The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets (including any borrowings for investment purposes) in a widely diversified portfolio of high yield corporate bonds, often called “junk” bonds, as well as income-producing convertible securities and preferred stocks that are rated below investment grade or not rated by any major credit rating agency but deemed by T. Rowe Price to be below investment grade. If a holding is split rated (i.e., rated investment grade by at least one rating agency and below investment grade by another rating agency), the lower rating will be used for purposes of the fund’s 80% investment policy.

High yield bonds are rated below investment grade (BB and lower, or an equivalent rating), and tend to provide high income in an effort to compensate investors for their higher risk of default, which is the failure to make required interest or principal payments. High yield bond issuers include small or relatively new companies lacking the history or capital to merit investment grade status, former blue chip companies downgraded because of financial problems, companies electing to borrow heavily to finance or avoid a takeover or buyout, and firms with heavy debt loads.

While high yield corporate bonds are typically issued with a fixed interest rate, bank loans have floating interest rates that reset periodically (typically quarterly or monthly). Bank loans represent amounts borrowed by companies or other entities from banks and other lenders. In many cases, the borrowing companies have significantly more debt than equity and the loans have been issued in connection with recapitalizations, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, or

refinancings. The loans held by the fund may be senior or subordinate obligations of the borrower. The fund may invest up to 15% of its total assets in bank loans.

The fund may purchase securities of any maturity and its weighted average maturity will vary with market conditions. In selecting investments, the fund relies extensively on T. Rowe Price credit research analysts. The fund intends to focus primarily on the higher-quality range (BB and B, or an equivalent rating) of the high yield market.

While most assets will typically be invested in U.S. dollar-denominated bonds, the fund may also invest in bonds of foreign issuers (including securities of issuers in emerging markets). The fund may invest up to 20% of its total assets in non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities and may invest without limitation in U.S. dollar-denominated bonds of foreign issuers. The fund may also use forward currency exchange contracts, credit default swaps, and index options. Forward currency exchange contracts would typically be used to protect the fund’s foreign bond holdings from adverse currency movements relative to the U.S. dollar. Credit default swaps can be used to protect the value of certain portfolio holdings, as an alternative to cash bonds, and to manage the fund’s overall credit risk exposure. Index options would typically be used to efficiently access or adjust exposure to certain market segments and to generate additional income.