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Investment in the Portfolio entails certain risks. Investment returns and principal value of the Portfolio will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Some of the principal risks of investing in the Portfolio include:
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Investing flexibly across sectors (type of bonds), industries, countries, currencies and credit qualities and seeks to balance risk and return characteristics.
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Applying a disciplined process to identify high-conviction opportunities, using a top-down and bottom-up research approach, also aiming to exploit price opportunities that arise from investors' overreactions to macroeconomic, market, industry or company changes.
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Under normal market conditions, the Portfolio typically invests at least 70% of its assets in debt securities rated below investment grade from issuers that are organised, or have substantial business activities, in Asia.
Portfolio Management Team
Investment Risks to Consider
These and other risks are described in the Portfolio's prospectus
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Convertible securities risk: As convertible securities are structured as bonds that typically can, or must, be repaid with a predetermined quantity of equity shares, rather than cash, they carry both equity risk and the credit and default risks typical of bonds.
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ABS/MBS risk: Asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities (ABSs and MBSs) may be particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates and tend to be of lower credit quality than many other types of debt securities. Where the underlying debts of an MBS or ABS go into default or become non-collectable, the securities based on those debts will lose some or all of their value.
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China market risk: The Fund may invest in domestic securities of issuers located in China and so may be directly affected by volatility in securities markets in China and changes in the economic and political climate in China generally. The legal and regulatory framework for capital markets in China may not be as well developed as those of developed countries and entails additional risks.
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Contingent convertible bonds (CoCos) risk: CoCos are comparatively untested, their income payments may be cancelled or suspended, they are more vulnerable to losses than equities, they carry extension risk and liquidity risk and they can be highly volatile.
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Currency risk: Investments may be denominated in one or more currencies which are different from the Portfolio’s base currency. Currency movements in the investments may significantly affect the net asset value of the Portfolio.
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Debt securities risk: The value of most bonds and other debt securities will rise when interest rates fall and will fall when interest rates rise. A bond or money market instrument could fall in price and become more volatile and less liquid if the security’s credit rating or the issuer’s financial health deteriorates, or the market believes it might. Debt securities carry interest rate risk, credit risk and default risk.
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Derivatives risk: The Portfolio may include financial derivative instruments. These may be used to obtain, increase or reduce exposure to underlying assets and may create gearing; their use may result in greater fluctuations of the net asset value.
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Emerging-markets risk: Where the Portfolio invests in emerging markets, these assets are generally smaller and more sensitive to economic and political factors, and may be less easily traded, which could cause a loss to the Portfolio.
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ESG-labelled bonds risk: ESG structures carry similar risk to other types of debt securities of the same rating, type, and credit quality. Certain ESG structures may be subject to additional risk, such as the inability to use proceeds in line with the debt offering.
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Hedging risk: Hedging may be used when managing the Fund, as well as for currency hedge share classes to eliminate the potential for gains along with the risk for loss. Measures designed to offset specific risks may work imperfectly, may not be feasible at times or may fail completely. As there is no segregation of liabilities between the share classes, there is a remote risk that, under certain circumstances, currency hedging transactions could result in liabilities with might affect the NAV of the other share classes and their assets may be used to cover those liabilities incurred.
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Leverage risk: The Fund implements a high use of leverage which may reach 400% of the total NAV of the Fund. Leverage presents opportunities for increasing both returns and losses because any event which affects the value of an investment is magnified to the extent leverage is employed.
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Market risk: Prices and yields of many securities can change frequently, sometimes with significant volatility, and can fall, based on a wide variety of factors, for example government policy or change in technology. he effects of market risk can be immediate or gradual, short-term or long-term, or narrow or broad.
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Perpetual bond risk: The use of perpetual bonds, which are fixed income securities with no maturity date, can result in various risks for a relevant Portfolio. These risks include the possibility of coupon cancellation, as coupon payments on such instruments are entirely discretionary and may be cancelled by the issuer at any time, for any reason, and for any length of time.
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Prepayment risk: The risk that in periods of falling interest rates, issuers may pay principal sooner than expected, exposing the Portfolio to a lower rate of return upon reinvestment of principal.
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Structured investments risk: These types of instruments are potentially more volatile and carry greater market risks than traditional debt instruments, depending on the structure. Changes in a benchmark may be magnified by the terms of the structured instrument and have an even more dramatic and substantial effect upon its value. These instruments may be less liquid and more difficult to price than less complex instruments.
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Sustainability risk: Sustainability risk means an environmental, social, or governance event or condition that, if it occurs, could potentially or actually cause a material negative impact on the value of a Portfolio’s investment. Sustainability risks may have an impact on long-term risk adjusted returns for investors. Assessment of sustainability risks is complex and may be based on environmental, social, or governance data which is difficult to obtain and incomplete, estimated, out of date or otherwise materially inaccurate. Even when identified, there can be no guarantee that these data will be correctly assessed.