To pursue the Fund's investment objective, the Fund's portfolio managers ("portfolio managers") invest in both equity and debt securities of companies. The Fund's portfolio managers believe that this combination of securities broadens the universe of opportunities for the Fund, offers additional diversification and helps to lower volatility. The portfolio managers invest primarily in equity securities and the balance of the Fund's portfolio in debt securities, cash and cash equivalents. The Fund has no limit on the amount of assets it may invest in non-U.S. securities. The decision to invest in a non-U.S. security will be based on the portfolio managers' fundamental security analysis. In addition, the Fund may sell securities short, and the portfolio managers may employ a short selling strategy for a portion of the Fund.

Equity securities represent an ownership interest, or the right to acquire an ownership interest, in an issuer. Different types of equity securities provide different voting and dividend rights and priority in case of the bankruptcy of the issuer. The Fund may invest in a variety of equity securities, including common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, rights and warrants.

The portfolio managers look for large and small companies that it believes to have excellent future prospects that are undervalued by the securities markets. The portfolio managers believe that these opportunities often arise when companies are out-of-favor or undiscovered by most of Wall Street. The portfolio managers also search for companies that offer earnings growth, opportunity for price/earnings multiple expansion and the best combination of such quality criteria as strong market share, good management, high barriers to entry and high return on capital.

Using fundamental security analysis, the portfolio managers may look for investments that trade at a substantial discount to the portfolio managers' determination of the company's value (absolute value) rather than those that might appear inexpensive based on a discount to their peer groups or the market average (relative value). The portfolio managers attempt to determine a company's absolute value using fundamental security analysis, which they believe generally provides them with a thorough view of a company's financial and business characteristics. As a part of their process, the portfolio managers may:

•  Review stock prices or industry group under-performance, insider purchases, management changes and corporate spin-offs.

•  Communicate directly with company management, suppliers, and customers.

•  Use their judgment to define the company's future potential, financial strength and competitive position.

The portfolio managers generally seek to sell an equity investment when they believe that the company's value has been fully reflected in a higher valuation by the market or when a negative fundamental development occurs in the company or its industry that the portfolio managers believe could significantly impact future earnings growth.

A debt security is an interest-bearing security that companies or governments use to borrow money from investors. The issuer of a debt security promises to pay interest at a stated rate, which may be variable or fixed, and to repay the amount borrowed at maturity (the date when the debt security is due and payable). The Fund may invest in debt securities issued by companies, the U.S. government and its agencies; mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities (i.e. securities that are backed by pools of loans or mortgages assembled for sale to investors); municipal notes and bonds; and commercial paper and certificates of deposit.

The portfolio managers invest in debt securities seeking to provide the Fund with a reliable and recurring stream of income, while seeking to preserve its capital. The Fund may also invest in debt securities rated below investment grade ("high yield bonds" or "junk bonds"). The Fund has the ability to invest up to 65% of its total assets in debt securities, although it will generally invest a greater percentage of its portfolio in equity securities than debt securities.

The portfolio managers select debt securities by using an approach that is similar to the approach they use to select equity securities and by trying to forecast current interest rate trends. The portfolio managers generally employ a defensive interest rate strategy, which means they seek to keep the average maturity of the debt-securities portion of the Fund to 10 years or less, by investing at different points along the yield curve. The portfolio managers also continually consider yield spreads and other underlying factors such as credit quality, investor perception and liquidity to determine which sectors offer the best investment value at any given time.

The portfolio managers may engage in a strategy known as selling short. Selling a security short is when the Fund sells a security it does not own. To sell a security short, the Fund must borrow the security from someone else to deliver to the buyer. The Fund then replaces the security it borrowed

by purchasing it at the market price at or before the time of replacement. Until it replaces the security, the Fund repays the person that lent it the security for any interest or dividends that may have accrued during the period of the loan. The Fund typically sells securities short to take advantage of an anticipated decline in prices or to protect a profit in a security it already owns.