Investing in the Fund involves risk, including the risk that you may receive little or no return on your investment or that you may lose part or all of your investment. Therefore, you should consider carefully the following risks before investing in the Fund.
The Fund is a closed-end investment company and is designed for long-term investors and not as a trading vehicle.
An investment in common shares of beneficial interest of the Fund (“Common Shares”) is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount invested. An investment in Common Shares represents an indirect investment in the securities owned by the Fund, which are generally traded on a securities exchange or in the over-the-counter markets. The value of these securities, like other market investments, may move up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. The Common Shares at any point in time may be worth less than the original investment, even after taking into account any reinvestment of dividends and distributions.
Investments in securities carry the risk of the loss of capital. Depending upon the investment strategies employed and market conditions, the Fund may be adversely affected by unforeseen events involving such matters as political crises, changes in interest rates and forced redemptions of securities. No guarantee or representation is made that the Fund’s investment program will be successful. The performance of PrinREI and its affiliates’ prior investments are not necessarily indicative of the Fund’s future results. While PrinREI intends for the Fund to make investments that have estimated returns commensurate with the risks undertaken, there can be no assurances that targeted returns will be achieved. On any given investment, loss of principal is possible. Control over the day-to-day operation of the Fund will be vested entirely with ALPS and PrinREI, and the Fund’s future profitability will depend largely upon the business and investment acumen of PrinREI. The loss of service of one or more employees of PrinREI could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to realize its investment objective.
Volatile market conditions for mortgages and mortgage-related assets.
The Fund’s results of operations are materially affected by conditions in the markets for mortgages and mortgage-related assets, including CMBS, as well as the broader financial markets and the economy generally. Beginning in the summer of 2007, significant adverse changes in financial market conditions resulted in a deleveraging of the entire global financial system and the forced sale of large quantities of mortgage-related and other financial assets. Concerns over economic recession, geopolitical issues, unemployment, the availability and cost of financing, the mortgage market and a declining real estate market contributed to increased volatility and diminished expectations for the economy and markets. As a result of these conditions, many traditional mortgage investors suffered severe losses in their residential mortgage portfolios and several major market participants failed or have been impaired, resulting in a significant contraction in market liquidity for mortgage-related assets. This illiquidity negatively affected both the terms and availability of financing for all mortgage-related assets. Increased volatility and deterioration in the markets for mortgages and mortgage-related assets as well as the broader financial markets may adversely affect the performance and market value of the Fund’s CMBS. If these conditions occur, institutions from which the Fund seeks financing for the Fund’s investments may tighten their lending standards or become insolvent, which could make it more difficult for the Fund to obtain financing on favorable terms or at all. Adverse developments in the broader residential mortgage market may adversely affect the value of the assets in which the Fund invests.
Since the summer of 2007, the residential mortgage market in the United States experienced a variety of difficulties and changed economic conditions, including defaults, credit losses and liquidity concerns. Certain commercial banks, investment banks and insurance companies have announced extensive losses from exposure to the residential mortgage market. These losses have reduced financial industry capital, leading to reduced liquidity for some institutions. These factors have impacted investor perception of the risk associated with CMBS in which the Fund invests. As a result, values for CMBS in which the Fund invests have experienced a certain amount of volatility. Further increased volatility and deterioration in the broader mortgage-backed securities markets may adversely affect the performance and market value of the Fund’s investments.
Actions of the U.S. government, Federal Reserve and Treasury to stabilize financial markets.
In response to the financial issues affecting the banking system and the financial markets and going concern threats to investment banks and other financial institutions, the U.S. government, the Federal Reserve, the Treasury and other governmental and regulatory bodies have taken action to attempt to stabilize the financial markets. It is not possible to predict how future U.S. government actions will impact the financial markets, including current significant levels of volatility, or the Fund’s current or future investments. In addition, the U.S. government, Federal Reserve, Treasury and other governmental and regulatory bodies have taken or are considering taking other actions to address causes of the financial crisis. The Fund cannot predict whether or when such actions may occur, and such actions could have a dramatic impact on the Fund’s business, results of operations and financial condition.
Congress has enacted sweeping financial legislation, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), signed into law by President Obama on July 21, 2010, regarding, among other areas, the operation of financial institutions. Many provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act will be implemented through regulatory rulemakings and similar processes over several years and many of these rules have not been issued in final form. Therefore, the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act, and of follow-on regulation, on trading strategies and operations is impossible to predict, and may be adverse. Practices and areas of operation subject to significant change based on the impact, direct or indirect, of the Dodd-Frank Act and follow-on regulation, may change in manners that are unforeseeable, with uncertain effects. By way of example and not limitation, direct and indirect changes from the Dodd-Frank Act and follow-on regulation may occur to a significant degree with regard to, among other areas, the trading and use of many derivative instruments, including swaps and strengthening the oversight and supervision of securities and capital market activities by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). There can be no assurance that such legislation or regulation will not have a material adverse effect on the Fund. In addition, Congress may address tax policy, which also could have uncertain direct and indirect impact on trading and operations.
Further, the Dodd-Frank Act created the Financial Stability Oversight Council (“FSOC”), an interagency body charged with identifying and monitoring systemic risks to financial markets. The FSOC has the authority to require that non-bank financial companies that are “predominantly engaged in financial activities” whose failure it determines would pose systemic risk, be placed under the supervision of the Federal Reserve and subject to enhanced prudential standards. The FSOC has the authority to recommend that the Federal Reserve adopt more stringent prudential standards and reporting and disclosure requirements for non-bank financial companies supervised by the Federal Reserve, but the Federal Reserve is expected to establish the prudential standards applicable to such companies. The FSOC also has the authority to make recommendations to the Federal Reserve on various other matters that may affect the Fund. The FSOC may also recommend that other federal financial regulators impose more stringent regulation upon, or ban altogether, financial activities of any financial firm that poses what it determines are significant risks to the financial system.
The implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act could also adversely affect ALPS, PrinREI and the Fund by increasing transaction and/or regulatory compliance costs. In addition, greater regulatory scrutiny and the implementation of enhanced and new regulatory requirements may increase ALPS’s, PrinREI’s and the Fund’s exposure to potential liabilities, and in particular liabilities arising from violating any such enhanced and/or new regulatory requirements. Increased regulatory oversight could also impose administrative burdens on ALPS, PrinREI and the Fund, including, without limitation, responding to investigations and implementing new policies and procedures. The ultimate impact of the Dodd-Frank Act, and any resulting regulation, is not yet certain and ALPS, PrinREI and the Fund may be affected by the new legislation and regulation in ways that are currently unforeseeable.
Investments in CMBS are subject to the various risks which relate to the pool of underlying assets in which the CMBS represents an interest. CMBS may be backed by obligations (including certificates of participation in obligations) that are principally secured by commercial real estate loans or interests therein having a multi-family or commercial use, such as shopping malls, other retail space, office buildings, industrial or warehouse properties, hotels, nursing homes and senior living centers. Securities backed by commercial real estate assets are subject to securities market risks as well as risks similar to those of direct ownership of commercial real estate loans because those securities derive their cash flows and value from the performance of the commercial real estate underlying such investments and/or the owners of such real estate. These risks include:
The above factors may impact the ability of a borrower to meet its obligations on the loan. Certain loans may default which could result in either a foreclosure of the property or a restructure of the loan. Such actions may impact the amount of proceeds ultimately derived from the loan, and the timing of receipt of such proceeds may be shorter or longer than the original term of the loan. Losses on the loans will negatively impact the most subordinate CMBS class first. Any proceeds received from the loans will generally be applied to the most senior bonds outstanding before any payments are made to the subordinate bonds. The occurrence of defaults and losses on the loans may result in downgrades of the CMBS by the nationally recognized statistical ratings organizations (“NRSROs”—e.g., Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”) and Moody’s Investor Service Inc. (“Moody’s”)).
In addition, the following risks apply to investments in CMBS (several of which also apply more generally to investments in debt securities and other asset-backed securities).
In addition to the risks listed above, CMBS are affected by the quality of the credit extended. As a result, the quality of the CMBS is dependent upon the selection of the commercial mortgages for each issuance and the cash flow generated by the commercial real estate assets. Risk factors related to the foregoing include:
Potential lack of diversification in certain CMBS issuances;
Dependence on the skills, decision-making and experience of the various issuers in selecting the commercial mortgages backing the issuances; and
Adverse borrower selection within an issuance.
Commercial real estate loans are generally not fully amortizing, which means that they may have a significant principal balance or “balloon” payment due on maturity. Commercial loans with a balloon payment involve a greater risk to a lender than fully amortizing loans because the ability of a borrower to make a balloon payment typically will depend upon its ability either to fully refinance the loan or to sell the property securing the loan at a price sufficient to permit the borrower to make the balloon payment. The ability of a borrower to effect a refinancing or a sale will be affected by a number of factors, including the value of the property, the level of available mortgage rates at the time of sale or refinancing, the borrower’s equity in the property, the financial condition and operating history of the property and the borrower, tax laws, prevailing economic conditions and the availability of credit for loans secured by the specific type of property. In addition, commercial real estate loans generally are nonrecourse to borrowers. In the event of foreclosure on a commercial real estate loan, the value of the collateral securing the loan at the time of foreclosure may be less than the principal amount outstanding on the loan plus accrued but unpaid interest thereon, resulting in a non-collectable deficiency. Losses realized on the sale of foreclosed properties could negatively impact the credit enhancement provided to certain CMBS investments and eventually lead to a loss of principal.
It is possible that the Fund will never be fully invested if the Fund does not receive its desired allocations of investments or PrinREI does not find a sufficient volume of investments it deems appropriate for the Fund. New issuances of CMBS were halted during the recent global liquidity crisis. While new CMBS issuance has resumed, it remains uncertain how robust the market will become or the impact any potential regulatory reform may have on the CMBS market. Such market conditions could impact the valuations of the Fund’s investments and impair PrinREI’s ability to buy securities for the Fund. The business of acquiring the type of investments targeted by the Fund is highly competitive and involves a high degree of uncertainty.
The day-to-day operations of the real estate companies and properties underlying the commercial real estate loans that secure the Fund’s CMBS investments will be the responsibility of the owners and developers of such companies and properties. Although PrinREI will be responsible for monitoring the performance of each CMBS investment, there can be no assurance that the owners and developers will be able to operate the underlying companies or properties in accordance with their business plans or the expectations of the Fund.
The Fund will generally not have a right to vote or to make decisions with respect to the administration of the CMBS investments or servicing of the commercial real estate loans that underlie the Fund’s CMBS investments. Those decisions will generally be made by one of the master servicer, special servicer, trustee or a controlling party. Any decision made by one of those parties may not be in the best interest of the Fund and, even if that decision is determined to be in the Fund’s best interests by that party, may be contrary to the decision that the Fund would have made and may negatively affect the Fund’s interests.
Before making any investments in CMBS, PrinREI will assess the factors that it believes will determine the success of that investment. This process is particularly important and subjective because there may be little information publicly available about the CMBS other than what is available in the prospectuses, offering memoranda or similar disclosure documentation associated with the CMBS. The Fund cannot provide any assurances that these due diligence processes will uncover all relevant facts of the underlying commercial real estate loans or that any investment in CMBS will be successful.
The Fund can invest in CMBS rated “investment grade” or “below investment grade” by an NRSRO. The term “investment grade” denotes a credit rating of BBB- or higher by S&P, or Baa3 or higher by Moody’s, or BBB- or higher by Fitch Ratings, Inc., or BBB- or higher by Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Inc., or BBB(low) or higher by Dominion Bond Rating Service or BBB- or higher by Morningstar or such comparable rating by any other NRSRO. The term “below investment grade” (commonly referred to as “junk bonds” or “high yield securities”) denotes a credit rating of BB+ or lower by S&P, or Ba1 or lower by Moody’s, or BB+ or lower by Fitch, or BB+ or lower by Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Inc., or BB(high) by Dominion Bond Rating Services or BB+ or lower by Morningstar or such comparable rating by any other NRSRO. A credit rating is a current assessment of the probability of timely payment of interest and ultimate recovery of principal. The ratings are based on current information furnished by the issuer or obtained by the NRSRO from other sources the NRSRO considers reliable. NRSROs do not perform an audit in connection with any rating and may, on occasion, rely on unaudited financial information. NRSROs may take into consideration obligors such as guarantors, insurers or lessees.
A credit rating is not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold a security, inasmuch as it does not comment as to market price or suitability for a particular investor. Credit ratings do not constitute a guarantee of the quality of the CMBS. The rating assigned to a security reflects only the NRSRO’s opinion. The ratings may be changed, suspended or withdrawn as a result of changes in, or unavailability of, sufficient information or for other circumstances. A change in a bond’s credit rating typically will affect the price of the bond. The use of credit ratings for evaluating bonds involves certain risks. For example, credit ratings evaluate the safety of principal and interest payments, not the market value risk of bonds. Also, NRSROs may fail to change credit ratings in a timely manner to reflect recent events. If an NRSRO changes the rating of a security held by the Fund, the Fund may retain the security if PrinREI believes such retention is in the best interest of the Fund’s investors.
The commercial real estate loans backing the CMBS may be subject to various laws enacted in the jurisdiction or state of the borrower for the protection of creditors. If an unpaid creditor files a lawsuit seeking payment, the court may invalidate all or part of the borrower’s debt as a fraudulent conveyance, subordinate such indebtedness to existing or future creditors of the borrower or recover amounts previously paid by the borrower in satisfaction of such indebtedness, based on certain tests for borrower insolvency and other facts and circumstances, which may vary by jurisdiction. There can be no assurance as to what standard a court would apply in order to determine whether the borrower was “insolvent” after giving effect to the incurrence of the indebtedness constituting the commercial mortgage backing the CMBS, or that regardless of the method of valuation, a court would not determine that the borrower was “insolvent” after giving effect to such incurrence. In addition, in the event of the insolvency of a borrower, payments made on such commercial mortgage loans could be subject to avoidance as a “preference” if made within a certain period of time (which may be as long as one year and one day) before insolvency.
If a borrower of a commercial real estate loan is the subject of a bankruptcy proceeding, payments on the loan may be delayed or diminished as a result of the exercise of various powers of the bankruptcy court including the following:
Any of the foregoing could cause the related CMBS to decrease in value.
The Fund’s CMBS investments may be subject to interest shortfalls due to interest collected from the underlying loans not being sufficient to pay accrued interest to all of the CMBS. Interest shortfalls to the trust will occur when the servicer does not advance full interest payments on defaulted loans. The servicer in a CMBS trust is required to advance monthly principal and interest payments due on a delinquent loan. Once a loan is 60 days delinquent, the servicer is required to obtain a new appraisal to determine the value of the property securing the loan. The servicer is only required to advance interest based on the lesser of the loan amount or 90% of the appraised value. Interest shortfalls occur when 90% of the appraised value is less than the loan amount and the servicer does not advance interest on the full loan amount. The resulting interest shortfalls impact interest payments on the most junior class in the trust first. As interest shortfalls increase, more senior classes may be impacted. Over time, senior classes may be reimbursed for accumulated shortfalls if the delinquent loans are resolved, but there is no guarantee that shortfalls will be collected. Interest shortfalls to the trust may also occur as a result of accumulated advances and expenses on defaulted loans. When a defaulted loan or foreclosed property is liquidated, the servicer will be reimbursed for accumulated advances and expenses prior to payments to CMBS bond holders. If proceeds are insufficient to reimburse the servicer or if a defaulted loan is modified and not foreclosed, the servicer is able to make a claim on interest payments that is senior to the bond holders to cover accumulated advances and expenses. If the claim is greater than interest collected on the loans, interest shortfalls could impact one or more bond classes in a CMBS trust until the servicer’s claim is satisfied.
The Fund’s CMBS investments may be subject to prepayment. Prepayments on CMBS are affected by a number of factors. If prevailing rates for commercial real estate loans fall below the interest rates on the commercial real estate loans underlying the Fund’s CMBS investments, prepayments would generally be expected to increase. Conversely, if prevailing rates for commercial real estate loans rise above the interest rates on the commercial real estate loans underlying the Fund’s CMBS investments, prepayment rates would generally be expected to decrease. Faster than expected prepayments may adversely affect the Fund’s profitability, particularly if the Fund is forced to invest prepayments it receives in lower yielding securities. Certain commercial real estate loans underlying CMBS may have lockout periods and/or defeasance periods during which time prepayment is prohibited or prepayment penalties or substitute defeasance collateral is required. However, certain of such CMBS permit prepayment after such lockout periods or defeasance periods or the periods for such prepayment premiums have expired. Prepayments on CMBS are also affected by the value of the related mortgaged property, the borrower’s equity in the mortgaged property, the financial circumstances of the borrower, fluctuations in the business operated by the borrower on the mortgaged property, competition, general economic conditions and other factors. However, there can be no assurance that the underlying loans of a CMBS issue will prepay at any particular rate.
The Fund’s CMBS investments may be subject to extension, resulting in the term of the securities being longer than expected. Extensions on CMBS are affected by a number of factors, including the general availability of financing in the market, the value of the related mortgaged property, the borrower’s equity in the mortgaged property, the financial circumstances of the borrower, fluctuations in the business operated by the borrower on the mortgaged property, competition, general economic conditions and other factors.
Reinvestment risk is the risk that income from the Fund’s portfolio will decline if the Fund invests the proceeds from matured, traded or called bonds at market interest rates that are below the Fund portfolio’s current earnings rate. A decline in income could affect the Common Shares’ market price or their overall returns.
The exercise of remedies and successful realization of liquidation proceeds relating to commercial real estate loans underlying CMBS may be highly dependent on the performance of the servicer or special servicer. The servicer may not be appropriately staffed or compensated to immediately address issues or concerns with the underlying loans. Such servicers may exit the business and need to be replaced which could have a negative impact on the portfolio due to lack of focus during a transition. Special servicers frequently are affiliated with investors who have purchased the most subordinate bond classes, and certain servicing actions, such as a loan extension instead of forcing a borrower pay off, may benefit the subordinate bond classes more so than the senior bonds. While servicers are obligated to service the portfolio subject to a servicing standard and maximize the present value of the loans for all bond classes, servicers with an affiliate investment in the CMBS may have a conflict of interest. There may be a limited number of special servicers available, particularly those which do not have conflicts of interest.
Structured securities are securities that entitle the holders thereof to receive payments that depend primarily on the cash flow from, or sale proceeds of, a specified pool of assets that by their terms convert into cash within a finite time period, together with rights or other assets designed to assure the servicing or timely distribution of proceeds to holders of such securities. The CMBS in which the Fund will invest are structured securities. Thus, CMBS will bear various risks typically experienced by structured securities: credit risks, liquidity risks, interest rate risks, market risks, operational risks, structural risks and legal risks. The CMBS are subject to the significant credit risks inherent in the underlying collateral and to the risk that the servicer fails to perform. The performance of the CMBS is also dependent on the allocation of principal and interest payments as well as losses among the classes of such securities of any issue. In addition, concentrations of CMBS backed by underlying collateral located in a specific geographic region or concentrations of specific borrowers or property types, may subject the CMBS to additional risk. Certain CMBS may have structural features that divert payments of interest and/or principal to more senior classes when the delinquency or loss experience of the pool exceeds certain levels, which would reduce or eliminate payments of interest on one or more classes of such CMBS for one or more payment dates. Additionally, as a result of cash flow being diverted to payments of principal on more senior classes, the average life of the more junior classes may lengthen. As a result, a shortfall in payments to subordinate investors in the CMBS will generally not result in a default being declared on the transaction and the transaction will not be restructured or unwound.
The CMBS investments the Fund may invest in may have no, or only a limited, trading market. The liquidity of the CMBS will generally fluctuate with, among other things, general economic conditions, domestic and international political events, developments or trends in a particular industry. The credit markets, including the CMBS market, have periodically experienced decreased liquidity on the primary and secondary markets during periods of extreme market volatility, such as the recent global liquidity crisis. Such market conditions could re-occur and would impact the valuations of the Fund’s investments and impair PrinREI’s ability to sell securities. Some or all of the CMBS may also be subject to restrictions on transfer and may be considered illiquid.
Debt securities, such as CMBS, are sensitive to changes in interest rates. In general, bond prices rise when interest rates fall and fall when interest rates rise. Longer-term bonds are generally more sensitive to interest rate changes. The Fund may utilize derivative instruments for purposes of hedging interest rate risk. The use of derivatives may involve certain costs and risks which are outlined below.
For reasons not necessarily attributable to any of the risks set forth herein (for example, supply/demand imbalances or other market forces), the market spreads of the securities in which the Fund invests may increase substantially causing the securities prices to fall. It may not be possible to predict, or to hedge against, such “spread widening” risk. In addition, mark-to-market accounting of the Fund’s investments will have an interim effect on the reported value prior to realization of an investment.
The Fund may, but is not obligated to, utilize financial instruments, such as over-the-counter derivatives transactions, to hedge its investments and the interest rate and/or spread risk associated therewith. There can be no assurance that the Fund will hedge when appropriate or choose the correct hedge if it does hedge. The use of hedging transactions involves certain risks. These risks include (i) the possibility that the market will move in a manner or direction that would have resulted in gain for the Fund had a particular hedging transaction not been utilized, in which case the Fund’s performance would have been better had the Fund not engaged in the hedging transaction; (ii) the risk of imperfect correlation between the risk sought to be hedged and the hedging instrument used; and (iii) potential illiquidity for the hedging instrument used, which may make it difficult or costly for the Fund to close-out or unwind a hedging transaction.
Counterparty risk is the risk that the party on the opposite side of a contract will be unable to fulfill the terms of the contract when called upon, creating exposure equal to the replacement cost or loss of market value of the contract. To minimize counterparty risk, the Fund may diversify its counterparty exposure and may create exposure limits.
The Fund’s use of derivatives or other hedging transactions may be limited by legal and regulatory requirements applicable to the Fund or PrinREI.
The Fund may acquire residual interests in real estate mortgage investment conduits (“REMICs”). The Fund may be taxable at the highest corporate income tax rate on a portion of the income arising from a residual interest in a REMIC that is allocable to the percentage of the Fund’s Common Shares held by “disqualified organizations,” which are generally certain cooperatives, governmental entities and tax-exempt organizations that are exempt from unrelated business taxable income. Because this tax would be imposed on the Fund, all of the Fund’s investors, including investors that are not disqualified organizations, would bear a portion of the tax cost associated with the Fund’s investment in a residual interest in a REMIC. See “Federal Income Tax Matters” in the preliminary prospectus.
In addition, if the Fund realizes excess inclusion income and allocates it to holders of Common Shares (“Common Shareholders”), this income cannot be offset by net operating losses of the Common Shareholders. If the Common Shareholder is a tax-exempt entity and not a disqualified organization, then this income would be fully taxable as unrelated business taxable income under Section 512 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”). If the Common Shareholder is a foreign person, it would be subject to U.S. federal income tax withholding on this income without reduction or exemption pursuant to any otherwise applicable income tax treaty.
CMBS are generally structured as REMICs under the Code, which impacts the tax treatment of the CMBS. Changes to REMIC legislation could impact the investment performance of the CMBS and, as a result, the Fund. In addition, changes in accounting standards, such as mark-to-market or consolidation rules, could negatively impact the performance of the Fund.
Below Investment Grade Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in CMBS and other securities rated below investment grade or, if unrated, determined by PrinREI to be of comparable credit quality, which are commonly referred to as “high-yield” or “junk” bonds. Investment in junk bonds involves substantial risk of loss. Junk bonds are predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal when due and therefore involve a greater risk of default or decline in market value due to adverse economic and issuer-specific developments. Junk bonds display increased price sensitivity to changing interest rates and to a deteriorating economic environment. The market values for junk bonds tend to be more volatile and such securities tend to be less liquid than investment grade debt securities.
Although the Fund will not invest directly in real estate, the Fund will invest in securities of issuers that are have significant exposure to real estate and the real estate industry. Such investments are subject to certain risks associated with the ownership of real estate and with the real estate industry in general. These risks include, among others: possible declines in the value of real estate; risks related to general and local economic conditions; possible lack of availability of mortgage funds or other limitations on access to capital; overbuilding; risks associated with leverage; market illiquidity; extended vacancies of properties; increase in competition, property taxes, capital expenditures and operating expenses; changes in zoning laws or other governmental regulation; costs resulting from the clean-up of, and liability to third parties for damages resulting from, environmental problems; tenant bankruptcies or other credit problems; casualty or condemnation losses; uninsured damages from floods, earthquakes or other natural disasters; limitations on and variations in rents, including decreases in market rates for rents; investment in developments that are not completed or that are subject to delays in completion; and changes in interest rates. To the extent that assets underlying the Fund’s investments are concentrated geographically, by property type or in certain other respects, the Fund may be subject to certain of the foregoing risks to a greater extent. Investments by the Fund in securities of companies providing mortgage servicing will be subject to the risks associated with re-financings and their impact on servicing rights.
In addition, if the Fund receives rental income or income from the disposition of real property acquired as a result of a default on securities the Fund owns, the receipt of such income may adversely affect the Fund’s ability to retain its tax status as a regulated investment company because of certain income source requirements applicable to regulated investment companies under the Code.
As part of its investments in real estate-related securities, the Fund will invest in REITs. REITs possess certain risks which differ from an investment in common stocks. REITs are financial vehicles that pool investors’ capital to acquire, develop and/or finance real estate and provide services to their tenants. REITs may concentrate their investments in specific geographic areas or in specific property types, e.g., regional malls, shopping centers, office buildings, apartment buildings and industrial warehouses. REITs are subject to management fees and other expenses, and so when the Fund invests in REITs it will bear its proportionate share of the costs of the REITs’ operations. Investing in REITs involves certain unique risks in addition to those risks associated with investing in the real estate industry in general. The market value of REIT shares and the ability of the REIT to distribute income may be adversely affected by several factors, including rising interest rates, changes in the national, state and local economic climate and real estate conditions, perceptions of prospective tenants of the safety, convenience and attractiveness of the properties, the ability of the owners to provide adequate management, maintenance and insurance, the cost of complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act, increased competition from new properties, the impact of present or future environmental legislation and compliance with environmental laws, failing to maintain their exemptions from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“1940 Act”), changes in real estate taxes and other operating expenses, adverse changes in governmental rules and fiscal policies, adverse changes in zoning laws and other factors beyond the control of the issuers. In addition, distributions received by the Fund from REITs may consist of dividends, capital gains and/or return of capital. Generally, dividends received by the Fund from REIT shares and distributed to the Fund’s shareholders will not constitute “qualified dividend income” eligible for the reduced tax rate applicable to qualified dividend income; therefore, the tax rate applicable to that portion of the dividend income attributable to REIT shares held by the Fund that shareholders of the Fund receive will be taxed at a higher rate than dividends eligible for the reduced tax rate applicable to qualified dividend income.
REITs (especially mortgage REITs) are also subject to interest rate risk. Rising interest rates may cause REIT investors to demand a higher annual yield, which may, in turn, cause a decline in the market price of the equity securities issued by a REIT. Rising interest rates also generally increase the costs of obtaining financing, which could cause the value of a Fund’s REIT investments to decline. During periods when interest rates are declining, mortgages are often refinanced. Refinancing may reduce the yield on investments in mortgage REITs. In addition, since REITs depend on payment under their mortgage loans and leases to generate cash to make distributions to their shareholders, investments in REITs may be adversely affected by defaults on such mortgage loans or leases. To the extent the Fund invests in Mortgage REITs it will also be subject to credit risk. Credit risk is the risk that the borrower will not be able to make interest and dividend payments on the loan to the REIT when they become due.
Investing in certain REITs, which often have small market capitalizations, may also involve the same risks as investing in other small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources and their securities may trade less frequently and in limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. Historically, small capitalization stocks, such as REITs, have been more volatile in price than the larger capitalization stocks such as those included in the S&P 500 Index. The management of a REIT may be subject to conflicts of interest with respect to the operation of the business of the REIT and may be involved in real estate activities competitive with the REIT. REITs may own properties through joint ventures or in other circumstances in which the REIT may not have control over its investments. REITs may incur significant amounts of leverage.
Similar risks would also apply with respect to U.S. REIT-like structures, non-U.S. REIT-like structures, and REITs formed under the laws of countries other than the United States.
Commercial Mortgage Loans. The Fund may invest in commercial mortgage loans. The value of the Fund’s commercial mortgage loans will be influenced by the historical rate of delinquencies and defaults experienced on the commercial mortgage loans and by the severity of loss incurred as a result of such defaults. The factors influencing delinquencies, defaults, and loss severity include: (i) economic and real estate market conditions by industry sectors (e.g., multifamily, retail, office, and hospitality); (ii) the terms and structure of the mortgage loans; and (iii) any specific limits to legal and financial recourse upon a default under the terms of the mortgage loan.
Commercial mortgage loans are generally viewed as exposing a lender to a greater risk of loss through delinquency and foreclosure than lending on the security of single-family residences. The ability of a borrower to repay a loan secured by income-producing property typically is dependent primarily upon the successful operation and operating income of such property (i.e., the ability of tenants to make lease payments, the ability of a property to attract and retain tenants, and the ability of the owner to maintain the property, minimize operating expenses, and comply with applicable zoning and other laws) rather than upon the existence of independent income or assets of the borrower. Most commercial mortgage loans provide recourse only to specific assets, such as the property, and not against the borrower’s other assets or personal guarantees.
Commercial mortgage loans generally do not fully amortize, which can necessitate a sale of the property or refinancing of the remaining “balloon” amount at or prior to maturity of the mortgage loan. Accordingly, investors in commercial mortgage loans bear the risk that the borrower will be unable to refinance or otherwise repay the mortgage at maturity, thereby increasing the likelihood of a default on the borrower’s obligation. Exercise of foreclosure and other remedies may involve lengthy delays and additional legal and other related expenses on top of potentially declining property values. In certain circumstances, the creditors may also become liable upon taking title to an asset for environmental or structural damage existing at the property.
Subordination of Investments. Some of the Fund’s investments may be in b-notes and other subordinated loans, structurally subordinated mezzanine loans and preferred equity interests of a direct or indirect property owning entity. These investments will be subordinated to the senior obligations of the property or issuer, either contractually or inherently due to the nature of equity investments. Greater credit risks are usually attached to these subordinated investments than to a borrower’s first mortgage or other senior obligations. In addition, these investments may not be protected by financial or other covenants and may have limited liquidity. Adverse changes in the borrower’s financial condition and/or in general economic conditions may impair the ability of the borrower to make payments on the subordinated investments and cause it to default more quickly with respect to such investments than with respect to the borrower’s senior obligations. In many cases, the Fund’s management of its investments and its remedies with respect thereto, including the ability to foreclose on any collateral securing such investments, will be subject to the rights of the more senior lenders and contractual inter-creditor provisions. Investment in b-notes and other subordinated loans may be less in volume relative to any such debt. As such, it is more likely that a complete loss may occur in the event of a default on such debt. Furthermore, the Fund may not possess adequate funds in order to purchase any senior notes.
Although not secured by the underlying real estate, mezzanine loans share certain risks as described in Subordination of Investments above and characteristics of subordinate loan interests described herein. It is expected that the commercial properties owned by such entities are or will be subject to existing mortgage loans and other indebtedness. As with commercial mortgage loans, repayment of a mezzanine loan is dependent on the successful operation of the underlying commercial properties and, therefore, is subject to similar considerations and risks, including certain of the considerations and risks described herein. Mezzanine loans may also be affected by the successful operation of other properties, the interests in which are not pledged to secure the mezzanine loan. Mezzanine loans are not secured by interests in the underlying commercial properties.
The Fund may invest in b-notes, which investments are subordinate to the a-note portion of the same loan (which the Fund would not expect to hold). In addition to the risks described above in Subordination of Investments, certain additional risks apply to b-note investments, including those described herein. The b-note portion of a loan is typically small relative to the overall loan, and vis-à-vis the a-note portion of the loan is in the first loss position. As a means to protect against the holder of the a-note from taking certain actions or receiving certain benefits to the detriment of the holder of the b-note, the holder of the b-note often (but not always) has the right to purchase the a-note from its holder. If available, this right may not be meaningful to the Fund. For example, the Fund may not have the capital available to protect its b-note interest or purchasing the a-note may alter the Fund’s overall portfolio and risk/return profile to the detriment of Common Shareholders.
The Fund may invest in bridge loans as part of its investment strategy. The Fund will bear the risk of any changes in financing markets, which may adversely affect the ability of a borrower to refinance any bridge financings. If the borrower were unable to complete a refinancing, then the Fund could be left holding an unexpected long-term investment in a junior security or that junior security might be converted to equity. The Fund may make an investment with the intent of financing or otherwise reducing the Fund’s investment shortly after the closing of such investment. There can be no assurance that other transactions designed to reduce or leverage the Fund’s investment, or that terms of such financings will be attractive when closed. If the Fund is unable to complete such an anticipated transaction, its investments will be less diversified than intended. In addition, bridge financings may be secured by properties that are in transition or under “lease up.” There is a risk that completion of such transition or “lease up” of such properties will not occur. In that event, the Fund may be required to take possession of the property.
The Fund will be concentrating in companies in the real estate industry, which may include CMBS, REITs, REIT-like structures, and other securities that are secured by, or otherwise have exposure to, real estate. Any fund that concentrates in a particular segment of the market will generally be more volatile than a fund that invests more broadly. Any market price movements, regulatory changes, or economic conditions affecting CMBS, REITs, REIT-like structures, and real estate more generally, will have a significant impact on the Fund’s performance.
A Fund could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of the CMBS, or the counterparty to a derivatives contract, repurchase agreement or a loan of portfolio securities, is unable or unwilling to make timely principal and/or interest payments, or to otherwise honor its obligations. Securities are subject to varying degrees of credit risk, which are often reflected in credit ratings. These risks are heightened with respect to issuers of high-yield or “junk” bonds.
Daily valuations of most of the Fund’s securities are provided by a third-party pricing service. There can be no assurance that PrinREI will be able to sell the securities at the same price as the valuations. If market conditions make it difficult to value some investments, the Fund may value these investments using more subjective methods, such as fair value pricing. In such cases, the value determined for an investment could be different than the value realized upon such investment’s sale. Non-public or non-securities investments will be valued on a fair-value pricing basis.
Secondary markets may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid/ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods, which may prevent the Fund from being able to realize full value and thus sell a security for its full valuation. This could cause a material decline in the Fund’s net asset value.
A regulated investment company that fails to distribute, by the close of each calendar year, an amount at least equal to the sum of 98% of its ordinary income for such calendar year and 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the one-year period ending on October 31 of such calendar year, plus any shortfalls from any prior year’s required distribution, is liable for a 4% excise tax on the portion of the undistributed amounts of such income that are less than the required distributions. There can be no assurance of the Fund’s excise tax liability. See “Federal Income Tax Matters” in the preliminary prospectus and “Taxes” in the Statement of Additional Information.
Because asset-backed securities may not have the benefit of a security interest in the underlying assets, asset-backed securities present certain additional risks that are not present with mortgage-backed securities. For example, credit card receivables are generally unsecured, and the debtors are entitled to the protection of a number of state and federal consumer credit laws, many of which give such debtors the right to avoid payment of certain amounts owed on the credit cards, thereby reducing the balance due. Furthermore, most issuers of automobile receivables permit the servicer to retain possession of the underlying obligations. If the servicer were to sell these obligations to another party, there is a risk that the purchaser would acquire an interest superior to that of the holders of the related automobile receivables. In addition, because of the large number of vehicles involved in a typical issuance and technical requirements under state laws, the trustee for the holders of the automobile receivables may not have a proper security interest in all of the obligations backing such receivables. Therefore, there is the possibility that recoveries on repossessed collateral may not, in some cases, be available to support payments on these securities.
Payments of principal and interest on asset-backed securities may be dependent upon the cash flow generated by the underlying assets backing the securities and, in certain cases, may be supported by some form of credit enhancement. The degree of credit enhancement provided for each issue is generally based on historical information respecting the level of credit risk associated with the underlying assets. Delinquency or loss in excess of that anticipated or failure of the credit enhancement could adversely affect the return on an investment in such a security. The value of the securities also may change because of changes in interest rates or changes in the market’s perception of the creditworthiness of the servicing agent for the loan pool, the originator of the loans or the financial institution providing the credit enhancement. Additionally, since the deterioration of worldwide economic and liquidity conditions that became acute in 2008, asset-backed securities have been subject to greater liquidity risk. Asset-backed securities are ultimately dependent upon payment of loans and receivables by individuals, businesses and other borrowers, and the Fund generally has no recourse against the entity that originated the loans.
The yield characteristics of the asset-backed securities in which the Fund may invest differ from those of traditional debt securities. Among the major differences are that interest and principal payments are made more frequently on asset-backed securities (usually monthly) and that principal may be prepaid at any time because the underlying assets generally may be prepaid at any time. As a result, if the Fund purchases these securities at a premium, a prepayment rate that is faster than expected will reduce their yield, while a prepayment rate that is slower than expected will have the opposite effect of increasing yield. Conversely, if the Fund purchases these securities at a discount, faster than expected prepayments will increase, while slower than expected prepayments will reduce, the yield on these securities. Because prepayment of principal generally occurs during a period of declining interest rates, the Fund may generally have to reinvest the proceeds of such prepayments at lower interest rates. Therefore, asset-backed securities may have less potential for capital appreciation in periods of falling interest rates than other income-bearing securities of comparable maturity.
The availability of asset-backed securities may be affected by legislative or regulatory developments. It is possible that such developments may require the Fund to dispose of any then-existing holdings of such securities.
While repurchase agreements involve certain risks not associated with direct investments in debt securities, the value of the collateral underlying the repurchase agreement will be at least equal to the repurchase price, including any accrued interest earned on the repurchase agreement. In the event of a default or bankruptcy by a selling financial institution, the Fund will seek to liquidate such collateral. However, the exercising of the Fund’s right to liquidate such collateral could involve certain costs or delays and, to the extent that proceeds from any sale upon a default of the obligation to repurchase were less than the repurchase price, the Fund could suffer a loss.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund’s policy is to utilize leverage through Borrowings (as defined below) and the issuance of preferred shares (if any) in an amount that represents approximately 33⅓% of the Fund’s total assets, including proceeds from such Borrowings and issuances (or approximately 50% of the Fund’s net assets) (collectively, “Limited Leverage”). “Borrowings” are defined as: amounts received by the Fund pursuant to loans from banks or other financial institutions; amounts borrowed from banks or other parties using reverse repurchase agreements; amounts received by the Fund from the Fund’s issuance of any senior notes or similar debt securities. Notwithstanding the 33⅓% limit discussed above, the Fund may enter into derivatives or other transactions that may provide leverage (other than Limited Leverage), but which are not subject to the foregoing 33⅓% limitation, if the Fund earmarks or segregates liquid assets (or enters into offsetting positions) in accordance with applicable SEC regulations and interpretations to cover its obligations under those transactions and instruments. The Fund will not enter into any such transaction if it would result in the Fund having total leverage (i.e., Limited Leverage plus any leverage incurred through these additional transactions) in excess of 40% of the Fund’s total assets. These additional transactions will not cause the Fund to pay higher advisory or administration fee rates than it would pay in the absence of such transactions, although the dollar amount of these fees payable by the Fund will increase and decrease along with increases to and decreases in the value of the Fund’s total assets. In addition, these transactions will entail additional expenses (e.g., transaction costs) which will be borne by the Fund.
Leverage is a technique that could adversely affect Common Shareholders. Unless the income and capital appreciation, if any, on securities acquired with the proceeds from leverage exceed the costs of such leverage, the use of leverage could cause the Fund’s net asset value to decline. When leverage is used, the net asset value and market value of the Common Shares will be more volatile. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s use of leverage will be successful.
Common Shareholders bear the costs of leverage through higher operating expenses. Because management fees and administrative fees are based on the Fund’s total assets, use of Limited Leverage increases the effective management fee and administrative fee borne by Common Shareholders. In addition, the issuance of certain types of leverage (e.g., preferred shares) by the Fund would result in offering expenses and other costs, which would ultimately be borne by Common Shareholders. Fluctuations in interest rates could increase the Fund’s interest or dividend payments on Limited Leverage and could reduce cash available for distributions on Common Shares. Certain forms of Limited Leverage are subject to covenants regarding asset coverage, portfolio composition and other matters, which may affect the Fund’s ability to pay distributions to Common Shareholders in certain instances. The Fund may also be required to pledge assets to the lenders in connection with certain other types of Limited Leverage. Leverage involves other risks and special considerations for Common Shareholders, including the likelihood of greater volatility in the net asset value and market price of Common Shares than a comparable portfolio without leverage. That means that, in a declining market, leverage is likely to cause a greater decline in the net asset value of Common Shares than if the Fund were not leveraged. That, in turn, may result in a greater decline in the market price of Common Shares than if the Fund were not leveraged. Leverage constitutes a substantial lien and burden by reason of their prior claim against income and against the Fund’s net assets in liquidation. The rights of lenders to receive payments of interest on and repayments of principal of any borrowings are senior to the rights of holders of Common Shares and preferred shares, with respect to the payment of distributions or upon liquidation. The Fund may not be permitted to declare dividends or other distributions, including dividends and distributions with respect to Common Shares or preferred shares or purchase Common Shares or preferred shares unless at such time, the Fund meets certain asset coverage requirements and no event of default exists under any borrowings. In addition, the Fund may not be permitted to pay distributions on Common Shares unless all dividends on any preferred shares and/or accrued interest on any borrowings have been paid, or set aside for payment.
In an event of default under certain forms of leverage, the lenders or preferred shareholders may have the right to cause a liquidation of collateral (i.e., sell portfolio securities) and, if any such default is not cured, the lenders or preferred shareholders may be able to control the liquidation as well. If an event of default occurs or in an effort to avoid an event of default, the Fund may be forced to sell securities at inopportune times and, as a result, receive lower prices for such security sales. Certain types of leverage may subject the Fund to certain affirmative covenants relating to asset coverage and portfolio composition and may impose special restrictions on use of various investment techniques or strategies or in the Fund’s ability to pay distributions on Common Shares in certain instances. In addition, the Fund may be subject to certain negative covenants relating to transactions with affiliates, mergers and consolidation, among others.
While the Fund may from time to time consider reducing leverage in response to actual or anticipated changes in interest rates in an effort to mitigate the increased volatility of current income and net asset value associated with leverage, there can be no assurance that the Fund will actually reduce leverage in the future or that any reduction, if undertaken, will benefit Common Shareholders. Changes in the future direction of interest rates are very difficult to predict accurately. If the Fund were to reduce leverage based on a prediction about future changes to interest rates, and that prediction turned out to be incorrect, the reduction in leverage would likely result in a reduction in income and/or total returns to Common Shareholders relative to the circumstance if the Fund had not reduced leverage. The Fund may decide that this risk outweighs the likelihood of achieving the desired reduction to volatility in income and the price of Common Shares if the prediction were to turn out to be correct, and determine not to reduce leverage as described above.
The Fund’s Borrowings may include loans from banks or other financial institutions, reverse repurchase agreements, and senior notes or similar debt securities. The terms of any preferred shares the Fund issues, including its dividend rate, voting rights, liquidation preference and redemption provisions, will be determined by the Board of Trustees (subject to applicable law and the Fund’s declaration of trust) if and when it authorizes the preferred shares. If the Fund is unable to refinance certain forms of leverage when it matures the Fund may be forced to sell securities in its portfolio to repay such leverage. Further, if the Fund does not repay the leverage when it matures, that will trigger an event of default under the terms of the Fund’s borrowings (which will likely increase the interest rate payable on such borrowings and give the lenders under such borrowings certain additional rights) and will trigger a higher dividend rate on the preferred shares.
In connection with the Fund’s anticipated use of Limited Leverage, PrinREI may seek to hedge the associated interest rate risk through derivative instruments, which may include interest rate swaps, caps, floors, collars, rate forwards and interest rate futures (and options thereon). There are economic costs of hedging reflected in the pricing of these derivative instruments which can be significant, particularly when long-term interest rates are substantially above short-term interest rates. The desirability of moderating these hedging costs will be a factor in PrinREI’s choice of hedging strategies, although costs will not be the exclusive consideration in selecting hedge instruments. In addition, the Fund may select individual investments based upon their potential for appreciation without regard to the effect on current income in an attempt to mitigate the impact on the Fund’s assets of the expected normal cost of hedging.
There may be an imperfect correlation between interest rates and hedging positions entered into by the Fund, which may prevent the Fund from achieving the intended hedge or expose the Fund to risk of loss. In addition, the Fund’s success in using hedge instruments will be subject to PrinREI’s ability to predict correctly liquidity, market conditions, and changes in the relationships of such hedge instruments to the leverage used by the Fund, and there can be no assurance that PrinREI’s judgment in this respect will be accurate. Consequently, the use of hedging transactions might result in a poorer overall performance for the Fund, whether or not adjusted for risk, than if the Fund had not hedged its interest rate exposure.
Finally, the 1940 Act provides certain rights and protections for preferred shareholders which may adversely affect the interests of Common Shareholders.
The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity which involves strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio security transactions. If PrinREI is incorrect in its forecasts of default risks, market spreads or other applicable factors or events, the investment performance of the Fund would diminish compared with what it would have been if these techniques were not used. The Fund generally may only close out a swap or other two-party contract with its particular counterparty, and generally may only transfer a position with the consent of that counterparty. In addition, the price at which the Fund may close out such a two-party contract may not correlate with the price change in the underlying reference asset. If the counterparty (whether a clearing corporation in the case of exchange-traded instruments or another third party in the case of over-the-counter instruments) defaults, the Fund will have contractual remedies, but there can be no assurance that the counterparty will be able to meet its contractual obligations or that the Fund will succeed in enforcing its rights. It also is possible that developments in the derivatives market, including changes in government regulation, could adversely affect the Fund’s ability to terminate existing swap or other agreements or to realize amounts to be received under such agreements.
In addition, the derivatives market is subject to a changing regulatory environment. In particular, adoption of derivatives legislation by the United States Congress, including the Dodd-Frank Act, could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to use derivative instruments. The Dodd-Frank Act provides for new regulation of certain portions of the derivatives market, including clearing, margin, reporting, recordkeeping, and registration requirements. The new regulations could, among other things, restrict the Fund’s ability to engage in derivatives transactions and/or increase the costs of such derivatives transactions (for example, by increasing margin or capital requirements), and the Fund may be unable to execute its investment strategy as a result.
Generally, preferred stockholders (such as the Fund, to the extent it invests in preferred stocks of other issuers) have no voting rights with respect to the issuing company unless preferred dividends have been in arrears for a specified number of periods, at which time the preferred stockholders may elect a number of directors to the issuer’s board. Generally, once all the arrearages have been paid, the preferred stockholders no longer have voting rights. In the case of certain taxable preferred stocks, holders generally have no voting rights, except (i) if the issuer fails to pay dividends for a specified period of time or (ii) if a declaration of default occurs and is continuing. In certain varying circumstances, an issuer of preferred stock may redeem the securities prior to a specified date. For instance, for certain types of preferred stock, a redemption may be triggered by a change in U.S. federal income tax or securities laws. As with call provisions, a redemption by the issuer may negatively impact the return of the security held by the Fund.
The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in securities of non-U.S. issuers, including securities of issuers located in emerging markets (see Emerging Markets Risk). Investments in securities of non-U.S. issuers involve special risks not presented by investments in securities of U.S. issuers, including the following: less publicly available information about non-U.S. issuers or markets due to less rigorous disclosure or accounting standards or regulatory practices; many non-U.S. markets are smaller, less liquid and more volatile; potential adverse effects of fluctuations in currency exchange rates or controls on the value of the Fund’s investments; the economies of non-U.S. countries may grow at slower rates than expected or may experience a downturn or recession; the impact of economic, political, social or diplomatic events; possible seizure of a company’s assets; restrictions imposed by non-U.S. countries limiting the ability of non-U.S. issuers to make payments of principal and/or interest due to blockages of foreign currency exchanges or otherwise; and withholding and other non-U.S. taxes may decrease the Fund’s return. These risks are more pronounced to the extent that the Fund invests a significant amount of its assets in companies located in one region and to the extent that the Fund invests in securities of issuers in emerging markets. In addition, economic, political and social developments may significantly disrupt the financial markets or interfere with the Fund’s ability to enforce its rights against non-U.S. sovereign issuers. To the extent the Fund invests in depositary receipts, the Fund will be subject to many of the same risks as when investing directly in non-U.S. securities. The holder of an unsponsored depositary receipt may have limited voting rights and may not receive as much information about the issuer of the underlying securities as would the holder of a sponsored depositary receipt.
The Fund may invest in securities of issuers located in emerging markets. Emerging markets issuers are those (i) whose securities are traded principally on a stock exchange or over-the-counter in an emerging market country, (ii) that are organized under the laws of and have a principal office(s) in an emerging market country or (iii) that have at least 50% of their revenues, profits or assets in emerging market countries. Emerging market countries include any country not included in the MSCI World Index, a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets. Risks of investing in emerging markets issuers include: smaller market capitalization of securities markets, which may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; restrictions on foreign investment; and possible restrictions on repatriation of investment income and capital. In addition, foreign investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales; future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization, or creation of government monopolies. The currencies of emerging market countries may experience significant declines against the U.S. dollar, and devaluation may occur subsequent to investments in these currencies by the Fund. Inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had, and may continue to have, negative effects on the economies and securities markets of certain emerging market countries. Certain emerging markets also may face other significant internal or external risks, including a heightened risk of war, and ethnic, religious and racial conflicts. In addition, governments in many emerging market countries participate to a significant degree in their economies and securities markets, which may impair investment and economic growth, and which may in turn diminish the value of the companies in those markets.
Because the Fund expects to invest in securities denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, changes in foreign currency exchange rates may affect the value of securities owned by the Fund, the unrealized appreciation or depreciation of investments and gains on and income from investments. Currencies of certain countries may be volatile and therefore may affect the value of securities denominated in such currencies, which means that the Fund’s net asset value could decline as a result of changes in the exchange rates between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar. These risks often are heightened for investments in smaller, emerging capital markets. Initially, the Fund does not expect to enter into foreign currency hedging transactions, but may do so in the future if PrinREI believes it to be in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders.
The Fund may invest in companies with small, medium and large capitalizations. Smaller and medium-sized company stocks can be more volatile than, and perform differently from, larger company stocks. There may be less trading in the stock of a smaller or medium-sized company, which means that buy and sell transactions in that stock could have a larger impact on the stock’s price than is the case with larger company stocks. Smaller and medium-sized companies may have fewer business lines; changes in any one line of business, therefore, may have a greater impact on a smaller or medium-sized company’s stock price than is the case for a larger company. As a result, the purchase or sale of more than a limited number of shares of a small or medium-sized company may affect its market price. The Fund may need a considerable amount of time to purchase or sell its positions in these securities. In addition, smaller or medium-sized company stocks may not be well known to the investing public.
Convertible securities generally offer lower interest or dividend yields than non-convertible securities of similar quality. The market values of convertible securities tend to decline as interest rates increase and, conversely, to increase as interest rates decline. However, the convertible security’s market value tends to reflect the market price of the common stock of the issuing company when that stock price is greater than the convertible security’s “conversion price.” The conversion price is defined as the predetermined price at which the convertible security could be exchanged for the associated stock. As the market price of the underlying common stock declines, the price of the convertible security tends to be influenced more by the yield of the convertible security. However, convertible securities fall below debt obligations of the same issuer in order of preference or priority in the event of a liquidation and are typically unrated or rated lower than such debt obligations.
If futures are used for hedging purposes, there can be no guarantee that there will be a correlation between price movements in the futures contract and in the underlying financial instruments that are being hedged. This could result from differences between the financial instruments being hedged and the financial instruments underlying the standard contracts available for trading. In addition, price movements of futures contracts may not correlate perfectly with price movements of the financial instruments underlying the futures contracts due to certain market distortions. Successful use of futures by the Fund also is subject to PrinREI’s ability to predict correctly liquidity, market conditions, and movements in the direction of the relevant market. For example, if the Fund uses futures to hedge against the possibility of a decline in the value of a currency in which certain portfolio securities are denominated, and the value of that currency increases instead, the Fund will lose part or all of the benefit of the increased value of the securities denominated in the currency which it has hedged because it will have offsetting losses in its futures positions. Furthermore, if in such circumstances the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities to meet daily variation margin requirements. The Fund may have to sell such securities at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so.
PrinREI’s decision whether to enter into forward foreign currency contracts will depend in part on its view regarding liquidity, market conditions, and the direction and amount in which exchange rates are likely to move. The forecasting of movements in exchange rates is extremely difficult, so that it is highly uncertain whether a currency management strategy, if undertaken, would be successful. To the extent that PrinREI’s view regarding future exchange rates proves to have been incorrect, the Fund may realize losses on its foreign currency transactions. Even if a foreign currency hedge is effective in protecting the Fund from losses resulting from unfavorable changes in exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies, it also would limit the gains which might be realized by the Fund from favorable changes in exchange rates.
Under forward rate contracts, the buyer locks in an interest rate at a future settlement date. If the interest rate on the settlement date exceeds the lock rate, the buyer pays the seller the difference between the two rates. If the lock rate exceeds the interest rate on the settlement date, the seller pays the buyer the difference between the two rates. If the other party to a forward rate contract defaults, the Fund’s risk of loss consists of the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually entitled to receive that is in excess of collateral posted by the Fund’s counterparty in respect of such liability. If there is a default by the other party to such a transaction, the Fund will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction. These instruments are traded in the over-the-counter market.
The Fund may write covered call options, subject to the limitation that no more than 50% of the Fund’s assets attributable to equity securities will be subject to covered call options at any given time. As the writer of a covered call option, during the option’s life the Fund gives up the opportunity to profit from increases in the market value of the security covering the call option above the sum of the premium and the strike price of the call, but the Fund retains the risk of loss should the price of the underlying security decline. The writer of an option has no control over the time when it may be required to fulfill its obligation as a writer of the option. Once an option writer has received an exercise notice, it cannot effect a closing purchase transaction to terminate its obligation under the option and must deliver the underlying security at the exercise price. There can be no assurance that a liquid market will exist when the Fund seeks to close out an option prior to exercise. If trading were suspended in an option, the Fund would not be able to close out the option position. If the Fund were unable to close out a covered call option that it had written on a security, the Fund would not be able to sell the underlying security unless the option expired without exercise.
The techniques and strategies contemplated by the Fund may result in a high degree of portfolio turnover. The Fund cannot accurately predict its securities portfolio turnover rate, but anticipates that its annual portfolio turnover rate will be between 75% and 100% (excluding turnover of securities having a maturity of one year or less) under normal market conditions, although it could be materially higher under certain conditions. A high turnover rate (100% or more) would necessarily involve greater expenses to the Fund and could result in realization of net short-term capital gains.
The shares of closed-end management investment companies often trade at a discount from their net asset value, and the Common Shares may likewise trade at a discount from net asset value. The trading price of the Common Shares may be less than the public offering price. The returns earned by Common Shareholders who purchase Common Shares in this offering and subsequently sell their Common Shares below net asset value will be reduced.
As a non-diversified investment company under the 1940 Act, the Fund is not limited in the proportion of its assets that may be invested in securities of a single issuer, and accordingly, may invest a greater portion of its assets in a more limited number of issuers than a diversified fund. However, the Fund intends to conduct its operations so as to qualify as a regulated investment company for purposes of the Code, which generally will relieve the Fund of any liability for federal income tax to the extent its earnings are distributed to shareholders. See “Taxes” in the Statement of Additional Information. To so qualify, among other requirements, the Fund will limit its investments so that at the end of each quarter of each taxable year (a) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund’s total assets is represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, the securities of other regulated investment companies and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect of any one issuer, to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets and not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (b) not more than 25% of the market value of the Fund’s total assets is invested in the securities of any issuer (other than U.S. government securities and the securities of other regulated investment companies) or of any two or more issuers that the Fund controls and that are determined to be engaged in the same business or similar or related trades or businesses. Because the Fund, as a non-diversified investment company, may invest in a smaller number of individual issuers than a diversified investment company, an investment in the Fund may, under certain circumstances, present greater risk to an investor than an investment in a diversified company because changes in the financial condition or market assessment of a single issuer may cause greater fluctuations in the value of the Common Shares. The Fund will participate in a limited number of investments and all or a substantial majority of its investment portfolio may be in a particular bond class. As a result, the Fund’s investment portfolio could have significant investments in a particular issuer or bond class. While the investment limitations of the Fund restrict investments in any individual CMBS bond to a maximum of 10%, losses incurred on an investment of this size could still have a significant impact on overall Fund performance.
The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. ALPS, PrinREI and the individual portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there can be no guarantee that these will produce the desired results.
Global financial markets and economic conditions are volatile due to a variety of factors, including significant write-offs in the financial services sector and therefore companies may have difficulty raising capital. In particular, as a result of concerns about the general stability of financial markets and specifically the solvency of lending counterparties, the cost of raising capital from the credit markets generally has increased as many lenders and institutional investors have increased interest rates, enacted tighter lending standards, refused to refinance debt on existing terms or at all and reduced, or in some cases ceased to provide, funding to borrowers. In addition, lending counterparties under existing revolving credit facilities and other debt instruments may be unwilling or unable to meet their funding obligations. Due to these factors, companies may be unable to obtain new debt or equity financing on acceptable terms or at all. If funding is not available when needed, or is available only on unfavorable terms, companies may not be able to meet their obligations as they come due.
The Fund’s declaration of trust includes provisions that could have the effect of limiting the ability of other entities or persons to acquire control of the Fund or to change the composition of the Board of Trustees. In certain circumstances, these provisions might also inhibit the ability of shareholders to sell their shares at a premium over prevailing market prices. See “Description of Capital Structure—Anti-Takeover Provisions in the Declaration of Trust” in the preliminary prospectus.
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