The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities, including securities convertible into common stocks. The Fund generally invests predominantly in common stocks, and the remainder of its assets in other equity-related instruments such as convertible securities and equity-linked notes (ELNs).

While the Fund does not concentrate in any one industry, from time to time, based on economic conditions, it may make significant investments in certain sectors.

The Fund may invest in foreign securities, but does not currently anticipate investing more than 15% of its total assets in securities of issuers domiciled outside the United States.

The Fund’s strategy is to invest in a broadly diversified portfolio of equity securities that the Fund’s investment manager considers to be financially strong, with a focus on "blue chip" companies. The investment manager applies a "bottom-up" approach to investing in individual securities. The investment manager will assess the market price of a company's securities relative to the investment manager's evaluation of the company's long-term earnings, cash flow potential and balance sheet strength. The investment manager also considers various financial metrics including, but not limited to, a company's price/earnings ratio, return on capital, profit margins and asset value. The Fund’s investment manager considers dividend yield and the opportunity for dividend growth in selecting stocks for the Fund because the investment manager believes that, over time, dividend income can contribute significantly to total return and can be a more consistent source of investment return than capital appreciation.