Strategy. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in short positions with respect to the S&P 500 Index (the Index) or specific Index securities, backed by a portfolio of Fixed Income Instruments, such that the Funds net asset value may vary inversely with the value of the Index on a daily basis, subject to certain limitations summarized below. In managing the Funds investments in Fixed Income Instruments, PIMCO utilizes an absolute return approach, which is designed to have flexibility with respect to duration, overall sector exposures, non-U.S. exposures and credit quality, both as a function of the strategys investment guidelines and lack of a fixed income index benchmark. The absolute return approach seeks positive investment returns regardless … Show more… The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in short positions with respect to the S&P 500 Index (the Index) or specific Index securities, backed by a portfolio of Fixed Income Instruments, such that the Funds net asset value may vary inversely with the value of the Index on a daily basis, subject to certain limitations summarized below. In managing the Funds investments in Fixed Income Instruments, PIMCO utilizes an absolute return approach, which is designed to have flexibility with respect to duration, overall sector exposures, non-U.S. exposures and credit quality, both as a function of the strategys investment guidelines and lack of a fixed income index benchmark. The absolute return approach seeks positive investment returns regardless of market environment and does not apply to the equity index replicating component of the Fund. Fixed Income Instruments include bonds, debt securities and other similar instruments issued by various U.S. and non-U.S. public- or private-sector entities. The Fund will generally benefit when the price of the Index is declining. When the Index is rising or flat, the Fund will generally not perform as well. Fixed Income Instruments owned by the Fund may also benefit or detract from the Funds net asset value. The Fund is designed for investors seeking to take advantage of declines in the value of the Index, or investors wishing to hedge existing long equity positions. However, the Fund is not designed or expected to produce returns which replicate the inverse of the performance of the Index due to compounding, PIMCO active management, Fund fees and expenses and other factors discussed below. The Fund will maintain short positions through the use of a combination of derivatives, including options, futures, options on futures, and swaps. The Fund may invest, without limitation, in such instruments. While the Fund will, under normal circumstances, invest primarily in Index short positions backed by a portfolio of Fixed Income Instruments, PIMCO may reduce the Funds exposure to Index short positions when PIMCO deems it appropriate to do so. Additionally, the Fund may purchase call options on Index futures contracts or on other similar Index derivatives in an effort to limit the total potential decline in the Funds net asset value during a market in which prices of securities are rising or expected to rise. Further, PIMCO, in its discretion, may seek to reduce the overall risk in the Fund's portfolio of Fixed Income Instruments when the Fund's short equity positions have generated or generate higher levels of income. Assets not invested in equity securities or derivatives may be invested in Fixed Income Instruments. PIMCO actively manages the fixed income assets held by the Fund with a view toward enhancing the Funds total return, subject to an overall portfolio duration which normally varies from (negative) 3 years to positive 8 years based on PIMCOs market forecasts. Duration is a measure used to determine the sensitivity of a securitys price to changes in interest rates. The longer a securitys duration, the more sensitive it will be to changes in interest rates. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its total assets in high yield securities (junk bonds) rated B or higher by Moodys Investors Service, Inc. (Moodys), or equivalently rated by Standard & Poors Ratings Services (S&P) or Fitch Ratings, Inc. (Fitch), or, if unrated, determined by PIMCO to be of comparable quality (except that within such 20% limitation, the Fund may invest in mortgage-related securities rated below B). In the event that ratings services assign different ratings to the same security, PIMCO will use the highest rating as the credit rating for that security. The Fund may invest, without limitation, in securities denominated in foreign currencies and in U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets in securities and instruments that are economically tied to emerging market countries (this limitation does not apply to investment grade sovereign debt denominated in the local currency with less than 1 year remaining to maturity, which means the Fund may invest in such instruments without limitation subject to any applicable legal or regulatory limitation). The Fund will normally limit its foreign currency exposure (from non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities or currencies) to 35% of its total assets. The Fund will normally limit its exposure (from non- U.S. dollar-denominated securities or currencies) to each non-U.S. currency to 10% of its total assets. The Fund will normally limit its aggregate U.S. dollar exposure from transactions or instruments that reference the relative return of a non-U.S. currency or currencies as compared to the U.S. dollar to 20% of its total assets. The Fund may also invest up to 10% of its total assets in preferred securities. Although the Fund uses derivatives and other short positions to gain exposures that may vary inversely with the performance of the Index on a daily basis, the Fund as a whole is not designed or expected to produce returns which replicate the inverse of the performance of the Index, and the degree of variation could be substantial, particularly over longer periods. Show less