Investment in the Fund’s Common Shares involves substantial risks arising from, among other strategies, the Fund’s ability to invest in debt instruments that are, at the time of purchase, rated below investment grade (below Baa3 by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. or below BBB- by either S&P Global Ratings or Fitch, Inc.) or unrated but determined by PIMCO to be of comparable quality and the Fund’s use of leverage. Debt securities of below investment grade quality are regarded as having predominantly speculative characteristics with respect to capacity to pay interest and to repay principal, and are commonly referred to as “high yield” securities or “junk bonds.” The Fund’s exposure to municipal securities means it is particularly subject to the risk that a municipal issuer will be unable to make timely payments of interest and principal, which risk will generally be higher during general economic downturns and may be adversely impacted by litigation, legislation or political events, or by the bankruptcy of the issuer. Before investing in the Common Shares, you should read the discussion of the principal risks of investing in the Fund in “Principal Risks of the Fund.” Certain of these risks are summarized in “Prospectus Summary—Principal Risks of the Fund.” The Fund cannot assure you that it will achieve its investment objective, and you could lose all of your investment in the Fund.
Portfolio Contents. The municipal bonds in which the Fund invests are generally issued by a U.S. state or territory, a city in a U.S. state or territory, or a political subdivision, agency, authority, or instrumentality of such state, territory or city. Also included within the general category of municipal bonds in which the Fund may invest are loans (including participations and assignments) and participations in lease obligations.
The Fund invests at
least 80% of its net assets in municipal bonds that are, at the time of purchase, rated “investment grade” by at least one of Moody’s Investors Service,
Inc (“Moody’s”), S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch, Inc. (“Fitch”), or unrated but determined by PIMCO to be of
comparable quality. “Investment grade” means a rating, in the case of Moody’s, of Baa3 or higher, or in the case of S&P and Fitch, of BBB- or higher.
The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in municipal bonds that are, at the time of investment, rated Ba or B or lower by Moody’s, BB or B or lower by S&P or Fitch or that are unrated but judged to be of comparable quality by PIMCO. These bonds are rated below investment grade and are commonly known as “high yield securities” or “junk bonds.” In the event that ratings services assign different ratings to the same security, PIMCO will use the highest rating as the credit rating for that security. Bonds of below investment grade quality are regarded as having predominantly speculative characteristics with respect to capacity to pay interest and repay principal and are commonly referred to as “junk bonds.” Bonds in the lowest investment grade category may also be considered to possess some speculative characteristics.
The Fund may invest
in “structured” notes, which are privately negotiated debt obligations where the principal and/or interest is determined by reference to the performance of a
benchmark asset or market, such as selected securities or an index of securities, or the differential performance of two assets or markets, such as indices reflecting
taxable and tax-exempt bonds. The Fund may do so for the purpose of reducing the interest rate sensitivity of the Fund’s portfolio (and thereby decreasing the
Fund’s exposure to interest rate risk).
The Fund may purchase municipal bonds that are additionally secured by insurance, bank credit agreements, or escrow accounts. The credit quality of companies which provide such credit enhancements will affect the value and overall credit risk posed by investments in such securities. Although the insurance feature reduces certain financial risks, the premiums for insurance and the higher market price paid for insured obligations may reduce the Fund’s income and returns.
The Fund may buy and sell municipal bonds on a when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment basis, making
payment or taking delivery at a later date. The Fund may invest in floating rate debt instruments (“floaters”), including inverse floaters, and engage in credit
spread trades.
The Fund may invest in and/or originate loans, including, without limitation, to, on behalf of, authorized by,
sponsored by, and/or in connection with a project for which authority and responsibility lies with one or more U.S. states or territories, cities in a U.S. state or
territory, or political subdivisions, agencies, authorities or instrumentalities of such states, territories or cities, which may be in the form of whole loans, assignments,
participations, secured and unsecured notes, senior and second lien loans, mezzanine loans, bridge loans or similar investments, including to borrowers that are unrated or have credit ratings that are determined by one or more nationally recognized statistical rating organizations and/or PIMCO to be below investment grade.
The
Fund may invest in trust certificates issued in tender option bond (“TOB”) programs. In these programs, a trust typically issues two classes of certificates and
seeks to use the proceeds to purchase municipal securities having longer maturities and bearing interest at a higher fixed interest rate than prevailing short-term
tax-exempt rates. Service providers of such trusts may have recourse against the Fund in certain cases.
The Fund may also invest up to 10% of its total assets in securities of other open- or closed-end investment
companies that invest primarily in municipal bonds of the types in which the Fund may invest directly. The Fund may invest in other investment companies either during
periods when it has large amounts of uninvested cash, during periods when there is a shortage of attractive, high-yielding municipal bonds available in the market, or when PIMCO believes share prices of other investment companies offer attractive values. The Fund may invest in investment companies that are advised by PIMCO or its affiliates to the extent permitted by applicable law and/or pursuant to exemptive relief from the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). As a shareholder of an investment company, the Fund will bear its ratable share of that investment company’s expenses and would remain subject to payment of the Fund’s management fees and other expenses with respect to assets so invested.
The Fund generally intends to invest primarily in municipal bonds with longer-term maturities (for example, 15-30
years), but may invest in bonds of any maturity and otherwise seek a shorter average weighted maturity of its portfolio.