Strategy. The Fund, under normal circumstances, invests at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes) in municipal bonds, the income from which is exempt from federal income tax. Municipal bonds are a financing tool to fund a variety of public and private purposes, including general financing for state and local governments, financing for eligible non-profit organizations, or financing for a specific project or public facility. Municipal securities usually pay a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. The Fund will seek to maintain a portfolio dollar-weighted average duration of 3 to 10 years, although the Fund may invest in instruments of any duration … Show more… The Fund, under normal circumstances, invests at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes) in municipal bonds, the income from which is exempt from federal income tax. Municipal bonds are a financing tool to fund a variety of public and private purposes, including general financing for state and local governments, financing for eligible non-profit organizations, or financing for a specific project or public facility. Municipal securities usually pay a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. The Fund will seek to maintain a portfolio dollar-weighted average duration of 3 to 10 years, although the Fund may invest in instruments of any duration or maturity. 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 will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 65% of its net assets in investment grade quality bonds as rated by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) (such as bonds rated BBB- or higher, or Baa3 or higher), or if unrated, judged to be of comparable quality by MacKay Shields LLC, the Fund's Subadvisor. The Fund may invest up to 35% of its net assets in municipal bonds rated below investment grade by an NRSRO, commonly referred to as high yield or junk bonds, including up to 10% of its net assets in municipal bonds that are the subject of bankruptcy proceedings, that are in default as to the payment of principal or interest, or that are rated in the lowest rating category by an NRSRO (such as bonds rated D) (distressed securities), or if unrated, judged to be of comparable quality by the Subadvisor. If NRSROs assign different ratings to the same security, the Fund will use the higher rating for purposes of determining the securitys credit quality. The Fund may not invest more than 20% of its net assets in investments subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. Some of the Fund's earnings may be subject to federal tax and most may be subject to state and local taxes. The Fund may invest more than 25% of its total assets in municipal bonds that are related in such a way that an economic, business or political development or change affecting one such security could also affect the other securities (for example, securities whose issuers are located in the same state). The Fund may invest in privately issued securities. The Fund may invest in futures, options and swap agreements to seek enhanced returns or to reduce the risk of loss by hedging certain of its holdings. Investment Process: The Subadvisor employs a relative value research-driven approach in seeking to achieve the Fund's investment objective. The Subadvisor's strategies include duration management, sector allocation, yield curve positioning and buy/sell trade execution. The Subadvisor may engage in various portfolio strategies to seek to achieve the Fund's investment objective, to enhance the Fund's investment return and to hedge the portfolio against adverse effects from movements in interest rates and in the securities markets. The Subadvisor uses active management in an effort to identify mispriced tax-exempt securities and build a consistent yield advantage. The Subadvisor focuses on reducing volatility through a disciplined investment process which includes fundamental, bottom-up credit research and risk management. In addition, the Subadvisor reviews macroeconomic events, technicals in the municipal market and tax policies, and analyzes individual municipal securities and sectors. The Subadvisors investment process includes a risk analysis that gives consideration to a variety of security-specific risks, with respect to municipal bonds, including environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks. ESG risks are defined as environmental, social or governance events or conditions that, if they occur, could cause an actual or a potential material negative impact on the value of the investment. Certain ESG factors may be more relevant for certain sectors or issuers than others. Factors considered by the Subadvisor may include an issuers exposure to or management of climate risk, energy resources, community and/or employee relations, demographic shifts, cybersecurity, regulation and financial management of policies and procedures. In addition to proprietary research, the Subadvisor may use screening tools such as those provided by third-party service providers and, to the extent available, third-party data to identify ESG risk factors that may not have been captured through its own research. The Subadvisors consideration of ESG risk is weighed against other criteria and no sectors, industries or individual issuers are explicitly excluded from the Fund. On an ongoing basis, the Subadvisor meets to discuss and, where necessary, make changes to the Funds portfolio allocations. Typically, the Subadvisor considers a number of factors including overall market conditions, and the economic, technical, fundamental and regulatory factors that influence the relative value of municipal securities. In addition to setting target guidelines with respect to yield curve positioning, quality distribution, sector weights and individual security exposures, the Subadvisor will establish the Funds target allocation between investment grade municipal securities and high yield municipal securities. The asset allocation decision is based on the Subadvisors subjective assessment of the risk-adjusted expected returns of investment grade securities and high yield municipal securities over the next twelve to eighteen months. The Subadvisor may sell a security if it no longer believes the security will contribute to meeting the investment objective of the Fund. In considering whether to sell a security, the Subadvisor may evaluate, among other things, the condition of the economy and meaningful changes in the issuer's financial condition. Show less