Obligations. Some debt obligations with a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issuance (and zero-coupon debt obligations with a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issuance) will be treated as debt obligations that are issued originally at a discount. Generally, the original issue discount (“OID”) is treated as interest income and is included in the Fund’s income and required to be distributed by the Fund over the term of the debt security, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, upon partial or full repayment or disposition of the debt security. In addition, PIKs will give rise to income which is required to be distributed and is taxable even though the Fund holding the security receives no interest payment in cash on the security during the year.
Some debt obligations with a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issuance that are acquired by the Fund in the secondary market may be treated as having market discount. Very generally, market discount is the excess of the stated redemption price of a debt obligation (or in the case of an obligation issued with OID, its revised issue price) over the purchase price of such obligation Subject to the discussion below regarding Section 451 of the Code, (i) generally, any gain recognized on the disposition of, and any partial payment of principal on, a debt security having market discount is treated as ordinary income to the extent the gain, or principal payment, does not exceed the accrued market discount on such debt security, (ii) alternatively, the Fund may elect to accrue market discount currently, in which case the Fund will be required to include the accrued market discount in the Fund’s income (as ordinary income) and thus distribute it over the term of the debt security, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, upon partial or full repayment or disposition of the debt security, and (iii) the rate at which the market discount accrues, and thus is included in the Fund’s income, will depend upon which of the permitted accrual methods the Fund elects. Notwithstanding the foregoing, effective for taxable years beginning after 2017, Section 451 of the Code generally requires any accrual method taxpayer to take into account items of gross income no later than the time at which such items are taken into account as revenue in the taxpayer’s financial statements. The U.S. Treasury and IRS have issued proposed regulations providing that Section 451 does not apply to accrued market discount. If Section 451 were to apply to the accrual of market discount, the Fund would be required to include in income any market discount as it takes the same into account on its financial statements.
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Some debt obligations with a fixed maturity date of one year or less from the date of issuance may be treated as having OID or, in certain cases, acquisition discount (very generally, the excess of the stated redemption price over the purchase price). The Fund will be required to include the OID or acquisition discount in income (as ordinary income) and thus distribute it over the term of the debt security, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, upon partial or full repayment or disposition of the debt security. The rate at which OID or acquisition discount accrues, and thus is included in the Fund’s income, will depend upon which of the permitted accrual methods the Fund elects.
If the Fund holds the foregoing kinds of obligations or other obligations subject to special rules under the Code, it may be required to pay out as an income distribution each year an amount which is greater than the total amount of cash interest the Fund actually received. Such distributions may be made from the cash assets of the Fund or, if necessary, by liquidation of portfolio securities including at a time when it may not be advantageous to do so. These dispositions may cause the Fund to realize higher amounts of short-term capital gains (generally taxed to Common Shareholders at ordinary income tax rates) and, in the event the Fund realizes net capital gains from such transactions, its Common Shareholders may receive a larger Capital Gain Dividend than if the Fund had not held such obligations.
A portion of the OID accrued on certain high yield discount obligations may not be deductible to the issuer and will instead be treated as a dividend paid by the issuer for purposes of the dividends-received deduction. In such cases, if the issuer of the high yield discount obligations is a domestic corporation, dividend payments by the Fund may be eligible for the dividends-received deduction to the extent attributable to the deemed dividend portion of such OID.
Securities Purchased at a Premium. Very generally, where the Fund purchases a bond at a price that exceeds the redemption price at maturity (i.e., a premium), the premium is amortizable over the remaining term of the bond. In the case of a taxable bond, if the Fund makes an election applicable to all such bonds it purchases, which election is irrevocable without consent of the IRS, the Fund reduces the current taxable income from the bond by the amortized premium and reduces its tax basis in the bond by the amount of such offset; upon the disposition or maturity of such bonds, the Fund is permitted to deduct any remaining premium allocable to a prior period. In the case of a tax-exempt bond, tax rules require the Fund to reduce its tax basis by the amount of amortized premium.
At-risk or Defaulted Debt Obligations. Investments in debt obligations that are at risk of or in default present special tax issues for the Fund. Tax rules are not entirely clear about issues such as whether or to what extent the Fund should recognize market discount on a debt obligation; when the Fund may cease to accrue interest, OID or market discount; when and to what extent the Fund may take deductions for bad debts or worthless securities and how the Fund should allocate payments received on obligations in default between principal and income. These and other related issues will be addressed by the Fund when, as and if it invests in such obligations, in order to seek to ensure that it distributes sufficient income to preserve its status as a RIC and does not become subject to U.S. federal income or excise tax.
Certain Investments in REITs. Any investment by the Fund in equity securities of REITs qualifying as such under Subchapter M of the Code may result in the Fund’s receipt of cash in
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excess of the REIT’s earnings; if the Fund distributes these amounts, these distributions could constitute a return of capital to Common Shareholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Dividends received by the Fund from a REIT will not qualify for the corporate dividends-received deduction and generally will not constitute qualified dividend income. Certain distributions made by the Fund attributable to dividends received by the Fund from REITs may qualify as “qualified REIT dividends” in the hands of non-corporate Common Shareholders, as discussed above.
Mortgage-Related Securities. The Fund may invest, including through investments in REITs or other pass-through entities, in residual interests in REMICs (including by investing in residual interests in CMOs with respect to which an election to be treated as a REMIC is in effect) or equity interests in taxable mortgage pools (“TMPs”). Under a notice issued by the IRS in October 2006 and U.S. Treasury regulations that have yet to be issued but may apply retroactively, a portion of the Fund’s income (including income allocated to the Fund from a REIT or other pass-through entity) that is attributable to a residual interest in a REMIC or an equity interest in a TMP (referred to in the Code as an “excess inclusion”) will be subject to U.S. federal income tax in all events. This notice also provides, and the regulations are expected to provide, that excess inclusion income of a RIC will be allocated to shareholders of the RIC in proportion to the dividends received by such shareholders, with the same consequences as if the shareholders held the related interest directly. As a result, the Fund investing in such interests may not be a suitable investment for certain tax-exempt investors, as noted below.
In general, excess inclusion income allocated to Common Shareholders (i) cannot be offset by net operating losses (subject to a limited exception for certain thrift institutions), (ii) will constitute unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”) to entities (including a qualified pension plan, an individual retirement account, a 401(k) plan, a Keogh plan or other tax-exempt entity) subject to tax on UBTI, thereby potentially requiring such an entity that is allocated excess inclusion income, and otherwise might not be required to file a tax return, to file a tax return and pay tax on such income, and (iii) in the case of a non-U.S. Common Shareholder, will not qualify for any reduction in U.S. federal withholding tax. A Common Shareholder will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on such inclusions notwithstanding any exemption from such income tax otherwise available under the Code.
Restructuring, Modifying or Foreclosing Loans. The Fund may restructure or modify certain non-performing loans it holds, or may foreclose on the collateral securing the loan. Any such activity could cause the Fund to recognize taxable income without a corresponding receipt of cash, which may require the Fund to distribute cash obtained from other sources (including a sale of other portfolio securities) in order to satisfy the distribution requirement applicable to RICs and to avoid a Fund-level tax. Any such activity could also result in the Fund receiving assets that give rise to non-qualifying income for purposes of the 90% gross income test described above.
Foreign Currency Transactions. Any transaction by the Fund in foreign currencies, foreign currency-denominated debt obligations or certain foreign currency options, futures contracts or forward contracts (or similar instruments) may give rise to ordinary income or loss to the extent such income or loss results from fluctuations in the value of the foreign currency concerned. Any such net gains could require a larger dividend toward the end of the calendar year. Any such net
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losses will generally reduce and potentially require the recharacterization of prior ordinary income distributions. Such ordinary income treatment may accelerate Fund distributions to Common Shareholders and increase the distributions taxed to Common Shareholders as ordinary income. Any net ordinary losses so created cannot be carried forward by the Fund to offset income or gains earned in subsequent taxable years.
Passive Foreign Investment Companies. The Fund’s investments that are treated as equity investments for federal income tax purposes in certain PFICs could potentially subject the Fund to a U.S. federal income tax (including interest charges) on distributions received from the company or on proceeds received from the disposition of shares in the company. This tax cannot be eliminated by making distributions to Common Shareholders. However, the Fund may elect to avoid the imposition of this tax. For example, the Fund may elect to treat a PFIC as a qualified electing fund (i.e., make a “QEF election”), in which case the Fund will be required to include its share of the PFIC’s income and net capital gains annually, regardless of whether it receives any distribution from the PFIC. The Fund also may make an election to mark the gains (and to a limited extent losses) in such holdings to the market as though it had sold (and, solely for purposes of this mark-to-market election, repurchased) its holdings in those PFICs on the last day of the Fund’s taxable year. Such gains and losses are treated as ordinary income and loss. The QEF and mark-to-market elections may accelerate the recognition of income (without the receipt of cash) and increase the amount required to be distributed by the Fund to avoid taxation. Making either of these elections therefore may require the Fund to liquidate other investments (including when it is not advantageous to do so) to meet its distribution requirement, which also may accelerate the recognition of gain and affect the Fund’s total return. Dividends paid by PFICs will not be eligible to be treated as qualified dividend income. If the Fund indirectly invests in PFICs by virtue of the Fund’s investment in other funds, it may not make such PFIC elections; rather, the underlying funds directly investing in the PFICs would decide whether to make such elections.
Because it is not always possible to identify a foreign corporation as a PFIC, the Fund may incur the tax and interest charges described above in some instances.
Tax Credit Bonds. If the Fund holds, directly or indirectly, one or more “tax credit bonds” issued on or before December 31, 2017, on one or more applicable dates during a taxable year, it is possible that the Fund will elect to permit its Common Shareholders to claim a tax credit on their income tax returns equal to each Common Shareholder’s proportionate share of tax credits from the applicable bonds that otherwise would be allowed to the Fund. In such a case, a Common Shareholder will be deemed to receive a distribution of money with respect to its Fund shares equal to the Common Shareholder’s proportionate share of the amount of such credits and be allowed a credit against the Common Shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability equal to the amount of such deemed distribution, subject to certain limitations imposed by the Code on the credits involved. Even if the Fund is eligible to pass through such tax credits to Common Shareholders, the Fund may choose not to do so.
Options and Futures. In general, option premiums received by the Fund are not immediately included in the income of the Fund. Instead, the premiums are recognized when the option contract expires, the option is exercised by the holder, or the Fund transfers or otherwise terminates the option (for example, through a closing transaction). If a call option written by the
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Fund is exercised and the Fund sells or delivers the underlying stock, the Fund generally will recognize capital gain or loss equal to (a) sum of the strike price and the option premium received by the Fund minus (b) the Fund’s basis in the stock. Such gain or loss generally will be short-term or long-term depending upon the holding period of the underlying stock. If securities are purchased by the Fund pursuant to the exercise of a put option written by it, the Fund generally will subtract the premium received for purposes of computing its cost basis in the securities purchased. Gain or loss arising in respect of a termination of the Fund’s obligation under an option other than through the exercise of the option will be short-term gain or loss depending on whether the premium income received by the Fund is greater or less than the amount paid by the Fund (if any) in terminating the transaction. Thus, for example, if an option written by the Fund expires unexercised, the Fund generally will recognize short-term gain equal to the premium received.
The Fund’s options activities may include transactions constituting straddles for U.S. federal income tax purposes, that is, that trigger the U.S. federal income tax straddle rules contained primarily in Section 1092 of the Code. Such straddles include, for example, positions in a particular security, or an index of securities, and one or more options that offset the former position, including options that are “covered” by the Fund’s long position in the subject security. Very generally, where applicable, Section 1092 requires (i) that losses be deferred on positions deemed to be offsetting positions with respect to “substantially similar or related property,” to the extent of unrealized gain in the latter, and (ii) that the holding period of such a straddle position that has not already been held for the long-term holding period be terminated and begin anew once the position is no longer part of a straddle. Options on single stocks that are not “deep in the money” may constitute qualified covered calls which generally, are not subject to the straddle rules; the holding period on stock underlying qualified covered calls that are “in the money” although not “deep in the money” will be suspended during the period that such calls are outstanding. The straddle rules and the rules governing qualified covered calls could cause gains that would otherwise constitute long-term capital gains to be treated as short-term capital gains, and distributions that would otherwise constitute qualified dividend income or qualify for the dividends-received deduction to fail to satisfy the holding period requirements and therefore to be taxed as ordinary income or to fail to qualify for the dividends-received deduction, as the case may be.
The tax treatment of certain positions entered into by the Fund, including regulated futures contracts, certain foreign currency positions and certain listed non-equity options, will be governed by Section 1256 of the Code (“Section 1256 contracts”). Gains or losses on Section 1256 contracts generally are considered 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gains or losses (“60/40”), although certain foreign currency gains and losses from such contracts may be treated as ordinary in character. Also, Section 1256 contracts held by the Fund at the end of each taxable year (and, for purposes of the 4% excise tax, on certain other dates as prescribed under the Code) are treated as marked to market with the result that unrealized gains or losses are treated as though they were realized and the resulting gain or loss is treated as ordinary or 60/40 gain or loss, as applicable.
Other Derivatives, Hedging, and Related Transactions. In addition to the special rules described above in respect of futures and options transactions, the Fund’s transactions in other derivative instruments (for example, forward contracts and swap agreements), as well as any of its other
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hedging, short sale or similar transactions, may be subject to one or more special tax rules (for example, notional principal contract, straddle, constructive sale, wash sale and short sale rules). These rules may affect whether gains and losses recognized by the Fund are treated as ordinary or capital or as short-term or long-term, accelerate the recognition of income or gains to the Fund, defer losses to the Fund, and cause adjustments in the holding periods of the Fund’s securities. These rules could therefore affect the amount, timing and/or character of distributions to Common Shareholders. In addition, the tax rules applicable to derivatives are in many cases uncertain under current law. An adverse determination, future guidance by the IRS or U.S. Treasury regulations, in each case with potentially retroactive effect, might bear adversely on the Fund’s satisfaction of the distribution or other requirements to maintain its qualification as a RIC and avoid a Fund-level tax.
Commodity-Related Investments. The Fund’s use of commodity-linked instruments can be limited by the Fund’s intention to qualify as a RIC, and can bear on the Fund’s ability to so qualify. Income and gains from certain commodity-linked instruments and from direct investments, if any, in commodities do not constitute qualifying income to a RIC for purposes of the 90% gross income test described above. The tax treatment of certain other commodity-linked instruments in which the Fund might invest is not certain, in particular with respect to whether income or gains from such instruments constitute qualifying income to a RIC. If the Fund were to treat income or gain from a particular instrument as qualifying income and the income or gain were later determined not to constitute qualifying income and, together with any other non-qualifying income, caused the Fund’s non-qualifying income to exceed 10% of its gross income in any taxable year, the Fund would fail to qualify as a RIC unless it is eligible to and does cure such failure by paying a tax at the Fund level.
Exchange-Traded Notes. The tax rules are uncertain with respect to the treatment, including timing, of income or gains arising in respect of ETNs. An adverse determination or future guidance by the IRS with respect to these rules (which determination or guidance could be retroactive) may affect the Fund’s ability to satisfy the requirements for qualifying for treatment as a RIC and to avoid a Fund-level tax.
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Book-Tax Differences. Certain of the Fund’s investments in derivative instruments and foreign currency-denominated instruments, and any of the Fund’s transactions in foreign currencies and hedging activities, are likely to produce a difference between its book income and the sum of its taxable income and net tax-exempt income (if any). If such a difference arises, and the Fund’s book income is less than the sum of its taxable income and net tax-exempt income, the Fund could be required to make distributions exceeding book income to qualify as a RIC that is accorded special tax treatment. In the alternative, if the Fund’s book income exceeds the sum of its taxable income (including realized capital gains) and net tax-exempt income, the distribution (if any) of such excess generally will be treated as (i) a dividend to the extent of the Fund’s remaining earnings and profits (including earnings and profits arising from tax-exempt income), (ii) thereafter, as a return of capital to the extent of the recipient’s basis in its shares, and (iii) thereafter as gain from the sale or exchange of a capital asset.
Investments in Other RICs. The Fund’s investments in shares of another mutual fund, ETF or another company that qualifies as a RIC (each, an “underlying RIC”) can cause the Fund to be required to distribute greater amounts of net investment income or net capital gain than the Fund would have distributed had it invested directly in the securities held by the underlying RIC, rather than in shares of the underlying RIC. Further, the amount or timing of distributions from the Fund qualifying for treatment as a particular character (for example, long-term capital gain, exempt interest, eligibility for dividends-received deduction, etc.) will not necessarily be the same as it would have been had the Fund invested directly in the securities held by the investment company.
If the Fund receives dividends from an underlying RIC and the underlying RIC reports such dividends as qualified dividend income, then the Fund is permitted in turn to report to its Common Shareholders a portion of its distributions as qualified dividend income, provided the Fund meets holding period and other requirements with respect to shares of the underlying RIC.
If the Fund receives dividends from an underlying RIC and the underlying RIC reports such dividends as eligible for the dividends-received deduction, then the Fund is permitted in turn to report to its Common Shareholders its distributions derived from those dividends as eligible for the dividends-received deduction as well, provided the Fund meets holding period and other requirements with respect to shares of the underlying RIC.
If at the close of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year, at least 50% of its total assets were to consist of interests in other RICs, the Fund would be a qualified fund of funds. In that case, the Fund would be permitted to elect to pass through to its Common Shareholders foreign income and other similar taxes paid by the Fund in respect of foreign securities held directly by the Fund
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or by an underlying fund in which it invests that itself elected to pass such taxes through to shareholders, so that Common Shareholders of the Fund would be eligible to claim a tax credit or deduction for such taxes. However, even if the Fund were to qualify to make such election for any year, it may determine not to do so. See “Foreign Taxation” below for more information. Additionally, if the Fund were a qualified fund of funds, the Fund would be permitted to distribute exempt-interest dividends and thereby pass through to its Common Shareholders the tax-exempt character of any exempt-interest dividends it receives from underlying funds in which it invests, or interest on any tax-exempt obligations in which it directly invests, if any. The Fund does not expect to be able to distribute exempt-interest dividends under any other circumstances. Furthermore, even if the Fund were eligible to report any distributions as exempt-interest dividends, it provides no assurance that it would do so.
If the Fund were to own 20% or more of the voting interests of an underlying RIC, subject to a safe harbor in respect of certain fund of funds arrangements, the Fund would be required to “look through” the underlying RIC to its holdings and combine the appropriate percentage (as determined pursuant to the applicable U.S. Treasury Regulations) of the underlying RIC’s assets with the Fund’s assets for purposes of satisfying the 25% diversification test described above.
Backup Withholding
The Fund generally is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and repurchase proceeds paid to any individual Common Shareholder who fails to properly furnish the Fund with a correct taxpayer identification number, who has under-reported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify to the Fund that he or she is not subject to such withholding.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld may be credited against the Common Shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the appropriate information is furnished to the IRS.
Tax-Exempt Shareholders
Income of a RIC that would be UBTI if earned directly by a tax-exempt entity generally will not constitute UBTI when distributed to a tax-exempt shareholder of the RIC. Notwithstanding this blocking effect, a tax-exempt Common Shareholder could realize UBTI by virtue of its investment in the Fund if shares in the Fund constitute debt-financed property (within the meaning of Section 514(b) of the Code) in the hands of the tax-exempt Common Shareholder.
A tax-exempt Common Shareholder may also recognize UBTI if the Fund recognizes excess inclusion income derived from direct or indirect investments in residual interests in REMICs or equity interests in TMPs as described above, if the amount of such income recognized by the Fund exceeds the Fund’s investment company taxable income (after taking into account deductions for dividends paid by the Fund).
In addition, special tax consequences apply to charitable remainder trusts (“CRTs”) that invest in RICs that invest directly or indirectly in residual interests in REMICs or equity interests in TMPs. Under legislation enacted in December 2006, a CRT (as defined in Section 664 of the Code) that realizes any UBTI for a taxable year must pay an excise tax annually of an amount
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equal to such UBTI. Under IRS guidance issued in October 2006, a CRT will not recognize UBTI as a result of investing in the Fund that recognizes excess inclusion income. Rather, if at any time during any taxable year a CRT (or one of certain other tax-exempt Common Shareholders, such as the United States, a state or political subdivision, or an agency or instrumentality thereof, and certain energy cooperatives) is a record holder of a Common Share in the Fund that recognizes excess inclusion income, then the Fund will be subject to a tax on that portion of its excess inclusion income for the taxable year that is allocable to such Common Shareholders at the highest federal corporate income tax rate. The extent to which this IRS guidance remains applicable in light of the December 2006 legislation is unclear. To the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, the Fund may elect to specially allocate any such tax to the applicable CRT, or other Common Shareholder, and thus reduce such Common Shareholder’s distributions for the year by the amount of the tax that relates to such Common Shareholder’s interest in the Fund.
CRTs and other tax-exempt investors are urged to consult their tax advisers concerning the consequences of investing in the Fund.
Sale, Exchange or Repurchase of Shares
The sale, exchange, or repurchase of Fund shares may give rise to a gain or loss. In general, any gain or loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than 12 months. Otherwise, the gain or loss on the taxable disposition of Fund shares will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss. However, any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Fund shares held by a Common Shareholder for six months or less will be treated as long-term, rather than short-term, to the extent of any Capital Gain Dividends received (or deemed received) by the Common Shareholder with respect to the shares.
Further, all or a portion of any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Fund shares will be disallowed under the Code’s “wash sale” rule if other substantially identical shares are purchased, including by means of dividend reinvestment, within 30 days before or after the disposition. In such a case, the basis of the newly purchased shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.
In certain circumstances, the Fund may repurchase Common Shares. Common Shareholders who tender all shares held, or considered to be held, by them will be treated as having sold their shares and generally will realize a capital gain or loss. If a Common Shareholder tenders fewer than all or its shares, such shareholder may be treated as having received a distribution under Section 301 of the Code (“Section 301 distribution”) unless the repurchase is treated as being either (i) “substantially disproportionate” with respect to such Common Shareholder or (ii) otherwise “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” under the relevant rules of the Code. A Section 301 distribution is not treated as a sale or exchange giving rise to a capital gain or loss, but rather is treated as a dividend to the extent supported by the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, with the excess treated as a return of capital reducing the Common Shareholder’s tax basis in Fund shares, and thereafter as capital gain. Where a tendering Common Shareholder is treated as receiving a dividend, there is a risk that non-tendering Common Shareholders whose interests in the Fund increase as a result of such tender will be
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treated as having received a taxable distribution from the Fund. The extent of such risk will vary depending upon the particular circumstances of the tender offer, in particular whether such offer is a single and isolated event or is part of a plan for periodically repurchasing the Common Shares; if isolated, any such risk is likely remote.
Upon the repurchase or exchange of Fund shares, the Fund or, in the case of shares purchased through a financial intermediary, the financial intermediary may be required to provide the Common Shareholder and the IRS with cost basis and certain other related tax information about the Fund shares repurchased or exchanged. See the Fund’s Prospectus for more information.
Tax Shelter Reporting Regulations
Under U.S. Treasury regulations, if a Common Shareholder recognizes a loss of $2 million or more for an individual Common Shareholder in a single taxable year (or $4 million or more in any combination of taxable years in which a loss transaction is entered into and the five succeeding taxable years) or $10 million or more for a corporate Common Shareholder in any single taxable year (or $20 million or more in any combination of taxable years in which a loss transaction is entered into and the five succeeding taxable years), the Common Shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct holders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a RIC are not excepted. Future guidance may extend the current exception from this reporting requirement to shareholders of most or all RICs. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Common Shareholders should consult their tax advisers to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.
Foreign Taxation
Income, proceeds and gains received by the Fund (or underlying RICs in which the Fund has invested) from sources within foreign countries may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by such countries, which would decrease the Fund’s yield on securities subject to such taxes. Tax treaties between certain countries and the U.S. may reduce or eliminate such taxes. This will decrease the Fund’s yield on securities subject to such taxes. If more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets at the close of a taxable year consists of securities of foreign corporations, the Fund will be eligible to elect to pass through to Common Shareholders foreign income taxes that it pays. If this election is made, Common Shareholders will be required to include their share of those taxes in gross income as a distribution from the Fund and generally will be allowed to claim a credit (or a deduction, if the Common Shareholder itemizes deductions) for such amounts on their federal U.S. income tax return, subject to certain limitations. If the Fund were a qualified fund of funds, it would be permitted to elect to pass through to its Common Shareholders foreign taxes it has paid or foreign taxes passed through to it by any underlying fund that itself elected to pass through such taxes to shareholders (see “—Investments in Other RICs” above). Even if the Fund is eligible to make such an election for a given year, it may determine not to do so.
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Foreign Shareholders
Distributions by the Fund to a Common Shareholder that are not “U.S. persons” within the meaning of the Code (“foreign shareholders”) properly reported by the Fund as (1) Capital Gain Dividends, (2) short-term capital gain dividends (3) interest-related dividends, each as defined and subject to certain conditions described below, and (4) exempt-interest dividends generally are not subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax (though such exempt interest dividends may be subject to backup withholding).
In general, the Code defines (1) “short-term capital gain dividends” as distributions of net short-term capital gains in excess of net long-term capital losses and (2) “interest-related dividends” as distributions from U.S. source interest income of types similar to those not subject to U.S. federal income tax if earned directly by an individual foreign shareholder, in each case to the extent such distributions are properly reported as such by the Fund in a written notice to Common Shareholders.
The exceptions to withholding for Capital Gain Dividends and short-term capital gain dividends do not apply to (A) distributions to an individual foreign shareholder who is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the year of the distribution and (B) distributions attributable to gain that is treated as effectively connected with the conduct by the foreign shareholder of a trade or business within the United States under special rules regarding the disposition of U.S. real property interests (“USRPIs”) as described below. The exception to withholding for interest-related dividends does not apply to distributions to a foreign shareholder (A) that has not provided a satisfactory statement that the beneficial owner is not a U.S. person, (B) to the extent that the dividend is attributable to certain interest on an obligation if the foreign shareholder is the issuer or is a 10% shareholder of the issuer, (C) that is within certain foreign countries that have inadequate information exchange with the United States, or (D) to the extent the dividend is attributable to interest paid by a person that is a related person of the foreign shareholder and the foreign shareholder is a controlled foreign corporation. If the Fund invests in another underlying RIC that pays such distributions to the Fund, such distributions retain their character as not subject to withholding if properly reported when paid by the Fund to foreign shareholders. The Fund is permitted to report such part of its dividends as are eligible, to be treated as short-term capital gain or interest-related dividends, but is not required to do so. In the case of shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary is permitted to withhold even if the Fund reports all or a portion of a payment as a short-term capital gain or an interest-related dividend to Common Shareholders.
Foreign shareholders should contact their intermediaries regarding the application of these rules to their accounts.
Distributions by the Fund to foreign shareholders other than Capital Gain Dividends, short-term capital gain dividends, interest-related dividends and exempt-interest dividends (e.g., dividends attributable to dividend and foreign source interest income or to short-term capital gains or U.S. source interest income to which the exception from withholding described above does not apply) are generally subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 30% (or lower applicable treaty rate).
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A foreign shareholder is not, in general, subject to U.S. federal income tax on gains (and is not allowed a deduction for losses) realized on the sale of Common Shares unless (i) such gain is effectively connected with the conduct by the foreign shareholder of a trade or business within the United States, (ii) in the case of a foreign shareholder that is an individual, the Common Shareholder is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the year of the sale and certain other conditions are met, or (iii) the special rules relating to gain attributable to the sale or exchange of USRPIs apply to the foreign shareholder’s sale of Common Shares (as described below).
Subject to certain exceptions (for example, for a fund that is a “United States real property holding corporation” as described below), the Fund is generally not required to withhold on the amount of a non-dividend distribution (i.e., a distribution that is not paid out of the Fund’s current or accumulated earnings and profits for the applicable taxable year) when paid to its foreign shareholders.
Foreign shareholders with respect to whom income from the Fund is effectively connected with a trade or business conducted by the foreign shareholder within the United States will in general be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the income derived from the Fund at the graduated rates applicable to U.S. citizens, residents or domestic corporations, whether such income is received in cash or reinvested in Common Shares and, in the case of a foreign corporation, may also be subject to a branch profits tax. If a foreign shareholder is eligible for the benefits of a tax treaty, any effectively connected income or gain will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net basis only if it is also attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the Common Shareholder in the United States. More generally, foreign shareholders who are residents in a country with an income tax treaty with the United States may obtain different tax results than those described herein, and are urged to consult their tax advisers.
Special rules would apply if the Fund were a qualified investment entity (“QIE”) because it is either a U.S. real property holding corporation (“USRPHC”) or would be a USRPHC but for the operation of certain exceptions to the definition of USRPIs described below. Very generally, a USRPHC is a domestic corporation that holds USRPIs the fair market value of which equals or exceeds 50% of the sum of the fair market values of the corporation’s USRPIs, interests in real property located outside the United States, and other trade or business assets. USRPIs are generally defined as any interest in U.S. real property and any interest (other than solely as a creditor) in a USRPHC or, very generally, an entity that has been a USRPHC in the last five years (a “former USRPHC”). If the Fund holds, directly or indirectly, significant interests in REITs, it may be a USRPHC. Interests in domestically controlled QIEs, including REITs and RICs that are QIEs, not-greater-than-10% interests in publicly traded classes of stock in REITs and not-greater-than-5% interests in publicly traded classes of stock in RICs generally are not USRPIs, but these exceptions do not apply for purposes of determining whether the Fund is a QIE.
If an interest in the Fund were a USRPI, the Fund would be required to withhold U.S. tax on the proceeds of a repurchase of Common Shares by a greater-than-5% foreign shareholder, in which case such foreign shareholder generally would also be required to file U.S. tax returns and pay any additional taxes due in connection with the repurchase.
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Moreover, if the Fund were a USRPHC or, very generally, had been one in the last five years, it would be required to withhold on amounts distributed to a greater-than-5% foreign shareholder to the extent such amounts would not be treated as a dividend, i.e. are in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits for the applicable taxable year. Such withholding generally is not required if the Fund is a domestically controlled QIE.
If the Fund were a QIE, under a special “look-through” rule, any distributions by the Fund to a foreign shareholder (including, in certain cases, distributions made by the Fund in the repurchase of its shares) attributable directly or indirectly to (i) distributions received by the Fund from a lower-tier RIC or REIT that the Fund is required to treat as USRPI gain in its hands and (ii) gains realized on the disposition of USRPIs by the Fund would retain their character as gains realized from USRPIs in the hands of the Fund’s foreign shareholder and would be subject to U.S. tax withholding. In addition, such distributions could result in the foreign shareholder being required to file a U.S. tax return and pay tax on the distributions at regular U.S. federal income tax rates. The consequences to a foreign shareholder, including the rate of such withholding and character of such distributions (for example, as ordinary income or USRPI gain), would vary depending upon the extent of the foreign shareholder’s current and past ownership of the Fund.
Foreign shareholders of the Fund also may be subject to “wash sale” rules to prevent the avoidance of the tax-filing and -payment obligations discussed above through the sale and repurchase of Fund shares.
Foreign shareholders should consult their tax advisers and, if holding shares through intermediaries, their intermediaries, concerning the application of these rules to their investment in the Fund.
In order to qualify for any exemptions from withholding described above or for lower withholding tax rates under income tax treaties, or to establish an exemption from backup withholding, a foreign shareholder must comply with special certification and filing requirements relating to its non-U.S. status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS Form W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E or substitute form). Foreign shareholders should consult their tax advisers in this regard.
Special rules (including withholding and reporting requirements) apply to foreign partnerships and those holding Fund shares through foreign partnerships. Additional considerations may apply to foreign trusts and estates. Investors holding Fund shares through foreign entities should consult their tax advisers about their particular situation.
A foreign shareholder may be subject to state and local tax and to the U.S. federal estate tax in addition to the U.S. federal income tax referred to above. Foreign shareholders should consult their own tax advisers for more information about their particular situation, including possible other federal, state, local, and, foreign tax consequences of investing in the Fund.
Common Shareholders Reporting Obligations With Respect to Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts
Common Shareholders that are U.S. persons and own, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the Fund by vote or value could be required to report annually their financial interest in the Fund’s foreign financial accounts, if any, on FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. Common Shareholders should consult a tax adviser, or if holding shares through an intermediary, their intermediary, regarding the applicability to them of this reporting requirement.
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Other Reporting and Withholding Requirements
Sections 1471-1474 of the Code and the U.S. Treasury and IRS guidance issued thereunder (collectively, “FATCA”) generally require the Fund to obtain information sufficient to identify the status of each of its Common Shareholders under FATCA or under an applicable intergovernmental agreement (an “IGA”) between the United States and a foreign government. If a Common Shareholder fails to provide this information or otherwise fails to comply with FATCA or an IGA, the Fund may be required to withhold under FATCA at a rate of 30% with respect to that Common Shareholder on ordinary dividends it pays. The IRS and the U.S. Treasury have issued proposed regulations providing that these withholding rules will not be applicable to the gross proceeds of a repurchase of Common Shares or Capital Gain Dividends the Fund pays. If a payment by the Fund is subject to FATCA withholding, the Fund is required to withhold even if such payment would otherwise be exempt from withholding under the rules applicable to foreign shareholders described above (e.g., short-term capital gain dividends and interest-related dividends).
Each prospective investor is urged to consult its tax adviser regarding the applicability of FATCA and any other reporting requirements with respect to the prospective investor’s own situation, including investments through an intermediary.
General Considerations
The U.S. federal income tax discussion set forth above is for general information only. Prospective investors should consult their tax advisers regarding the specific federal tax consequences of purchasing, holding, and disposing of Common Shares, as well as the effects of state, local, foreign, and other tax law and any proposed tax law changes.
CUSTODIAN, TRANSFER AGENT AND DIVIDEND DISBURSEMENT AGENT
U.S. Bank, National Association, 1555 N. River Center Drive, Suite 302, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212, serves as custodian for assets of the Fund and performs custodial services on behalf of the Fund.
USBGFS, 777 E. Wisconsin Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53202, serves as the fund accountant, administrator, transfer agent, registrar and dividend disbursement agent for the Common Shares, as well as agent for the Dividend Reinvestment Plan relating to the Common Shares.
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
Deloitte & Touche LLP, 695 Town Center Drive Suite 1200, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, serves as independent registered public accounting firm, providing audit services for the Fund. Deloitte Tax LLP provides tax return preparation services for the Fund.
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INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE
As noted above, this SAI is part of a registration statement filed with the SEC. The Fund is permitted to “incorporate by reference” the information filed with the SEC, which means that the Fund can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this SAI, and later information that the Fund files with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information.
The documents listed below, and any reports and other documents subsequently filed by the Fund pursuant to Rule 30(b)(2) under the 1940 Act and Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (excluding any information furnished rather than filed) prior to the termination of the offering shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference into the prospectus and this SAI. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this SAI. Any statement in a document incorporated by reference into this SAI will be deemed to be automatically modified or superseded to the extent a statement contained in (1) this SAI or (2) any other subsequently filed document that is incorporated by reference into this SAI modifies or supersedes such statement. The documents incorporated by reference herein include:
| 1. | the Fund’s Prospectus, dated September 29, 2023, filed with this SAI; |
| 2. | the Fund’s Semi-Annual Report on Form N-CSR, filed on June 2, 2023; |
| 3. | the Fund’s Proxy Statement on Form DEF-14A, filed on January 20, 2023; |
| 4. | the Fund’s Annual Report on Form N-CSR, filed on December 2, 2022; and |
| 5. | the Fund’s description of Common Shares on Form 8-A, filed on January 24, 2020. |
The Fund’s periodic reports filed pursuant to Section 30(b)(2) of the 1940 Act and Sections 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, as well as this SAI, are available on the Fund’s website at www.doubleline.com. Other information contained on the website is not incorporated into this SAI and you should not consider information contained on the website to be part of this SAI. You may also request a copy of these filings (other than exhibits, unless the exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference into these documents) and any other information incorporated by reference into the prospectus or this SAI upon written or oral request at no cost by contacting your financial intermediary if you invest through a financial intermediary. If you are a direct investor, you may call 877-DLINE11 (877-354-6311), send an email request to [email protected] or write to the Fund at 2002 North Tampa Street, Suite 200, Tampa, FL 33602.
In addition, the SEC maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains these reports, proxy and information statements, and other information, including filings on Form N-PORT and N-CEN, regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, including the Fund.
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Audited financial statements for the Fund as of September 30, 2022 and unaudited financial statements for the Fund as of March 31, 2023, including the notes thereto, and the reports of Deloitte & Touche LLP thereon, as applicable, are incorporated herein by reference from the Fund’s September 30, 2022 annual report and March 31, 2023 semi-annual report.
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Procedures for Shareholders to Submit Nominee Candidates
(As of August 24, 2011, as amended February 27, 2013,
August 19, 2021 and August 28, 2023)
A shareholder of the Trust, or of any series thereof, if applicable, must follow the following procedures in order to submit properly a nominee recommendation for the Committee’s consideration.
| 1. | The shareholder must submit any such recommendation (a “Shareholder Notice”) in writing to the Trust, to the attention of the Trust’s Secretary, at the address of the principal executive offices of the Trust. |
| 2. | The Shareholder Notice must be delivered to, or mailed and received at, the principal executive offices of the Trust not less than ninety (90) calendar days nor more than one hundred and twenty (120) calendar days prior to the first anniversary date of the prior year’s annual meeting; provided however, if and only if the annual meeting is not scheduled to be held within a period that commences thirty (30) days before the first anniversary date of the annual meeting for the preceding year and ends thirty (30) days after such anniversary date (an annual meeting date outside such period being referred to herein as an “Other Annual Meeting Date”), such Shareholder Notice must be given in the manner provided herein by the later of the close of business on (i) the date ninety (90) days prior to such Other Annual Meeting Date or (ii) the tenth (10th) business day following the date such Other Annual Meeting Date is first publicly announced or disclosed, or such other deadlines as may apply to shareholder nominations under the “Advance Notice of Shareholder Nominees for Trustees and Other Shareholder Proposals” provision of the Trust’s Bylaws, as in effect at the time of the recommendation. |
Any shareholder desiring to nominate any person or persons (as the case may be) for election as a Trustee or Trustees of the Trust shall deliver, as part of such Shareholder Notice: (i) a statement in writing setting forth (A) the name, age, date of birth, business address, residence address and nationality of the person or persons to be nominated; (B) the class or series, if applicable, and number of all shares of the Trust owned of record or beneficially by each such person or persons and any Proposed Nominee Associated Person (as defined below); (C) any information regarding each proposed nominee required by paragraphs (a), (d), (e) and (f) of Item 401 of Regulation S-K or paragraph (b) of Item 22 of Schedule 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) (or the corresponding provisions of any applicable regulation or rule subsequently adopted by the SEC or any successor agency applicable to the Trust); (D) any information regarding the person or persons to be nominated and any Proposed Nominee Associated Person that would be required to be disclosed (if such proposed nominee were a nominee) in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitation of proxies for election of Trustees or directors in an election contest (even if an election contest is not involved) pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or any other applicable law or regulation; (E) whether such shareholder believes any proposed nominee is or will be an “interested person” of the Trust (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”)) and, if not an “interested person,” information regarding each proposed nominee that will be sufficient for the Trust to make such
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determination, including information with respect to each relationship set forth in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act that may cause a proposed nominee to be an “interested person” or a representation that no such relationship exists; (F) any information as to whether and the extent to which any derivative instrument, swap, option, warrant, short position, hedge or profit interest or other transaction, agreement, arrangement or understanding has been entered into or made by or on behalf of any proposed nominee, or any Proposed Nominee Associated Person, with respect to shares; (G) any information as to whether and the extent to which any other transaction, agreement, arrangement or understanding (including any short position or any borrowing or lending of shares) has been entered into or made by or on behalf of any proposed nominee, or any Proposed Nominee Associated Person, the effect or intent of any of the foregoing being to mitigate loss to, or to manage risk or benefit of share price changes for, such proposed nominee, or any Proposed Nominee Associated Person, or to increase or decrease the voting power or pecuniary or economic interest of such proposed nominee, or any Proposed Nominee Associated Person, with respect to shares; (H) information to establish to the satisfaction of the Trustees that each proposed nominee satisfies the Trustee qualifications as set out in the Trust’s Bylaws, including, where applicable, the additional qualifications for Independent Trustees set forth in Section 2.l(b) of the Trust’s Bylaws; and (I) a representation as to whether each proposed nominee meets all applicable legal requirements relevant to service as a Trustee or a Committee member, including, but not limited to, the rules adopted by the principal listing exchange (if any) upon which shares are listed, Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act (or any successor provision thereto), Article 2-01 of Regulation S-X under the Exchange Act with respect to the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm (or any successor provision thereto), and any other criteria established by the 1940 Act or other applicable law related to service as a trustee of a management investment company or the permitted composition of the board of trustees of a management investment company, together with information regarding each proposed nominee that will be sufficient, in the discretion of the Trustees, to evaluate such representation; (ii) the written and signed consent of the person or persons to be nominated to be named as nominees and to serve as Trustees if elected; and (iii) a brief description of each proposed nominee’s relevant background and experience for membership on the Board of Trustees, such as qualification as an audit committee financial expert. In addition, the Trustees may require any proposed nominee to furnish such other information as they may reasonably require or deem necessary to determine the eligibility of such proposed nominee to serve as a Trustee. Any such Shareholder Notice must be accompanied by a written agreement signed by each proposed nominee by which such proposed nominee shall agree to any Board Conduct Policies adopted by the Trustees pursuant to Section 2.2 of the Trust’s Bylaws; refusal by a proposed nominee to agree in writing to any such Board Conduct Policies shall render the nomination ineffective for failure to satisfy the requirements of the Trust’s Bylaws. Any Shareholder Notice required by this Section 10.7(c) in respect of a proposal to fix the number of Trustees shall also set forth a description of and the text of the proposal, which description and text shall state a fixed number of Trustees that otherwise complies with applicable law, the Trust’s Bylaws and the Declaration of Trust.
Without limiting the foregoing, any shareholder who gives a Shareholder Notice of any matter proposed to be brought before a shareholder meeting (whether or not involving nominees for Trustees) shall deliver, as part of such Shareholder Notice: (i) the description of and text of the proposal to be presented; (ii) a brief written statement of the reasons why such shareholder favors the proposal; (iii) such shareholder’s name and address as they appear on the Trust’s books; (iv)
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any information relating to the shareholder and any Shareholder Associated Person (as defined below) that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with the solicitation of proxies in a proxy contest (even if a proxy contest is not involved) with respect to the matter(s) proposed pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder; (v) the class or series, if applicable, and number of all shares of the Trust owned beneficially and of record by such shareholder and any Shareholder Associated Person; (vi) any material interest of such shareholder or any Shareholder Associated Person in the matter proposed (other than as a shareholder); (vii) a representation that the shareholder intends to appear in person or by proxy at the shareholder meeting to act on the matter(s) proposed; (viii) a complete description of all agreements, arrangements or understandings (whether written or oral) between the shareholder or any Shareholder Associated Person, and each proposed nominee and/or any other person or persons (including their names) pursuant to which the nomination(s) or proposal(s) are to be made by the shareholder; (ix) in the case of a shareholder who is a Beneficial Owner, evidence establishing such Beneficial Owner’s indirect ownership of, and entitlement to vote, the shares at the meeting of shareholders; (x) any information as to whether and the extent to which any derivative instrument, swap, option, warrant, short position, hedge or profit interest or other transaction, agreement, arrangement or understanding has been entered into or made by or on behalf of such shareholder, or any Shareholder Associated Person, with respect to Shares; and (xi) any information as to whether and the extent to which any other transaction, agreement, arrangement or understanding (including any short position or any borrowing or lending of shares) has been entered into or made by or on behalf of such shareholder, or any Shareholder Associated Person, the effect or intent of any of the foregoing being to mitigate loss to, or to manage risk or benefit of share price changes for, such shareholder, or any Shareholder Associated Person, or to increase or decrease the voting power or pecuniary or economic interest of such shareholder, or any Shareholder Associated Person, with respect to shares. As used herein, shares “beneficially owned” shall mean all shares which such person is deemed to beneficially own pursuant to Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 under the Exchange Act.
For purposes of the foregoing, a “Proposed Nominee Associated Person” of any proposed nominee shall mean (a) any person acting in concert with such proposed nominee, (b) any direct or indirect beneficial owner of shares owned of record or beneficially by such proposed nominee or any person acting in concert with the proposed nominee, (c) any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with such proposed nominee or a Proposed Nominee Associated Person, and (d) any member of the immediate family of such proposed nominee or a Proposed Nominee Associated Person. A “Shareholder Associated Person” of any shareholder shall mean (a) any person acting in concert with such shareholder, (b) any direct or indirect beneficial owner of shares owned of record or beneficially by such shareholder or any person acting in concert with such shareholder, (c) any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with such shareholder or a Shareholder Associated Person, and (d) any member of the immediate family of such shareholder or Shareholder Associated Person.
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Proxy Voting Guidelines
The Advisers have a fiduciary duty to clients, and shall exercise diligence and care, with respect to its proxy voting authority. Accordingly, the Advisers will review each proposal to determine the relevant facts and circumstances and adopt the following guidelines as a framework for analysis in seeking to maximize the value of client investments. The guidelines do not address all potential voting matters and actual votes by the Advisers may vary based on specific facts and circumstances.
| A. | Director Elections |
Directors play a critical role in ensuring that the company and its management serve the interests of its shareholders by providing leadership and appropriate oversight. We believe that the board of directors should have the requisite industry knowledge, business acumen and understanding of company stakeholders in order to discharge its duties effectively.
|
Proposal |
Shareholder Proposal |
Anticipated Vote | ||
|
Frequency of Elections Electing all directors annually. |
For | |||
|
Uncontested Elections Voting management nominees, unless the nominee lacks independence or focus, has had chronic absences or presents other material concerns to the detriment of the effectiveness of the board. |
For | |||
| Majority Voting Allowing majority voting unless incumbent directors must resign if they do not receive a majority vote in an uncontested election. |
For | |||
|
Cumulative Voting Allowing cumulative voting unless the company previously adopted a majority voting policy. |
For | |||
| Changes in Board Structure Changing the board structure, such as the process for vacancies or director nominations, or the board size, unless there is an indication that the change is an anti-takeover device, or it diminishes shareholder rights. |
For | |||
| Stock Ownership Requiring directors to own company shares. |
X | Against | ||
|
Contested Elections The qualifications of nominees on both slates, management track record and strategic plan for enhancing shareholder value, and company financial performance generally will be considered when voting nominees in a contested election.
|
X | Case-by-Case |
| B. | Section 14A Say-On-Pay Votes |
Current law requires companies to allow shareholders to cast non-binding advisory votes on the compensation for named executive officers, including the frequency of such votes. The Advisers generally support proposals for annual votes, as well as the ratification of executive compensation unless the compensation structure or any prior actions taken by the board or compensation committee warrant a case-by-case analysis.
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|
Proposal |
Shareholder Proposal |
Anticipated Vote | ||
|
Frequency of Say-On-Pay Votes Annual shareholder advisory votes regarding executive compensation. |
X | For | ||
|
Compensation Disclosures Seeking additional disclosures related to executive and director pay unless similar information is already provided in existing disclosures or reporting. |
X | For | ||
|
Executive Compensation Advisory Executive compensation proposals generally will be assessed based on its structure, prevailing industry practice and benchmarks, and any problematic prior pay practices or related issues involving the board/compensation committee. |
X | Case-by-Case | ||
| Golden Parachute Advisory Golden parachute proposals, in general, will be assessed based on the existing change-in-control arrangements, the nature and terms of the triggering event(s) and the amount to be paid. |
X | Case-by-Case |
| C. | Audit-Related |
The Advisers generally support proposals for the selection or ratification of independent auditors, subject to a consideration of any conflicts of interest, poor accounting practices or inaccurate prior opinions and related fees.
|
Proposal |
Shareholder Proposal |
Anticipated Vote | ||
|
Appointment of Auditors Selecting or ratifying independent auditors, unless there is a material conflict of interest, a history of poor accounting practice or inaccurate opinions, or excessive fees. |
For | |||
| Non-Audit/Consulting Services Other alternative service providers, conflicts of interest, and company disclosures are areas of consideration when voting proposals to limit other engagements with auditors. |
X | Case-by-Case | ||
|
Indemnification of Auditors Indemnification of auditors generally will be assessed based on the nature of the engagement, the auditor’s work history and field of expertise, and the terms of the agreement such as its impact on the ability of shareholders to pursue legal recourse against the auditor for certain acts or omissions. |
X | Case-by-Case | ||
| Rotation of Auditors Shareholder proposals requiring auditor rotation generally will be assessed based on any audit issues involving the company, the auditor’s tenure with the company, and policies and practices surrounding auditor evaluations. |
X | Case-by-Case |
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| D. | Investment Company Matters |
When the Advisers invest in a DoubleLine Fund with other public shareholders, the Advisers will vote the shares of such fund in the same proportion as the votes of the other shareholders. Under this “echo voting” approach, the Advisers’ potential conflict is mitigated by replicating the voting preferences expressed by the other shareholders. With respect to specific proposals involving the DoubleLine Funds, the Advisers generally support recommendations by the fund’s board unless applicable laws and regulations prohibit the Advisers from doing so.
|
Proposal |
Shareholder Proposal |
Anticipated Vote | ||
| Share Classes Issuance of new classes or series of shares. |
For | |||
|
Investment Objectives Changing a fundamental investment objective to nonfundamental. |
Against | |||
|
Investment Restrictions Changing fundamental restrictions to nonfundamental generally will be assessed in consideration of the target investments, reason(s) for the change and its impact on the portfolio. |
Case-by-Case | |||
|
Distribution Agreements Distribution agreements generally will be assessed based on the distributor’s services and reputation, applicable fees, and other terms of the agreement. |
Case-by-Case | |||
|
Investment Advisory Agreements Investment advisory agreements generally will be assessed based on the applicable fees, fund category and investment objective, and performance. |
Case-by-Case |
| E. | Shareholder Rights and Defenses |
The Advisers believe that companies have a fundamental obligation to protect the rights of shareholders. Therefore, the Advisers generally support proposals that hold the board and management accountable in serving the best interest of shareholders and that uphold their rights. However, the Advisers generally will not support proposals from certain shareholders that are hostile, disruptive, or are otherwise counter to the best interest of the Advisers’ clients.
|
Proposal |
Shareholder Proposal |
Anticipated Vote | ||
|
Appraisal Rights Providing shareholders with rights of appraisal. |
X | For | ||
| Fair Price Provision Fair price provisions that ensures each shareholder’s securities will be purchased at the same price if the company is acquired in disagreement with the board. However, fair price provisions may not be supported if it is used as an anti-takeover device by the board. |
X | For |
B-3
| Special Meetings Providing or restoring rights to call a special meeting so long as the threshold to call a meeting is no less than 10 percent of outstanding shares. |
X | For | ||
| Confidential Voting Allowing shareholders to vote confidentially. |
X | For | ||
| Written Consents Allowing shareholders to act by written consent. |
X | For | ||
| Greenmail Adopting anti-greenmail charter or bylaw amendments or otherwise restricting the company’s ability to make greenmail payments for repurchasing shares at a premium to prevent a hostile takeover. |
X | For | ||
| Supermajority Vote Requiring a supermajority vote, unless there are disproportionate substantial shareholders that weaken minority votes. |
Against | |||
| Bundled Proposals Bundled or conditional proposals generally will be reviewed to determine the benefit or cost of the matters included or if there is a controversy or any matter that is adverse to shareholder interests. |
Case-by-Case | |||
| Preemptive Rights Preemptive rights, in general, will be assessed based on the size of the company and its shareholder base, for which larger publicly held companies with a broad shareholder base may be less ideal. |
Case-by-Case | |||
| Shareholder Rights Plans (Poison Pills) Poison pills generally will be assessed based on the company’s governance practices, existing takeover defenses, and the terms of the plan, including the triggering mechanism, duration, and redemption/rescission features. Requests to have shareholders ratify plans generally will be supported. |
X | Case-by-Case |
| F. | Extraordinary Transactions |
Proposals for transactions that may affect the ownership interests or voting rights of shareholders, such as mergers, asset sales and corporate or debt restructuring, will be assessed on a case-by-case basis generally in consideration of the economic outcome for shareholders, the potential dilution of shareholder rights and its impact on corporate governance, among other relevant factors.
|
Proposal |
Shareholder Proposal |
Anticipated Vote | ||
| Reincorporation Reincorporating in another state or country in support of the rights and economic interests of shareholders. |
For | |||
| Merger, Corporate Restructuring and Spin Offs Merger, corporate restructuring and spin off proposals generally will be assessed with the view of maximizing the economic value of shareholder interests. The purchase or sale price and other deal terms will be reviewed, among other factors, to ensure that that the transaction is aligned with the long-term interests of shareholders. |
Case-by-Case |
B-4
| Debt Restructuring The terms of the transaction, current capital markets environment, and conflicts of interest are factors that generally will be considered for ensuring that the proposal enhances the economic value of shareholder interests. |
Case-by-Case | |||
| Liquidations and Asset Sales As with other transaction proposals, the long-term economic impact of the transaction will be the focus of review of such proposals and, in general, factors such as the sale price, costs and conflicts of interest will be considered. |
Case-by-Case |
| G. | Capital Structure |
The Advisers believe that the prudent management of debt and equity to finance company operations and growth, and which is supportive of shareholders’ rights and economic interests, is critical to financial viability.
|
Proposal |
Shareholder Proposal |
Anticipated Vote | ||
| Common Stock Issuing common stock for recapitalizations, stock splits, dividends or otherwise reasonably amending outstanding shares for a specific purpose. |
For | |||
| Multi-Class Shares Adopting multi-class share structures so long as they have equal voting rights. |
For | |||
| Repurchase Programs Adopting plans to repurchase shares in the open market unless shareholders cannot participate on equal terms. |
For | |||
| Blank Check Preferred Stock Allowing the board to issue preferred shares without prior shareholder approval and setting the terms and voting rights of preferred shares at the board’s discretion. |
Against | |||
| Recapitalization Plans The rationale and objectives; current capital markets environment; impact on shareholder interests including conversion terms, dividends and voting rights; and any material conflicts of interest are factors that generally will be considered when reviewing proposals to reclassify debt or equity capital. |
Case-by-Case |
| H. | Compensation |
The Advisers believe that compensation arrangements should align the economic interests of directors, management, and employees with those of shareholders and consider factors such as (1) local norms, (2) industry-specific practices and performance benchmarks, and (3) the structure of base and incentive compensation. The Advisers generally support transparency (e.g., disclosures related to the performance metrics and how they promote better corporate performance, etc.) and periodic reporting with respect to compensation.
B-5
|
Proposal |
Shareholder Proposal |
Anticipated Vote | ||
| Employee 401 (k) Plan Adopting a 401 (k) plan for employees. |
For | |||
| Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) Requiring shareholder approval to adopt a broad-based ESOP or to increase outstanding shares for an existing plan unless the allocation of outstanding shares to the ESOP exceeds five percent or 10 percent among all stock-based plans. |
For | |||
| Recoupment Provisions (Clawbacks) Adopting clawback provisions in cases of revised financial results or performance indicators on which prior compensation payments were based, as well as for willful misconduct or violations of law or regulation that result in financial or reputational harm to the company. |
X | For | ||
| Limits on Executive or Director Compensation Setting limits on executive or director compensation unless there is a substantial deviation from industry practice or any problematic issue involving the board/compensation committee or prior pay practices. |
X | Against | ||
| Equity-Based and Other Incentive Plans Incentive plans, in general, will be assessed based on the prevailing local and industry-specific practices and performance benchmarks, the terms of the plan and whether they are aligned with company goals and shareholder interests, the cost of the plan, and the overall compensation structure. |
Case-by-Case | |||
| Severance Agreements for Executives (Golden Parachutes) Golden parachutes generally will be assessed based on the existing change-in-control arrangements, the nature and terms of the triggering event(s) and the amount to be paid. |
Case-by-Case |
| I. | Corporate Governance |
The Advisers believe that authority and accountability for establishing business strategies, corporate policies and compensation generally should rest with the board and management. The independence, qualifications, and integrity of the board as well as the effectiveness of management and their oversight, which must be aligned with shareholder interests, are essential to good governance. The following general guidelines reflect these principles although material environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, which have a potential financial impact on the company and the valuation of client investments, if any, are also considered.
|
Proposal |
Shareholder Proposal |
Anticipated Vote | ||
| Quorum Requirements Establishing a majority requirement, unless shareholder turnout has been an issue, or a reduced quorum is reasonable based on applicable laws or regulations and the market capitalization or ownership structure of the company. |
For |
B-6
| Annual Meetings Changing the date, time, or location of annual meetings, unless the proposed schedule or location is unreasonable. |
For | |||
| Board Size Setting the board size, so long as the proposal is consistent with the prevailing industry practice and applicable laws or regulations. |
For | |||
| Proxy Access Allowing shareholders to nominate director candidates in proxy ballots with reasonable limitations (e.g., minimum percentage and duration of ownership and a cap on board representation) for preventing potential abuse by certain shareholders. |
X | For | ||
| Independent Directors Requiring the board chair and a majority of directors to be independent directors. Proposals for a lead independent director may be supported in cases where the board chair is not independent. |
X | For | ||
| Independent Committees Requiring independent directors exclusively for the audit, compensation, nominating and governance committees. |
X | For | ||
| Removal of Directors Removing a director without cause. |
X | For | ||
| Indemnification of Directors and Officers Indemnifying directors and officers for acts and omissions made in good faith and were believed to be in the best interest of the company. Limitations on liability involving willful misconduct or violations of law or regulation, or a breach of fiduciary duty, generally will be voted against. |
For | |||
| Term Limits for Directors Imposing term limits on directors unless the director evaluation process is ineffective and related issues persist. |
X | Against | ||
| Classified Boards Establishing a classified board. |
Against | |||
| Adjournment of Meetings Providing management the authority to adjourn annual or special meetings without reasonable grounds. |
Against | |||
| Amendments to Bylaws Giving the board the authority to amend bylaws without shareholder approval. |
Against |
| J. | Environment or Climate |
The Advisers would generally consider the recommendations of management for shareholder proposals involving environmental issues as it believes that, in most cases, elected directors and management are in the best position to address such matters. In addition, reporting that provides meaningful information for evaluating the financial impact of environmental policies and practices is generally supported unless it is unduly costly or burdensome or it places the company at a competitive disadvantage. Material ESG factors, which have a potential financial impact on the company and the valuation of client investments, if any, are also considered.
B-7
| Proposal | Shareholder Proposal | Anticipated Vote | ||
| Environmental and Climate Disclosures Providing environmental/climate-related disclosures and reporting unless it is duplicative or unsuitable. |
For | |||
| Environmental and Climate Policies Environmental and climate policies generally will be assessed based on the company’s related governance practices, local and industry-specific practices, the nature and extent of environmental and climate risks applicable to the company, and the economic benefit to shareholders. |
Case-by-Case |
| K. | Human Rights or Human Capital/Workforce |
The Advisers would generally consider the recommendations of management for shareholder proposals involving social issues as it believes that, in most cases, elected directors and management are in the best position to address such matters. In addition, reporting that provides meaningful information for evaluating the financial impact of social policies and practices is generally supported unless it is unduly costly or burdensome or it places the company at a competitive disadvantage. Material ESG factors, which have a potential financial impact on the company and the valuation of client investments, if any, are also considered.
| Proposal | Shareholder Proposal | Anticipated Vote | ||
| Human Rights and Labor Disclosures Providing human rights and labor-related disclosures and reporting unless it is duplicative or unsuitable. |
For | |||
| Human Rights and Labor Policies Human rights and labor policies generally will be assessed based on the company’s related governance practices, applicable law or regulations, local and industry-specific practices, the nature and extent of supply chain or reputational risks applicable to the company, and their economic benefit to shareholders. |
Case-by-Case |
| L. | Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion |
The Advisers generally support reporting that provides meaningful information for evaluating the financial impact of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and practices unless it is unduly costly or burdensome. For policy proposals, the Advisers will consider existing policies, regulations and applicable local standards and best practices, to determine if they provide an added benefit to shareholders. Material ESG factors, which have a potential financial impact on the company and the valuation of client investments, if any, are also considered.
| Proposal | Shareholder Proposal | Anticipated Vote | ||
| DEI Disclosures Providing Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO-1) Reports, and other additional disclosures or reporting unless it is duplicative or unsuitable. |
For |
B-8
| Anti-Discrimination Policy Adopting an anti-discrimination and harassment policy. |
For | |||
| Other DEI Policies Other DEI policies generally will be assessed based on the company’s related governance practices, applicable law or regulations, and local and industry-specific practices. |
Case-by-Case |
| M. | Other Social Issues |
| Proposal | Shareholder Proposal | Anticipated Vote | ||
| Political Contribution and Activities Political contributions and lobbying activities generally will be reviewed in consideration of legal restrictions and requirements, applicable policies and historical practice, and its cost-benefit to the company. Related disclosures to shareholders generally are supported. |
Case-by-Case | |||
| Charitable Contributions Charitable contributions, in general, will be reviewed in consideration of applicable policies and historical practice, conflicts of interests, as well as the cost-benefit of charitable spending. Related disclosures to shareholders generally are supported. |
Case-by-Case |
B-9