The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes in income-producing securities. Such securities may be rated at any level by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations or they may be unrated. It is anticipated that the Fund’s portfolio will typically include a high proportion, perhaps even 100%, of high-yield/high-risk securities rated below investment grade. Such securities are sometimes called “junk bonds.”

The bonds the Fund purchases can be of any maturity but the average effective weighted maturity of the Fund’s portfolio will normally be within one year of the average maturity of the Bloomberg US Corporate High Yield Total Return Index Value Unhedged. The average maturity of the Index as of December 31, 2023 was 4.85 years.

In addition to considering economic factors such as the effect of interest rates on the Fund’s investments, Aquila Investment Management LLC (the “Manager”) applies a “bottom up” approach in choosing investments. The Manager considers the individual characteristics of each potential investment in an income-producing security to determine if it is an attractive investment opportunity and consistent with the Fund’s investment policies. The Manager also employs a relative value analysis and fundamental credit research on potential investments in an effort to identify companies with attractive characteristics such as improving balance sheets, improving cash flow or interest coverage, improving earnings, hidden or unappreciated value, management quality, and/or strong business models.

Within the parameters of the Fund’s specific investment policies, the Fund may invest without limit in foreign debt, including debt of emerging markets issuers. The Fund may also invest in subordinated securities and may hold cash or other short-term investments.