Strategy. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in a diversified portfolio of bonds that are limited maturity debt instruments. For purposes of this 80% policy, bonds include, without limitation, bonds, debt instruments, and other fixed income and income-producing debt instruments, of any kind, issued or guaranteed by governmental or private-sector entities. These short- to intermediate-term debt instruments have weighted average lives of seven years or less. The dollar-weighted average maturity of the Portfolio generally will not exceed five years and in periods of rising interest rates may be shortened to one year or less. Because of the Portfolios holdings in asset-backed, mortgage-backed, and similar securities, … Show more… Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in a diversified portfolio of bonds that are limited maturity debt instruments. For purposes of this 80% policy, bonds include, without limitation, bonds, debt instruments, and other fixed income and income-producing debt instruments, of any kind, issued or guaranteed by governmental or private-sector entities. These short- to intermediate-term debt instruments have weighted average lives of seven years or less. The dollar-weighted average maturity of the Portfolio generally will not exceed five years and in periods of rising interest rates may be shortened to one year or less. Because of the Portfolios holdings in asset-backed, mortgage-backed, and similar securities, the Portfolios average dollar-weighted maturity is equivalent to the average weighted maturity of the cash flows in the securities held by the Portfolio given prepayment assumptions (also known as weighted average life). The Portfolio invests in non-government securities, issued by companies of all market capitalization sizes, only if rated investment grade. Investment grade refers to a rating given by one or more nationally recognized statistical rating organizations ( e.g., rated Baa3 or above by Moodys Ratings ( Moodys), or BBB- or above by S&P Global Ratings (S&P) or Fitch Ratings, Inc. ( Fitch)) or, if unrated, determined by the Portfolio to be of comparable quality. Money market securities must be rated in the two highest tiers by Moodys (P-1 or P-2), S&P (A-1+, A-1, or A-2), or Fitch (F-1+, F-1, or F-2) or, if unrated, determined by the Portfolio to be of comparable quality. The Portfolio may also invest in: preferred stock; U.S. government securities, securities of foreign (non-U.S.) governments, and supranational organizations; mortgage bonds; municipal bonds, notes, and commercial paper; and debt instruments of foreign (non-U.S.) issuers. The Portfolio may engage in dollar roll transactions and swap agreements, including credit default swaps to seek to enhance returns, to hedge some of the risks of its investments in debt instruments, or as a substitute for a position in an underlying asset. The Portfolio may use options and futures contracts involving securities, securities indices and interest rates to hedge against market risk, to enhance returns and as a substitute for conventional securities. A portion of the Portfolio's assets may be invested in mortgage-backed and asset-backed debt instruments. In addition, private placements of debt instruments (which are often restricted securities) are eligible for purchase along with other illiquid securities, subject to appropriate limits. The Portfolio may borrow up to 10% of the value of its net assets. This amount may be increased to 25% for temporary purposes. The Portfolio may invest in other investment companies, including exchange-traded funds ( ETFs), to the extent permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder, and under the terms of applicable no-action relief or exemptive orders granted thereunder. In evaluating investments for the Portfolio, the sub-adviser (the Sub-Adviser) takes into account a wide variety of factors and considerations to determine whether any or all of those factors or considerations might have a material effect on the value, risks, or prospects of an investment. Among the factors considered, the Sub-Adviser expects typically to take into account environmental, social, and governance ( ESG) factors to determine whether one or more factors may have a material effect. In considering ESG factors, the Sub-Adviser intends to rely primarily on factors identified through its proprietary empirical research and on third-party evaluations of an issuers ESG standing. ESG factors will be only one of many considerations in the Sub-Advisers evaluation of any potential investment; the extent to which ESG factors will affect the Sub-Advisers decision to invest in an issuer, if at all, will depend on the analysis and judgment of the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser utilizes the following decision-making process to achieve the Portfolio's objectives: Active Duration Management . Duration is a commonly used measure of risk in debt instruments as it incorporates multiple features of debt instruments ( e.g. , yield, coupon, maturity, etc.) into one number. Duration is a measure of sensitivity of the price of a debt instrument to a change in interest rates. Duration is a weighted average of the times that interest payments and the final return of principal are received. The weights are the amounts of the payments discounted by the yield-to-maturity of the debt instrument. Duration is expressed as a number of years. The bigger the duration number, the greater the interest rate risk or reward for the debt instrument prices. For example, the price of a bond with an average duration of 5 years would be expected to fall approximately 5% if market interest rates rose by 1%. Conversely, the price of a bond with an average duration of 5 years would be expected to rise approximately 5% if market interest rates dropped by 1%. The average duration of the Portfolio is actively managed relative to the benchmark's average duration. In rising interest rate environments, the average duration will tend to be equal to or less than the benchmark and in falling interest rate environments, the average duration will tend to be greater than the benchmark; Yield Curve Analysis . The yield curve shape is assessed to identify the risk/reward trade-off of maturity decisions and market expectations of future interest rates; Sector Selection . Sectors are overweighted or underweighted relative to the benchmark based on sector analysis and market opportunities. Sectors are broadly defined to include U.S. Treasury securities, U.S. government agency securities, corporate securities, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, and money market securities. The Sub-Adviser may further evaluate groupings within sectors such as various industry groups within the corporate securities sector ( e.g. , finance, industrials, utilities, etc.); and Security Selection . The Sub-Adviser emphasizes individual securities with positive credit fundamentals, liquidity, and relative value within their respective sectors. The Sub-Adviser may sell securities for a variety of reasons, such as to secure gains, limit losses, or redeploy assets into opportunities believed to be more promising. The Portfolio may lend portfolio securities on a short-term or long-term basis, up to 33 ?1 / 3 % of its total assets. Show less