Strategy. Principal Investment Strategies Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in investment grade fixed income securities (rated Baa3 or higher by Moodys, BBB- or higher by Standard & Poors or the equivalent by any other nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the Funds subadviser, Barings LLC (Barings), or sub-subadviser, Baring International Investment Limited (BIIL)). These typically include U.S. dollar-denominated corporate obligations, securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities, U.S. and foreign issuer dollar-denominated bonds including, but not limited to, corporate obligations, government and agency issues, private placement bonds, securities subject … Show more… Principal Investment Strategies Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in investment grade fixed income securities (rated Baa3 or higher by Moodys, BBB- or higher by Standard & Poors or the equivalent by any other nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the Funds subadviser, Barings LLC (Barings), or sub-subadviser, Baring International Investment Limited (BIIL)). These typically include U.S. dollar-denominated corporate obligations, securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities, U.S. and foreign issuer dollar-denominated bonds including, but not limited to, corporate obligations, government and agency issues, private placement bonds, securities subject to resale pursuant to Rule 144A, and mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities, including collateralized bond and loan obligations. The Fund may also invest in below investment grade debt securities (junk or high yield bonds), including securities in default, and including bank loans; normally, 10% or less of the Funds total assets will be invested in below investment grade debt securities. In the event that a security is downgraded after its purchase by the Fund, the Fund may continue to hold the security if ?Barings or BIIL considers that doing so would be consistent with the Funds investment objective. The Fund may invest up to 15% of its total assets in securities that are not denominated in U.S. dollars including, but not limited to, corporate obligations, government and agency issues, private placement bonds, and mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities, including collateralized bond and loan obligations. Although the Funds investment in non-U.S. dollar denominated assets may be on a currency hedged or unhedged basis, under normal market conditions, the Fund seeks to hedge substantially all of its exposure to non-U.S. currencies. The Fund may also invest in non-dollar denominated high yield bonds, including bank loans, and may invest in securities subject to legal restrictions on resale, some of which may be subject to resale pursuant to Rule 144A. In pursuing its investment objective, the Fund may (but is not obligated to) use a wide variety of exchange-traded and over-the-counter derivatives, including, but not limited to, futures contracts, foreign currency futures and forward contracts, including derivatives thereof (for hedging purposes, to adjust various portfolio characteristics, including the duration (interest rate volatility) of the Funds portfolio, or as a substitute for direct investments); interest rate swaps (for hedging purposes or as a substitute for direct investments or to gain market exposure); total return swaps (for hedging purposes or as a substitute for direct investments); and credit default swaps (for hedging purposes or as a substitute for direct investments). ?Use of derivatives by the Fund may create investment leverage. The Fund may invest in money market securities, including commercial paper. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreement transactions. The Fund may at times have significant exposure to one or more industries or sectors. The Fund may hold a portion of its assets in cash or cash equivalents. The Fund may purchase and sell securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery, to-be-announced, or forward commitment basis, and may enter into dollar roll or reverse repurchase agreement transactions. The Fund may invest in (i) securities denominated in currencies of emerging market countries, (ii) fixed income securities or debt instruments issued by emerging market entities or sovereign nations and/or (iii) debt instruments denominated in or based on the currencies, interest rates, or issues of emerging market countries. Emerging market countries are defined to include any country that did not become a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (O.E.C.D.) prior to 1975 and Turkey. The Fund may invest in other investment companies, including investment companies that are advised by the Funds investment adviser, subadviser, sub-subadviser, or its affiliates, or by unaffiliated parties. The Fund may also invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Barings or BIIL intends for the Funds portfolio dollar-weighted average duration generally to match (within 10%) the average duration of the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate 1-3 Year Bond Index (as of December 31, 2025, the average duration of the Index was 1.76 years). Duration measures the price sensitivity of a bond to changes in interest rates. Duration is the dollar weighted average time to maturity of a bond utilizing the present value of all future cash flows. Barings or BIIL generally selects the Funds investments based on its analysis of opportunities and risks of various securities and market sectors. Barings or BIIL may choose to sell securities with deteriorating credit or limited upside potential compared to other available securities. The Fund expects that it will engage in active and frequent trading and so will typically have a relatively high portfolio turnover rate. Show less