The Fund may use third-party vendor
evaluations, whose prices may be derived from one or more of the following standard inputs, among others:
| • Broker/dealer quotes
| • Benchmark securities
|
| • Two-sided markets
| • Reference data (corporate actions or material event notices)
|
| • Bids/offers
| • Monthly payment information
|
| • Industry and economic events
| • Reported trades
|
An asset or liability for which a
market quotation is not readily available is valued by methods deemed reasonable in good faith by the Valuation Committee, following the Valuation Procedures to represent fair value. Under these procedures, the
Valuation Designee generally uses a market-based approach which may use related or comparable assets or liabilities, recent transactions, market multiples, book values and other relevant information. The Valuation
Designee may also use an income-based valuation approach in which the anticipated future cash flows of the asset or liability are discounted to calculate fair value. Discounts may also be applied due to the nature
and/or duration of any restrictions on the disposition of the asset or liability. Fair value represents a good faith approximation of the value of a security. Fair value determinations involve the consideration of a
number of subjective factors, an analysis of applicable facts and circumstances and the exercise of judgment. As a result, it is possible that the fair value for a security determined in good faith in accordance with
the Valuation Procedures may differ from valuations for the same security determined for other funds using their own valuation procedures. Although the Valuation Procedures are designed to value a security at the
price the Fund may reasonably expect to receive upon the security's sale in an orderly transaction, there can be no assurance that any fair value determination thereunder would, in fact, approximate the amount that
the Fund would actually realize upon the sale of the security or the price at which the security would trade if a reliable market price were readily available. During the period ended August 31, 2023, there were no
material changes to the fair value methodologies.
Securities which may be valued in
this manner include, but are not limited to: (i) a security for which trading has been halted or suspended or otherwise does not have a readily available market quotation on a given day; (ii) a debt security that has
recently gone into default and for which there is not a current market quotation; (iii) a security of an issuer that has entered into a restructuring; (iv) a security that has been delisted from a national exchange;
(v) a security subject to trading collars for which no or limited trading takes place; and (vi) a security whose principal market has been temporarily closed at a time when, under normal conditions, it would be open.
Securities valued in this manner are generally categorized as Level 2 or 3 in the hierarchy.
Certain securities, including
certain closed end funds, held by the Fund may principally trade in foreign markets. Events may occur between the time the foreign markets close and the time at which each of the Fund's net asset values ("NAVs") are
calculated. These events may include, but are not limited to, situations relating to a single issuer in a market sector, significant fluctuations in U.S. or foreign markets, natural disasters, armed conflicts,
governmental actions or other developments not tied directly to the securities markets. Should the Valuation Designee conclude that such events may have affected the accuracy of the last price of such securities
reported on the local foreign market, the Valuation Designee may, pursuant to the Valuation Procedures, adjust the value of the local price to reflect the estimated impact on the price of such securities as a result
of such events. In this instance, securities are generally categorized as Level 3 in the hierarchy. Additionally, certain foreign equity securities are also fair valued whenever the movement of a particular index
exceeds certain thresholds. In such cases, the securities are fair valued by applying factors provided by a third-party vendor in accordance with the Valuation Procedures and are generally categorized as Level 2 in
the hierarchy. No foreign equity securities held by the Fund as of August 31, 2023 were fair valued in such a manner.
If the principal market of certain
foreign equity securities is closed in observance of a local foreign holiday, these securities are valued using the last closing price of regular trading on the relevant exchange and fair valued by applying factors
provided by a third-party vendor in accordance with the Valuation Procedures. These securities are generally categorized as Level 2 in the hierarchy. No securities held by the Fund as of August 31, 2023, were fair
valued in such a manner.
Equity securities are valued at the
last quoted sales prices as of the close of regular trading on the relevant exchange on each valuation date. Securities that are not traded on the valuation date are valued at the mean of the last quoted bid and ask
prices. Prices are normally taken from the principal market in which each security trades. These securities are generally categorized as Level 1 in the hierarchy.
Debt securities (other than
convertible and municipal bonds) are valued at the evaluated bid prices (evaluated mean prices in the case of convertible and municipal bonds) supplied by a pricing agent or broker selected by the Valuation Designee,
in consultation with the Subadvisor. The evaluations are market-based measurements processed through a pricing application and represents the pricing agent’s good faith determination as to what a holder may
receive in an orderly transaction under market conditions. The rules-based logic utilizes valuation techniques that reflect participants’ assumptions and vary by asset class and per methodology, maximizing the
use of relevant observable data including quoted prices for similar assets, benchmark yield curves and market corroborated inputs. The evaluated bid or mean prices are deemed by the Valuation Designee, in consultation
with the Subadvisor, to be representative of market values at the regular close of trading of the Exchange on each valuation date. Debt securities purchased on a delayed delivery basis are marked to market daily until
settlement at the forward settlement date. Debt securities, including corporate bonds, U.S. government and