Strategy. The Portfolio, under normal circumstances, invests at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in high-yield corporate debt securities, including all types of high-yield domestic and foreign corporate debt securities that are rated below investment grade by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or that are unrated but are considered to be of comparable quality by MacKay Shields LLC, the Portfolio's Subadvisor. An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer's "country of risk" (or similar designation) as determined by a third-party such as Bloomberg. Securities that are rated below investment grade by NRSROs (such as securities rated lower than BBB- and Baa3) are … Show more… The Portfolio, under normal circumstances, invests at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in high-yield corporate debt securities, including all types of high-yield domestic and foreign corporate debt securities that are rated below investment grade by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or that are unrated but are considered to be of comparable quality by MacKay Shields LLC, the Portfolio's Subadvisor. An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer's "country of risk" (or similar designation) as determined by a third-party such as Bloomberg. Securities that are rated below investment grade by NRSROs (such as securities rated lower than BBB- and Baa3) are commonly referred to as high-yield securities or "junk bonds." If NRSROs assign different ratings to the same security for purposes of determining the security's credit quality, the Portfolio will use the middle rating when three NRSROs rate the security. For securities where only two NRSROs rate the security, the Portfolio will use the higher rating. If only one rating is available for a security, the Portfolio will use that rating. The Portfolio's high-yield investments may also include convertible corporate securities, loans and loan participation interests. The Portfolio may invest up to 20% of its net assets in common stocks and other equity-related securities. The Portfolio may hold cash or invest in short-term instruments during times when the Subadvisor is unable to identify attractive high-yield securities. The Portfolio may invest in derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements to seek enhanced returns or to reduce the risk of loss by hedging certain of its holdings. In times of unusual or adverse market, economic or political conditions, the Portfolio may invest without limit in investment grade securities and may invest in U.S. government securities or other high quality money market instruments. Periods of unusual or adverse market, economic or political conditions may exist in some cases, for up to a year or longer. To the extent the Portfolio is invested in cash, investment grade debt or other high quality instruments, the yield on these investments tends to be lower than the yield on other investments normally purchased by the Portfolio. Although investing heavily in these investments may help to preserve the Portfolio's assets, it may not be consistent with the Portfolio's primary investment objective and may limit the Portfolio's ability to achieve a high level of income. Investment Process: The Subadvisor seeks to identify investment opportunities by analyzing individual companies and evaluating each company's competitive position, financial condition, and business prospects. The Portfolio invests in companies in which the Subadvisor has judged that there is sufficient asset coveragethat is, the Subadvisor's subjective appraisal of a company's value compared to the value of its debt, with the intent of maximizing risk-adjusted income and returns. The Subadvisor may sell a security if it believes the security will no longer contribute to meeting the investment objectives of the Portfolio. In considering whether to sell a security, the Subadvisor may evaluate, among other things, the price of the security and meaningful changes in the issuer's financial condition and competitiveness. Show less