Under normal market circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in obligations (including notes and tax-exempt commercial paper) issued by or on behalf of states, territories and possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia and their political subdivisions, agencies or instrumentalities, the interest on which is exempt from regular federal income tax (the “80% Policy”). The Fund will not invest in an obligation if the interest on that obligation is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. At least 65% of net assets normally will be invested in municipal obligations rated at least investment grade at the time of investment (which are those rated Baa or higher by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”), or BBB or higher by either S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings (“Fitch”)) or, if unrated, determined by the investment adviser to be of at least investment grade quality. The balance of net assets may be invested in obligations rated below investment grade and in unrated obligations considered to be of comparable quality by the investment adviser (“junk bonds”). The Fund will not invest more than 10% of its net assets in obligations rated below B or in unrated obligations considered to be of comparable quality by the investment adviser. For purposes of rating restrictions, if securities are rated differently by two or more rating agencies, the highest rating is used. The Fund may invest in securities in any rating category, including those in default. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in other debt obligations, including (but not limited to) taxable municipal obligations, U.S. Treasury securities and obligations of the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities (“Agency Securities”). The Fund may purchase or sell derivative instruments (such as residual interest bonds, futures contracts and options thereon, interest rate swaps, and forward rate contracts) for hedging purposes, to seek total return or as a substitute for the purchase or sale of securities. Except as required by applicable regulation, there is no stated limit on the Fund’s use of derivatives for such purposes.

In pursuing its objective, the Fund normally acquires municipal obligations with maturities of ten years or more, but may acquire municipal obligations with shorter maturities or that are subject to shorter call provisions.  The Fund’s portfolio could have a longer average maturity than is typical of many other funds that invest primarily in municipal obligations.  In such case, the interest rate risk described below may be more significant for the Fund.  The Fund may invest 25% or more of its total assets in certain types of municipal obligations (such as general obligations, municipal leases, principal only municipal investments, revenue bonds and industrial development bonds) and in one or more states, territories or economic sectors (such as housing, hospitals, healthcare facilities or utilities). The Fund may invest in pooled investment vehicles, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), in order to seek exposure to the municipal markets or municipal market sectors.  The Fund may invest in restricted securities.

The investment adviser’s process for selecting obligations for purchase and sale emphasizes the creditworthiness of the issuer or other person obligated to repay the obligation and the relative value of the obligation in the market.  In evaluating creditworthiness, the investment adviser considers ratings assigned by rating agencies and generally performs additional credit and investment analysis.  When deemed by the investment adviser to be relevant to its evaluation of creditworthiness and when applicable information is available, the investment adviser considers environmental, social and/or governance issues (referred to as ESG) which may impact the prospects of an issuer (or obligor) or financial performance of an obligation. When considered, one or more ESG issues are taken into account alongside other factors in the investment decision-making process and are not the sole determinant of whether an investment can be made or will remain in the Fund’s portfolio.  The portfolio managers also may trade securities to minimize taxable capital gains to shareholders.