Strategy. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in bonds of issuers in a number of different countries, which may include the United States. 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. The Portfolio may invest in securities of issuers located in developed and emerging market countries. Countries with emerging markets include most countries in the world except Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and most of the countries of western Europe. Securities may be denominated in … 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 bonds of issuers in a number of different countries, which may include the United States. 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. The Portfolio may invest in securities of issuers located in developed and emerging market countries. Countries with emerging markets include most countries in the world except Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and most of the countries of western Europe. Securities may be denominated in foreign currencies or in U.S. dollars. The Portfolio may hedge its exposure to securities denominated in foreign currencies. The Portfolio may also borrow money from banks and invest the proceeds of such loans in portfolio securities 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 (the 1940 Act). This investment technique is known as leveraging. The Portfolio invests primarily in securities, which, at the time of investment, are rated investment grade. Investment grade refers to a rating given by one or more nationally recognized statistical rating organizations ( NRSROs) ( 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. The Portfolio may also invest in preferred stocks, money market instruments, municipal bonds, commercial and residential mortgage-related securities, asset-backed securities, other securitized and structured debt instruments, private placements, and sovereign debt. The Portfolio may also invest its assets in bank loans and in floating rate secured loans ( Senior Loans). Although the Portfolio may invest a portion of its assets in debt instruments rated below investment grade (sometimes referred to as high-yield securities , high-yield bonds, or junk bonds), the Portfolio will seek to maintain a minimum weighted average portfolio quality rating of at least investment grade. Below investment grade refers to a rating given by one or more NRSROs ( e.g ., rated Ba1 or below by Moodys, or BB+ or below by S&P or Fitch) or, if unrated, determined by the Portfolio to be of comparable quality. The dollar-weighted average duration of the Portfolio will generally range between two and nine years. 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 Portfolio may use derivatives, including futures, swaps (including interest rate swaps, total return swaps, and credit default swaps), and options, among others, to seek to enhance return, 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, without limitation, seek to obtain market exposure to the instruments in which it primarily invests by entering into a series of purchase and sale contracts or by using other investment techniques (such as buy backs or dollar rolls and reverse repurchase agreements). The Portfolio may invest in other investment companies, including exchange-traded funds ( ETFs), to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act. The investment process focuses on allocating assets among various sectors of the global bond markets and buying bonds at a discount to their intrinsic value. The sub-adviser (the Sub-Adviser) utilizes proprietary quantitative techniques to identify bonds or sectors that it considers to be cheap relative to other bonds or sectors based on their historical price relationships. Teams of asset specialists use this relative value analysis to guide them in the security selection process. In evaluating investments for the Portfolio, 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 may sell assets for a variety of reasons, such as to secure gains, in response to a change in the Sub-Adviser's original investment considerations, to limit losses, to adjust the characteristics of the Portfolio's overall portfolio, 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