Strategy. The funds sub-adviser, Aegon USA Investment Management, LLC (the sub-adviser), seeks to achieve the funds objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the funds net assets (plus the amount of borrowings, if any, for investment purposes) in high-yield securities. The sub-adviser focuses on investments that the sub-adviser views as having a favorable environmental, social and governance (ESG) profile based on the sub-advisers internal ESG evaluation process. The fund normally invests primarily in U.S. securities. High yield securities (commonly known as junk bonds) are high-risk debt securities rated, at the time of investment, below BBB by Standard & Poors or Fitch or below Baa by Moodys or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the funds … Show more… The funds sub-adviser, Aegon USA Investment Management, LLC (the sub-adviser), seeks to achieve the funds objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the funds net assets (plus the amount of borrowings, if any, for investment purposes) in high-yield securities. The sub-adviser focuses on investments that the sub-adviser views as having a favorable environmental, social and governance (ESG) profile based on the sub-advisers internal ESG evaluation process. The fund normally invests primarily in U.S. securities. High yield securities (commonly known as junk bonds) are high-risk debt securities rated, at the time of investment, below BBB by Standard & Poors or Fitch or below Baa by Moodys or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the funds sub-adviser. Normally, the high yield securities in which the fund invests are primarily corporate bonds. The sub-adviser identifies potential investments based on a number of fundamental and ESG considerations. The ESG considerations are evaluated as part of the sub-advisers fundamental research process. This process categorizes issuers into one of five ESG categories and is designed to enable the sub-adviser to identify investments with favorable or lower risk ESG characteristics in the view of the sub-adviser. The sub-adviser invests the significant majority of the fund in the top three ESG categories as defined below. In addition, the sub-adviser minimizes exposure to companies considered by the sub-adviser as having less favorable ESG qualities (category four) and restricts investments in companies judged by the sub-adviser as having the highest financially material ESG risks (category five). Category one includes companies viewed by the sub-adviser as having fundamentals that are positively affected by effective ESG practices. Category two companies are judged by the sub-adviser to have fundamentally low exposure to ESG risks or the presence of factors that mitigate ESG risks. Category three companies are those, in the view of the sub-adviser, with ESG risk exposures that could negatively affect fundamentals, but the effect is not measurable and the timing is uncertain. Category four companies are those which the sub-adviser views as having ESG risks resulting in negative pressure on fundamentals, but having a limited impact on its credit rating. Category five includes companies that, in the sub-advisers view, have ESG factors resulting in a negative material effect on fundamentals that may or may not be currently reflected in its credit rating. The funds investment universe consists of companies classified by the sub-adviser within categories one through four with the funds investments generally predominantly falling in categories one through three. When assessing a companys ESG practices as part of the fundamental research and ESG categorization process, the sub-adviser may take into account a number of ESG considerations of an environmental, social or governance nature. Environmental considerations may include, but are not limited to, climate change and carbon emissions, energy efficiency, waste and pollution, water use and conservation, deforestation, natural resource use and renewable energy. Social considerations may include, but are not limited to, human rights and labor standards, product safety and liability, workplace safety, workplace benefits, employee relations, diversity/inclusion policies, data protection and privacy, community involvement, nutrition and health, and supply chain sourcing. Governance considerations may include, but are not limited to, board independence, board diversity, anti-corruption policies, shareholder rights, compensation structures, corporate political contributions and corporate behavior. The sub-advisers research-intensive process uses a combination of a global top-down analysis of the macroeconomic and interest rate environment and proprietary bottom-up research of corporate debt, stressed and distressed securities, and other debt instruments. In the sub-advisers top-down approach, the sub-adviser analyzes various fundamental, technical, sentiment, and valuation factors that it believes affect the movement of markets and securities prices worldwide. This top-down analysis assists the sub-adviser in analyzing fund risk and allocating assets among sectors, industries, and credit quality categories. In its proprietary bottom-up research, the sub-adviser considers various fundamental and other factors, such as creditworthiness and capital structure. The fund has no maturity or duration requirements or limitations. The fund may invest in foreign securities, including up to 10% of its net assets in emerging market securities. The sub-adviser considers emerging market countries as countries that major international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, generally consider to be less economically mature than developed nations. To a lesser extent, the fund may invest in investment grade bonds, bank loans, preferred equity securities, common equity securities (received in connection with exchanges or restructurings) and cash equivalents. The fund may also invest in hybrid instruments having both debt and equity characteristics. The fund may invest in privately issued securities, including those that are normally purchased pursuant to Rule 144A or Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. All investments by the fund, with the exception of cash and certain cash equivalents (including asset-backed commercial paper), repurchase agreements and money market instruments, are subject to the sub-adviser's ESG assessment framework. Show less