Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury, including Treasury bonds, bills, notes and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), and investments that provide exposure to direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury. The Fund may invest in U.S. Treasury securities of any maturity and intends to primarily focus on U.S. Treasury securities with a remaining maturity of between 1-30 years.

The Fund may also invest in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies, or instrumentalities, including government sponsored entities and mortgage-backed securities.

A mortgage-backed security is an interest in a pool of mortgage loans made and packaged or “pooled” together by banks, mortgage lenders, various governmental agencies and other financial institutions for sale to investors to finance purchases of homes, commercial buildings and other real estate. The Fund’s investments in mortgage-backed securities include securities that are issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, which include mortgage pass-through securities representing interests in “pools” of mortgage loans issued or guaranteed by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). The mortgage securities the Fund invests in may be fixed-rate or adjustable-rate mortgage-backed securities (ARMS).

The Fund may also purchase or sell mortgage securities on a delayed delivery or forward commitment basis through the “to-be-announced” (TBA) market. With TBA transactions, the particular securities to be delivered must meet specified terms and conditions.

To pursue its investment goal, the Fund may enter into certain interest rate-related derivative transactions, principally interest rate/bond and U.S. Treasury futures contracts and interest rate swaps. The use of these derivative transactions may allow the Fund to obtain net long or short exposures to select interest rates or durations. These derivatives may be used to enhance Fund returns, increase liquidity, gain exposure to certain instruments or markets in a more efficient or less expensive way and/or hedge risks associated with its other portfolio investments. Derivatives that provide exposure to U.S. Treasuries may be used to satisfy the Fund’s 80% policy.

The investment manager generally buys, and holds, high quality fixed income securities. Using this straightforward approach, the investment manager seeks to produce current income with a high degree of credit safety from a conservatively managed portfolio of U.S. Treasury securities. The investment manager may utilize quantitative models to identify investment opportunities as part of the portfolio construction process for the Fund. Quantitative models are proprietary systems that rely on mathematical computations to identify investment opportunities. The investment manager may consider selling a security when it believes the security has become fully valued due to either its price appreciation or changes in the issuer’s fundamentals, or when the investment manager believes another security is a more attractive investment opportunity.