Issuers in a state, territory, commonwealth or possession in
which the Fund invests may experience significant financial difficulties for various reasons, including as the result of events that cannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled such as social conflict or unrest, labor disruption and natural
disasters. Such financial difficulties may lead to credit rating downgrades of such issuers which in turn, could affect the market values and marketability of many or all municipal obligations of issuers in such state, territory, commonwealth or
possession. The value of the Fund’s shares will be negatively impacted to the extent it invests in such securities. The Fund’s annual and semiannual reports show the Fund’s investment exposures at a point in time. The risk of
investing in the Fund is directly correlated to the Fund’s investment exposures.
Securities issued by a particular state and its
instrumentalities are subject to the risk of unfavorable developments in such state. A municipal security can be significantly affected by adverse tax, legislative, regulatory, demographic or political changes as well as changes in a particular
state's (state and its instrumentalities) financial, economic or other condition and prospects.
The Fund’s investments in municipal securities may
include securities of issuers in the electric, transportation, education, and leasing sectors (collectively, these sectors compose the Municipal Core Revenue Sector), which subjects the Fund’s investments to the risks associated with those
sectors, including the risk of regulatory action or policy changes by numerous governmental agencies and bodies, including federal, state, and local governmental agencies, as well as requirements imposed by private entities. Issuers in the Municipal
Core Revenue Sector are subject to certain risks, including competitive pricing pressures, the rising cost of products and services (especially for companies dependent upon a relatively limited number of products or services) among others,
government regulation, obtaining and protecting patents (or the failure to do so), product liability and other similar litigation, labor disputes, lease supply and demand, and technology obsolescence, amongst other factors and conditions.
The Fund’s investments in municipal securities may
include securities of issuers in the health care sector, which subjects the Fund’s investments to the risks associated with that sector, including the risk of regulatory action or policy changes by numerous governmental agencies and bodies,
including federal, state, and local governmental agencies, as well as requirements imposed by private entities, such as insurance companies. A major source of revenue for the health care industry is payments from the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
As a result, the industry is sensitive to legislative changes and reductions in governmental spending for such programs. Numerous other factors may affect the industry, such as general and local economic conditions, demand for services, expenses
(including, among others, malpractice insurance premiums) and competition among health care providers. Additional factors also may adversely affect health care facility operations, such as adoption of legislation proposing a national health
insurance program, other state or local health care reform measures, medical and technological advances that alter the need for or cost of health services or the way in which such services are delivered, changes in medical coverage that alter the
traditional fee-for-service revenue stream, and efforts by employers, insurers, and governmental agencies to reduce the costs of health insurance and health care services.
Passive Investment Risk. The
Fund is not “actively” managed and may be affected by a general decline in market segments related to its underlying index. The Fund invests in securities or instruments included in, or believed by the Investment Manager to be
representative of, its underlying index, regardless of their investment merits. The Fund does not seek temporary defensive positions when markets decline or appear overvalued. The decision of whether to
remove a security from an index is made by an independent index provider who is not affiliated with the Fund or the Investment Manager.
Prepayment and Extension Risk.
Prepayment and extension risk is the risk that a bond or other security or investment might, in the case of prepayment risk, be called or otherwise converted, prepaid or redeemed before maturity and, in the case of extension risk, that the
investment might not be called as expected. In the case of prepayment risk, if the investment is converted, prepaid or redeemed before maturity, the portfolio managers may not be able to invest the proceeds in other investments providing as high a
level of income, resulting in a reduced yield to the Fund. In the case of mortgage- or other asset-backed securities, as interest rates decrease or spreads narrow, the likelihood of prepayment increases. Conversely, extension risk is the risk that
an unexpected rise in interest rates will extend the life of a mortgage- or other asset-backed security beyond the prepayment time. If the Fund’s investments are locked in at a lower interest rate for a longer period of time, the portfolio
managers may be unable to capitalize on securities with higher interest rates or wider spreads.
Reinvestment Risk.
Reinvestment risk arises when the Fund is unable to reinvest income or principal at the same or at least the same return it is currently earning.
Rule 144A and Other Exempted Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in privately placed and other securities or instruments exempt from SEC registration (collectively “private placements”), subject to certain regulatory restrictions. In the U.S. market,
private placements are typically sold only to qualified institutional buyers, or qualified purchasers, as applicable. An insufficient number of buyers interested in purchasing private placements at a particular time could adversely affect the
marketability of such investments and the Fund might be unable to dispose