The Fund seeks to invest in common stocks, preferred stocks and other hybrid securities, and fixed and floating-rate securities and other debt (“income instruments”) of U.S. and foreign issuers. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest (i) at least 30% of its net assets in securities or other instruments issued by issuers located outside of the United States, which may include emerging market countries; and (ii) in issuers located in at least five different countries (including the United States). An issuer will be considered to be located outside of the United States if it is domiciled in, derives a significant portion of its revenue from, or its primary trading venue is outside of the United States.  Securities may trade in the form of depositary receipts.  The Fund may invest 25% or more of its assets in each of the utilities and financial services sectors.  

Under normal market conditions, the Fund currently expects to invest 50-80% of its net assets in common stocks, 0-30% of its net assets in preferred stocks and other hybrid securities (which generally possess characteristics common to both equity and debt securities), and 10-40% of its net assets in income instruments including cash or money market instruments. The Fund’s investments may be of any maturity or perpetual. The Fund may invest in income instruments and preferred stocks and other hybrid securities of any rating category, or unrated, including those in default, with interest or dividends in arrears or not currently producing any income. The Fund’s investments in income instruments and preferred stocks and other hybrid securities are expected to be primarily rated below investment grade (i.e., rated below BBB- by S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings (“Fitch”), or below Baa- by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the investment adviser or sub-adviser). Securities and other instruments rated below investment grade are also known as “high yield” or “junk.” Securities and other instruments rated BBB and Baa have speculative characteristics, while lower rated securities are predominantly speculative. The Fund expects to invest principally in income instruments that are issued by corporations or sovereign nations, convertible bonds and senior floating-rate loans (“Senior Loans”) and subordinated floating-rate loans (“Junior Loans”) (collectively “loans”). Some of the Fund’s investments may be subject to restrictions on resale, including “Rule 144A” or “Regulation S” securities. The Fund may invest in publicly traded real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). The Fund may invest in exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), a type of pooled investment vehicle, in order to manage cash positions or to seek exposure to certain markets or market sectors. The Fund may also lend its securities.

The Fund may engage in derivative transactions to seek return, to hedge against fluctuations in securities prices, interest rates or currency exchange rates, or as a substitute for the purchase or sale of securities or currencies. The Fund expects to use derivatives principally when seeking to hedge against fluctuations in currency exchange rates through the use of forward foreign currency exchange contracts and to seek to gain or limit exposure to certain markets through the use of futures contracts on securities indices, particularly in connection with engaging in the dividend capture trading strategy (as described below). Permitted derivatives include: the purchase or sale of forward or futures contracts; options on futures contracts; exchange-traded and over-the-counter options; equity collars; equity swap agreements; interest rate swaps; and credit derivatives including credit default swaps, total return swaps and credit options. The Fund may also engage in covered short sales (on individual securities held or on an index or basket of securities whose constituents are held in whole or in part or for which liquid assets have been segregated). Except as required by applicable regulation, there is no stated limit on the Fund’s use of derivatives and the Fund’s use of derivatives may be extensive.  To the extent the Fund holds cash as collateral for derivatives, the investment ranges described above may be exceeded.

To determine the percentage of the Fund’s assets that will be invested from time to time in each asset class, the portfolio managers meet periodically and, taking market and other factors into consideration, agree upon an allocation.  The portfolio managers have broad discretion to allocate the Fund’s investments between common stocks, preferred stocks and other hybrid securities and income instruments within the ranges identified above.

In selecting securities, the Fund seeks common stocks, preferred stocks and other hybrid securities and income instruments of U.S. and foreign issuers that the portfolio managers believe may produce attractive levels of income. For its investments in common stocks, the Fund also seeks to invest in securities that the portfolio managers believe have the potential for growth of income and/or capital appreciation over time. For its investments in preferred stocks and other hybrid securities and income instruments, the Fund will also take into consideration the interest rate sensitivity of the investments. The Fund may seek to enhance the level of dividend income it receives by engaging in dividend capture trading. In a typical dividend capture trade, the Fund would buy a stock prior to its ex-dividend date and sell the stock at a point either on or after the ex-dividend date. The Fund may enter into a series of these trades to augment the amount of dividend income it receives over time.  Investment decisions are made primarily on the basis of fundamental research. The portfolio managers utilize information provided by, and the expertise of, the investment adviser’s research staff in making investment decisions. In selecting stocks, the portfolio managers consider (among other factors) a company’s earnings or cash flow capabilities, dividend prospects, financial strength, growth potential, the strength of the company’s business franchises and management team, sustainability of a company’s competitiveness, and estimates of the company’s net value. The portfolio managers may sell a security when the investment adviser’s or sub-adviser’s price objective for the security is reached, the fundamentals of the company deteriorate, a security’s price falls below acquisition cost or to pursue more attractive investment options. In addition, the buy and sell decisions for preferred stocks and other hybrid securities and income instruments are also affected to a larger degree by the structure and features of the securities, the current and expected interest rate environment and regulatory actions relating to any specific security or class of security.  The portfolio managers seek to manage investment risk by maintaining broad issuer and industry diversification among the Fund’s holdings, and by conducting an analysis of the risk and return characteristics of securities (as described above) in which the Fund invests.