The Fund invests primarily in a portfolio of equity and debt securities. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 25% of its total assets in equity securities, such as common stocks and a variety of securities convertible into common stock such as rights, warrants and convertible preferred stock. Also, under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 25% of its total assets in investment-grade debt securities (we consider investment grade to mean rated at least BBB- by one or more nationally recognized credit ratings firms) such as U.S. Government securities (including agency securities, and securities issued by government-sponsored enterprises such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, including their mortgage-backed securities), corporate debt securities, other mortgage-backed securities and asset-backed securities. The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its total assets in debt securities which are unrated or non-investment grade (non-investment grade securities are commonly referred to as “junk bonds”); however, U.S. Government securities, as described above, even if unrated, do not count toward this 20% limit.

The Fund may invest in the equity securities of issuers of all sizes. The Fund may invest in debt securities of all maturities. The Fund may invest in derivatives instruments, such as options, futures contracts, including interest rate futures, and options on futures. These investments will typically be made for investment purposes consistent with the Fund's investment objective and may also be used to mitigate or hedge risks within the portfolio or for the temporary investment of cash balances. These derivative instruments will count toward the Fund's “at least 25%” policy for investment grade debt securities only if the derivative instruments have economic characteristics similar to the securities included within that policy. The Fund may invest in equity or debt securities issued by non-U.S. issuers, which securities may be denominated in U.S. dollars or foreign currencies. As part of the Fund’s strategy, the Fund may concentrate its investments in securities of relatively few issuers.

The Fund’s investment strategy for equity securities (which we call “Quality at a Discount”) is to buy above-average to highest-quality businesses, at prices that we believe are less than what the companies are worth. We assess a company’s quality based on its competitive position, return on invested capital, ability to redeploy capital, cash flow consistency, financial leverage and management team. We compare the company’s stock price to our estimate of business value, i.e., all the cash that the company will generate for its owners in the future. For each company, we look at a range of business value estimates. We then seek to buy stocks of companies that meet our quality criteria when they are priced are at a discount to our estimates of business value.

We invest with a multiple-year time horizon. We believe that purchasing stocks at prices less than our business value estimates provides opportunities for stock price appreciation, both as business values grow and as the market recognizes companies’ values. Typically, we consider selling stocks as they approach or exceed our business value estimates. We may also sell stocks for other reasons, including for the purchase of stocks that we believe offer better investment opportunities.

The Fund’s investment strategy with respect to debt securities is to select debt securities whose yield is sufficiently attractive in view of the risks of ownership. We consider a number of factors such as the security’s price, coupon and yield-to-maturity, as well as the credit quality of the issuer in deciding whether to invest in a particular debt security. In addition, we review the terms of the debt security, including subordination, default, sinking fund and early redemption provisions.

We do not try to “time” the market. However, if there is cash available for investment and there are not securities that meet the Fund’s investment criteria, the Fund may invest without limitation in high-quality cash and cash equivalents such as U.S. government securities or government money market fund shares. If the Fund takes such a defensive position, it may be temporarily unable to achieve its investment objective.